Hallelujah Chicken Run Band

Last updated
Hallelujah Chicken Run Band
Origin Rhodesia
Genres Chimurenga music
Years active1974–1979

Hallelujah Chicken Run Band was a Rhodesian band formed in Mhangura in the 1970s. [1] [2] The band featured Robson Boora (saxophone), Joshua Hlomayi Dube (guitar), Wilson Jubane (guitar), Patrick Kabanda (drums), Daram Karanga (trumpet), Thomas Mapfumo (vocals), Abdulah Musa (guitar), and Robert Nekati (bass). The band was an early pioneer of a style of music called chimurenga, from the Shona word for “struggle.” [1]

Contents

History

The band was founded by trumpet player Daram Katanga in order to perform for workers at Mhangura copper mine. [3] They initially started playing the more common Afro-Rock styles of the period, but gained an increased following when they shifted their sound to include electric arrangements with traditional Shona music. [4]

In 1974 they won a national music competition organized by the South African label Teal that would solidify their growing popularity. [4] [5]

The sound they pioneered would eventually be called Chimurenga and was adopted by other bands of the 70s and 80s. Singer Thomas Mapfumo had a successful music career in the 80s and would go on to bring Chimurenga around the world.[ citation needed ]

Discography

Singles & EPs

Compilations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commodores</span> American funk and soul band

Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, is an American funk and soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer.

Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by the Kinks, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Vanilla Fudge, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the late 1960s, bands such as Blue Cheer, the Jeff Beck Group, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Golden Earring, Steppenwolf, Grand Funk, Free, and Deep Purple also produced hard rock.

<i>A Quick One</i> 1966 studio album by the Who

A Quick One is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. In the United States, where the song "Happy Jack" was a top 40 hit, the album was released in April 1967 under the title Happy Jack with a slightly altered track listing.

Jazz fusion is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyboards that were popular in rock began to be used by jazz musicians, particularly those who had grown up listening to rock and roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Zimbabwe</span>

Zimbabwean music is heavily reliant on the use of instruments such as the mbira, Ngoma drums and hosho. Their music symbolizes much more than a simple rhythm, as the folk and pop style styled music was used as a symbol of hope for Zimbabweans looking to gain independence from Rhodesia. Music has played a significant role in the history of Zimbabwe, from a vital role in the traditional Bira ceremony used to call on ancestral spirits, to protest songs during the struggle for independence. The community in Zimbabwe used music to voice their resistance to their oppression, as one of the only weapons they had available to fight back with. In the eighties, the Music of Zimbabwe was at the center of the African Music scene thanks to genres such as Sungura and Jit. However, several performers were banned by state TV and radio leading to the closing of several music venues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Mapfumo</span> Zimbabwean musician

Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo is a Zimbabwean musician. He is nicknamed "The Lion of Zimbabwe" and "Mukanya" for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music, including his sharp criticism of the government of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. He both created and popularized Chimurenga music, and is known for his distinctive voice and slow-moving style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osibisa</span> Ghanaian-Nigerian-British band

Osibisa is a British-Ghanaian-Caribbean Afro rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians.

Shona music is the music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. There are several different types of traditional Shona music including mbira, singing, hosho and drumming. Very often, this music will be accompanied by dancing, and participation by the audience. In the Shona style of music, there is little distinction between the performer and the audience. Both are often actively involved in the music-making and both are important in the Shona religious ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African popular music</span>

African popular music, can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc. Afropop is a genre of music that combines elements from both African traditional music with Western pop music, characterized by the use of African rhythms and melodies, as well as western instrumentation and production techniques. Like African traditional music, Afropop is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of western popular music build on cross-pollination with traditional African American and African popular music. Many genres in popular music of rock, metal, pop, blues, jazz, salsa, zouk, and rumba derive, of varying degrees, musical traditions from Africa cultured to the Americas, by enslaved Africans. These rhythms and sounds have subsequently been adapted by newer genres like hip-hop, and R&B. Likewise, African popular music have adopted Western music industry recording studio techniques. The term does not refer to a specific style or sound but is used as a general term for African popular music.

Afro rock is a style of rock music that incorporates African influences, blending elements of Western rock with traditional African rhythms, melodies, and instrumentation. Emerging in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Afro rock reflected a dynamic interplay between the global popularity of rock music and the rich musical heritage of Africa. Prominent Afro rock bands and artists from this period include Osibisa, Assagai, and the Lafayette Afro Rock Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonnie Mack</span> American musician (1941–2016)

Lonnie McIntosh, known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was influential in the development of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing.

<i>Faces</i> (Earth, Wind & Fire album) 1980 studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire

Faces is the tenth studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire released on October 14, 1980, on ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached number 10 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, number 2 on the Billboard Top Soul albums chart and number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. Faces was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Berry</span> American musician

Chris Berry is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He plays the mbira and the ngoma drum, from the Shona people of Southern Africa. His records with the band Panjea have gone platinum in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. He has released over a dozen albums; scored the soundtrack for three films; and collaborated and performed with many other artists.

The Four Brothers were a pop group from Zimbabwe. The members were not brothers. They played fast-paced guitar-based pop music with songs sung in the Shona language. Their lead guitar string-plucking sound is reminiscent of the sound of the African mbira instrument and is a style known as jit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Bridgewater</span> American jazz trumpeter (born 1942)

Cecil Bridgewater is an American jazz trumpeter and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamunia</span> 1974 single by Paul McCartney and Wings

"Mamunia" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney that first appeared on Wings' 1973 album Band on the Run. It was also released as the B-side of the "Jet" single in the US, but was replaced by "Let Me Roll It" when "Mamunia" was being considered as a possible future A-side.

Jonah Sithole (1952–1997) was a Zimbabwean guitarist, vocalist and composer, known particularly for the mbira-inspired style known as mbira-guitar or chimurenga music.

<i>And Here Is Music for the Fireside</i> 1985 EP by The Bats

And Here Is 'Music for the Fireside' is a 1985 EP by New Zealand indie rock group The Bats.

<i>Live at the BBC</i> (Hugh Masekela album) 2002 live album by Hugh Masekela

Live at the BBC is a live album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It contains the tracks recorded on 23 June 1985 at the Glastonbury Festival in England and on 16 November 1988 at the Nelson Mandela Concert. The album was released on 23 April 2002 via Varèse Sarabande label.

<i>Chamunorwa</i> 1991 studio album by Thomas Mapfumo

Chamunorwa is an album by the Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo, released in 1991. He is credited with his band, Blacks Unlimited. The title translates to What Are We Fighting For. Chamunorwa was Mapfumo's final album for Mango Records.

References

  1. 1 2 Gorlinski, Virginia. "chimurenga". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Jan. 2014, https://www.britannica.com/art/chimurenga. Accessed 5 February 2023.
  2. Sole, Deanne. 2006. https://thevinylfactory.com/news/hallelujah-chicken-run-band-music-vinyl-release/
  3. Lusk, John. 2007 https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/9xgb/
  4. 1 2 Monger, Timothy. "Hallelujah Chicken Run Band Biography". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
  5. Rugoff, Lazlo. 2020. https://www.popmatters.com/the-hallelujah-chicken-run-band-take-one-2495682970.html
  6. "Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - Take One Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". allmusic.com. AllMusic.