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Nontsomi Mildred Mangxola (born 9 January 1944) is a South African mbaqanga singer, and a singer in the acclaimed group the Mahotella Queens. Mangxola was born in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa, and loved singing from a young age. She was also a part of local girl group The Daveyton Queens. [1]
Rupert Bopape, a talent scout with Gallo Record Company, recruited Mangxola into a new female group, the Mahotella Queens [1] alongside fellow group members Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu, Juliet Mazamisa and Ethel Mngomezulu after seeing her perform with the Daveytons. The five Mahotella Queens were then paired with a mbaqanga instrumental team, the Makgona Tsohle Band and the gruff, "groaning" vocals of Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde, and the whole band received instant fame.
The South African music scene includes both popular (jive) and folk forms like Zulu isicathamiya singing and harmonic mbaqanga. South Africa has a global music industry.
Mbaqanga is a style of South African music with rural Zulu roots that continues to influence musicians worldwide today. The style originated in the early 1960s.
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.
Below the Waste is Art of Noise's fourth full-length original album and their last album for China Records before Anne Dudley re-formed the group with ZTT's Trevor Horn and Paul Morley for 1999's The Seduction of Claude Debussy.
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.
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 Township Idols is a 2003 compilation album by the South African singing group Mahotella Queens. The group started recording for Gallo Record Company in 1964, initially under different group names in addition to the "Mahotella Queens" name. Although they are prolific recording artists, the songs collected on this album are mainly from the 1990s, licensed from the US-based Shanachie Records.
Hilda Semola Tloubatla is a South African mbaqanga singer, and the lead singer of the acclaimed group the Mahotella Queens. Tloubatla was born in Payneville, South Africa before moving to kwaThema township in 1951 as a result of the apartheid government's 'Group Areas Act' in the country.
Nobesuthu Gertrude Mbadu Shawe was a South African mbaqanga singer, and a singer in the acclaimed group the Mahotella Queens.
Thokozile is a 1986 hit by the South African mbaqanga group Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The album was a reunion of Mahlathini with the backing Makgona Tsohle Band and three of the original Queens, Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola. The album featured re-recordings of older songs such as "Umculo Kawupheli" and "Sithunyiwe". The album propelled the group into immediate international stardom when it was issued internationally on the Earthworks label.
Paris – Soweto is a 1987 album by the South African mbaqanga group Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The album was recorded just after the group reunited in 1986, and was one of the first albums to be recorded specifically for the international audience. The album was recorded in Paris and released internationally on the Celluloid label, and under the group's long-standing Gallo label in South Africa. The first single, "Kazet" became one of the group's signature tunes.
Reign & Shine is a 2005 album by the South African mbaqanga group the Mahotella Queens. The album was a break from their usual mgqashiyo music, focusing on three-part vocal harmonies and percussion, with electric guitar and bass only appearing on some tracks. The album featured new compositions such as "Amazemula" ("Monster") and "Ndodana Yolahleko" as well as old favourites like "Town Hall" and "Amabhongo" in addition to the South African national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika".
Kazet is a 2006 album by the South African mbaqanga group the Mahotella Queens. The album was a compilation of recordings that had recently been recorded in South Africa and in Paris, and included the South African national anthem "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" in addition to new compositions such as "Amazemula" ("Monster"), "Nomshloshazana" and "Ubusuku Nemini" and classics like "Kazet".
Siyadumisa is a 2007 album by the South African mbaqanga group the Mahotella Queens. The album is the first gospel-orientated album by the Queens, and features the voice of lead singer Hilda Tloubatla's son, Alfred "Ali" Temo. The album was released in May 2007 in South Africa on the Bula Music label, and was a joint venture between Bula and AS Entertainment. It is as yet unknown when the album will receive its US and UK release.
The Dark City Sisters were a South African female vocal group formed in 1958 by music producer Rupert Bopape. They recorded several hit records during the 1960s, helping usher in the mbaqanga style of South African music later brought to global prominence by the Mahotella Queens.
Matodzi Irene Mawela is a South African singer and composer who has been active since the late 1950s. She is known primarily for her contributions to mbaqanga music and songs made in the Tshivenda language, and has contributed to an estimated 1,000 studio recordings and radio transcriptions.
Mbaqanga is an album by the South African musical group Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, released in 1991 and in the US in 1992. The group supported the album with a North American tour.
