The origins of Ladysmith Black Mambazo #RIPJosephShabalala

The death of Joseph Shabalala sent shock waves throughout the country on Tuesday morning (February 11). He passed away in the Eugene Marais Hospital in Pretoria. Shabalala’s wife, Thokozile Shabalala, was with him during his last moments, according to family.

Over the past few years, his health slowly deteriorated. Earlier this year, he was admitted to hospital.

Joseph Shabalala was a founding member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a true rags-to-riches story…

Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded in 1960 by Joseph Shabalala, a young musician who hoped to bring new interpretations to traditional Zulu music into popular culture.

The cappella group’s compelling performance style was a unique melding of indigenous Zulu songs and dances with South African isicathamiya; a soft, shuffling style of dance accompanied by ragtime-influenced choral part-singing.

The name that Shabalala chose for the group was significant on a number of levels. Ladysmith was his hometown; Black represented the black oxen that were the strongest on the farm; and Mambazo, from the Zulu word for “axe”, symbolised the group’s ability to cut down any competition.

Shabalala recruited several relatives to join the ensemble and in 1970, a radio broadcast led to the group’s first recording contract. In 1973, Ladysmith Black Mambazo released Amabutho, the first African album to reach gold record status (25,000 sold).

The group gained worldwide recognition from its 1986 collaboration with American singer-songwriter Paul Simon on his Grammy Award-winning Graceland album, one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s. In 1987, Ladysmith Black Mambazo won its own Grammy in the Best Traditional Folk Recording category for the album Shaka Zulu.

By the turn of the 21st century, the group had recorded more than 30 albums, including Induku Zethu (1987), Inala (1987), Liph’Iqiniso (1994) and In Harmony (1999), which altogether have sold more than 30 million records around the world, establishing it as the best-selling musical group in Africa.

In 2013-14, Joseph retired from Ladysmith Black Mambazo due to ill health. He still did a few guest appearances with the group before his health prevented any further performances. According to his son Sibongiseni Shabalala, who took over the running of the group, his father leaves great shoes to fill.

Tributes have poured in from all over the world.

We will update you on all the tributes that have come in so far.

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