Graceland is the seventh solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was produced by Simon, engineered by Roy Halee and released on August 25, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is 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 multiple awards, including five Grammy Awards, dedicating their fifth Grammy to the late former President Nelson Mandela.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss.
Dr. Bhekizizwe Joseph Shabalala was a South African singer and musician who was the founder and musical director of the choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The Mahotella Queens is a South African female band formed in 1964 by music producer Rupert Bopape, consisting of Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu, and Amanda Nkosi. The group is noted for their distinct vocal harmony sound, guitar-led mbaqanga music, and fast stage dancing.
Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde was a South African mbaqanga singer. Known as the "Lion of Soweto", Nkabinde is the acknowledged exponent of the deep-voiced, basso profundo "groaning" style that came to symbolize mbaqanga music in the 1960s. Nkabinde was also a very active live performer in South Africa, recording and performing with the Mahotella Queens and the backing Makgona Tsohle Band from 1964 to 1971, and then again from 1983 to 1999. The Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens act was propelled into international stardom in the wake of Paul Simon's 1986 Graceland album.
Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens were a South African mbaqanga supergroup made up of the three musical acts linked together by talent scout and record producer Rupert Bopape at the Gallo Recording Company in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1964. The group composed of the following three distinct parts:
The Makgona Tsohle Band was a South African instrumental band that is noted for creating the mbaqanga music style. Mbaqanga is an acculturated popular South African music that emerged in the 19th century. Mbaqanga is also referred to as township jive. The group was formed in 1964 at Mavuthela, and became the Mavuthela house band. It garnered success by backing fellow Mavuthela-Gallo stars, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. It is often referred to as the South African equivalent to Motown's The Funk Brothers.
Amabutho is the first album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released in 1973 by Gallo Record Company. Amabutho was the first record by black musicians in the country to receive gold disc certification. It contains the hit single "Nomathemba". The LP was reissued on Gallo along with most of the group's early output, in February 2007. The members who sang on the Amabutho album were Milton Mazibuko, Ngali Mazibuko, Joseph Shabalala, Headman Shabalala, Enoch Shabalala, Albert Mazibuko and Walter Malinga
Gallo Record Company is the largest 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 labels, rivals between the 1940s and 1980s: the original Gallo Africa (1926–85) and G.R.C.. In 1985 Gallo Africa acquired G.R.C.; as a result, Gallo Africa became known as Gallo-GRC. Five years after the acquisition, the company was renamed Gallo Record Company.
The Very Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain is a 2-disc compilation album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released in the United Kingdom in November 2004, to coincide with the group's tour of the UK that month.
Nellie Shabalala was the wife of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (LBM) leader and founder, Joseph Shabalala, for over thirty years. She had formed her own allied group, Women of Mambazo, in the 1970s. The group were beginning to create a name for themselves after touring with LBM in the United Kingdom in 2001, but disbanded after Nellie Shabalala was shot and killed by a masked gunman, initially for unknown reasons, in May 2002.
Ilembe is a 2007 album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released on 26 February 2007 and did not feature collaborations, and was simply "Ladysmith Black Mambazo at its best", as the Gallo press release for the anticipated release put it. It was re-released in 2008 with the title Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu.
Ulwandle Oluncgwele is an album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, released in 1985. It was rereleased by Shanachie Records in 1985.
Shaka Zulu is a 1987 album by South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
West Nkosi was a South African music producer, saxophonist and songwriter.
My Dream – African Sounds is a 2008 release by the South African groups Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the SABC Choir. It was released on 30 September 2008. The album is a collaboration of both isicathamiya and choral music.
"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the fourth single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. The song features guest vocals from the South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Always With Us is a 2014 album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album, released on 15 January 2014, is a tribute to the life of the group's matriarch Nellie Shabalala (1953-2002), the late wife of Mambazo leader Joseph Shabalala. It is also only the second album in the group's 50-year career to feature female Zulu vocalists singing alongside the male members.
"Lift Me Up" is a song by French DJ and producer David Guetta from his sixth studio album Listen. It features vocals in English from Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz, and South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing in Zulu on the bridge, and also provide additional vocals before the drop. It is the only track on the album to feature a language other than English. The song is inspirational, which features lyrics of the protagonist trying to tell his lover to help him make the world a better place. It has charted in France.
