This is a near-complete list of recordings made by the South African vocal group

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 ...

. The group was offered a recording contract to

Gallo Record Company Gallo Record Company is the largest (and oldest independent) record label in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is owned by Arena Holdings. The current Gallo Record Company is a hybrid of two South African record label ...

, the largest record company in South Africa, in 1973. They accepted, and remain with the studio today. Ladysmith Black Mambazo's first release ''

Amabutho ''Amabutho'' is the first album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released in 1973 by Gallo Record Company Gallo Record Company is the largest (and oldest independent) record label in South Africa. It is ...

'' (1973) sold over 25,000 copies and became the first release in South Africa by Black musicians to receive gold status. Their early recordings – recorded for Gallo's 'black music' division ''Mavuthela Music Company'' – sold very well. In 1975, Shabalala converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and the group released their first religious album, ''Ukukhanya Kwelanga''. It earned a double platinum disc award, and the group's repertoire came to be dominated by

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

, mostly

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. Their 1976 ''Ukusindiswa'' became one of their most popular religious albums. By 1981, the group was well known throughout South Africa, and was allowed to travel to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany. The group toured the country and appeared on television, and learned some of the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

; the 1981 album ''

Phansi Emgodini ''Phansi Emgodini'' ("Down in the mine") is an album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Phansi Emgodini is mambazo 15th album. The album (#BL 321) was recorded on 17 August 1981 and released on 9 September that year. ...

'' included a German-language song, "Wir Grüssen Euch Alle". The following year, the group traveled back to Germany to appear on a televised quiz show, bringing about requests for live appearances.Nkosi, W: "Ezulwini Siyakhona", liner notes. Gallo Record Company, 1986 Ladysmith Black Mambazo has since released over fifty studio recordings; many more assorted compilations, cassette tapes, videotapes, and DVDs have been released.

Discography

Albums

: ''Catalogue numbers in bold represent''

Hybrid SACD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple au ...

''and/or'' enhanced ''versions''

Singles

*1986: " Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" (

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo) (from Paul Simon album ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'') *1995: "

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African-American spiritual song and one of the best-known Christian hymns. Originating in early oral and musical African-American traditions, the date it was composed is unknown. Performances by the Hampton Singer ...

" ( China Black & Ladysmith Black Mambazo) *1999: "

Ain't No Sunshine "Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album '' Just As I Am,'' produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. String arran ...

" (Ladysmith Black Mambazo feat.

Des'ree Desirée Annette Weekes (born 30 November 1968), known by her stage name Des'ree (), is an English pop recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is best known for her hits " Feel So High", " You Gotta Be", "Life", and " Kiss ...

) *2000: "I Shall Be There" (

B*Witched B*Witched are an Irish girl group consisting of twin sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou and Sinéad O'Carroll. Originally active between 1997 and 2002, they enjoyed success in both Europe and North America between 1998 and 2002, r ...

feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo) *2014: " Lift Me Up" (

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

feat.

Nico & Vinz Nico & Vinz are a Norwegian duo consisting of Kahouly Nicolay "Nico" Sereba from Holmlia, Oslo and Vincent "Vinzy V" Dery from Lambertseter, Oslo. They formed in 2010 as Envy but changed their name to Nico & Vinz by the end of 2012. They are comm ...

& Ladysmith Black Mambazo) (from David Guetta album ''

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Auditory system#Central auditory system, Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a Transm ...

'')

References

{{Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

Discographies of South African artists Folk music discographies