Headman Msongelwa Shabalala (10 October 1945 – 10 December 1991) was a member of

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n choral group founded by his brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. Headman was born in

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

, in the eMnambithi area and grew up with his brothers Joseph,

Jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Enoch Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...

, Makhosini and

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

. In 1960, he joined the first incarnation of his brother Joseph's group and became a full-time member alongside his brother Enoch and various cousins and relatives. Singing as a bass voice, Headman added sounds to the songs that would become synonymous with the group's rhythm; the low gruffs and growls and the "clicking" noises (today, they are sounded by Russel Mthembu and Sibongiseni Shabalala, respectively). By the mid-1980s, the line-up had changed rapidly and Headman, along with his brother Joseph and cousin

Albert Mazibuko Mdletshe Albert Mazibuko is a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded in 1960 by his cousin Joseph. Albert was born in Ladysmith, South Africa, and was the eldest of six sons; the others being Milton, Funokwakhe, ...

, were the only original members from the 1960s. By the start of the 1990s, Ladysmith Black Mambazo had become famous across the world. On 10 December 1991, while driving home from a family gathering in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, Headman was shot and killed by a white, off-duty security guard in an apparent racially motivated killing.Headman Shabalala
Discogs.com. Accessed June 8, 2012. Headman's murder is referenced in the song "Worldwide" by the group

Adam Again Adam Again is an American Rock music, rock band that was active from 1982 until the 2000 death of founder, leader and vocalist Gene Eugene, with Riki Michele on vocals, Paul Valadez on bass, Jon Knox on drums, Greg Lawless on guitar. Dan Michae ...

on their album '' Dig''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shabalala, Headman 1945 births 1991 deaths 20th-century South African male singers Deaths by firearm in South Africa Ladysmith Black Mambazo members South African murder victims People from Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal Racially motivated violence against black people Zulu people