From the Guardian & Mail:
South African singer Miriam Makeba, “one of the greatest songstresses of our time”, died on Sunday night after collapsing as she left the stage following a performance in Italy, the Foreign Minister said on Monday.
“One of the greatest songstresses of our time, Miriam Makeba, has ceased to sing. Miriam Makeba, South Africa’s Goodwill Ambassador, died performing what she did best — an ability to communicate a positive message through the art of singing,” said South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
“Throughout her life, Mama Makeba communicated a positive message to the world about the struggle of the people of South Africa and the certainty of victory over the dark forces of apartheid colonialism through the art of song.”
I’ve featured her music here before, including one of her most famous hits, Pata Pata (this is a great performance she gave in Brazil, 1967):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85_9mKTg_Do[/youtube]
Ingrid from Arlington, VA
Very sad. I met Ms. Makeba when I was a young teenager, in the sixties back in Suriname. They had organized a performance by her for schoolchildren. She had such starpower in South America and the Caribbean.
MB
That must have been great, Ingrid. I wish that the US had been more open to her (for those that don’t know, her US airplay was pretty much shut down when she married Stokley Carmichael in 1968).
Ingrid from Arlington, VA
Yes, it was great indeed. Meeting her has stuck with me all these years for the impression she made on me. Living in Suriname, we were unfazed by the political fallout from her marriage to Carmichael. In addition to Pata Pata, The Click Song and Malaika, Ms. Makeba did some great songs like Lovely Lies and One More Dance (with Harry Belafonte) which were among my favorites. I later attended one of her performances at Lisner Auditorium in DC in the 1980s. I’m still a fan after all these years!
MB
I’d heard of that Belafonte duo album, but have never actually listened to it. I’ll have to look for it.
You know, when I went to check that marriage date, I found out that Stokley Carmichael was an Arlington resident for a bit. Had no idea. (In the mid 90s, H. Rap Brown and I used to shop at the same grocery store in Atlanta’s West End. Random fact night, I guess.)
Peej
Oh, no, what a shame. Homeland is one of the albums that has a permanent place in my car.
Ingrid, you’re indeed lucky to have seen her in person.