Anne-Marie Nzié (1932 – 24 May 2016) was a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian

bikutsi Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaoundé. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa. It is primarily dance music ...

singer.

Biography

Anne-Marie Nzié was born in Bibia,

Lolodorf Lolodorf is a small town-centred region in the south province of the Republic of Cameroon, near the western coast of Africa. It is between Ngoumou and Bipindi, in a zone of the Atlantic Littoral Evergreen Forest. It is notable for being the h ...

, Cameroon, in 1932."Rest In Peace"
, God's Jukebox, 21 June 2016. Her father was a guitarist and at the age of eight she began singing in a church choir in the village where he was a pastor. In the 1940s, Nzié began performing

, the music native to her home in central Cameroon. At the age of 12, while recuperating in hospital from injuries sustained when she fell from a mango tree, she learned to play Hawaiian guitar with the help of her musician brother Moise (who used the name "Cromwell"); she went on to support him in some of his concert appearances, and in 1954 they released their first single together, "Ma Ba Nze", on the Opika label. Her first songs were played in night clubs when she was 24. She won a government-sponsored guitar competition organised by the German guitarist/composer

Siegfried Behrend Siegfried Behrend (19 November 1933 – 20 September 1990) was a German classical guitarist and composer. Biography Behrend was born in Berlin. He studied piano, harpsichord, conducting and Musical composition, composition at the Klindworth-Schar ...

, after which in the later 1950s she became a solo singer, accompanying herself on Hawaiian guitar. Making a mark on the international scene, she recorded in Paris, and signed with the Pathé-Marconi label.Martin, Denis-Constant (2004)
"Music in the Face of Authorities"
''African Geopologics''. Accessed 10 April 2007.Nkolo, Jean-Victor, and Graeme Ewens (2000). "Cameroon: Music of a Small Continent". ''World Music, Volume 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East''. London: Rough Guides Ltd, p. 443. Nzié remained active over the next five decades and helped to popularise bikutsi throughout Cameroon, as well as singing in festivals in Algiers, Dakar and Lagos, and teaching singing with the National Orchestra of Cameroon.
, African Musicians Profiles. Her long career earned her the epithets "Queen of Cameroonian Music", "Queen Mother of Cameroonian Music", and "Queen Mother of Bikutsi"."Coco Mbassi"
BBC. Accessed 10 April 2007. Nzié was a supporter of both of Cameroon's presidents, Ahmadou Ahidjo and

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

. For example, she dedicated the song "Liberté" to Paul Biya and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) political party. In 1992, the Social Democratic Front used the song during

John Fru Ndi John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

's presidential campaign; Nzié said that she was "vehemently opposed" to the move.Quoted in Nyamnjoh and Fokwang (2005), p. 265. In another incident, student protesters changed the lyrics of the song to say, "Paul Biya go away". Nzié responded by saying that the song was always intended to be pro-Biya and pro-CPDM. Her successful album ''Liberté'' was recorded in 1984, following which Nzié retired to her village. After a long absence, she released the album ''Béza Ba Dzo'' in 1999.

Coco Mbassi Coco Mbassi (born 28 February 1969) is a musical artist originating from Cameroon, born in Paris, France, and based in London, UK. Winner of the Radio France Internationale Découvertes Prize in 1996 with the song "Muenge Mwa Ndolo", she toured w ...

sang backup on the album, and one track featured Manu Dibango on saxophone and vocals. Anne-Marie Nzié died in hospital on 24 May 2016, after becoming ill earlier in that month.Edwin Kindzeka Moki (Associated Press)
"The golden voice of Cameroon, Anne Marie Nzie, dies at 84"
''U.S. News'', 25 May 2016.

Biography

References

External links

Further reading