| You Told Your Mama Not to Worry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 November 1977 | |||
| Studio | Ambassador Records (Kumasi, Ghana) | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Casablanca NBLP-7079 | |||
| Producer | Hugh Masekela, Stanley Todd | |||
| Hugh Masekela chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |   [1] |
You Told Your Mama Not to Worry is the twentieth studio album by South African musician Hugh Masekela. [2] It was recorded in Kumasi, Ghana, and released on 9 November 1977 via Casablanca Records label. [3] [4]
The album includes the song "Soweto Blues" performed by Miriam Makeba. The song is about the Soweto uprising against apartheid that occurred in 1976. The songs "You Told Your Mama Not to Worry" and "Mami Wata" were re-released on CD in 1998 on Verve Records as additional part of his previous album The Boy's Doin' It .
A reviewer for Dusty Groove wrote: "Pure 70s genius from Hugh Masekela – a record that's quite different than his earlier Afro-soul styled albums, but somehow even better! The format here is much more straightly soulful – with larger arrangements and a strong vocal groove on a number of tracks – but Masekela's trumpet is still blasting firmly over the top of the tunes, infusing them with a soaring sense of soul that's really great! Rhythms change up nicely from the early days – getting complicated at times, and matching the seriousness of the message on the best tracks – and titles include 'Black Beauty', 'Makonko', 'You Told Your Mama Not To Worry', 'Hangover', 'Soweto Blues', and 'The Mandingo Man'." [5]
A reviewer for Napster wrote: "Hugh Masekela's 1975 crossover album incorporated American pop and proto-Disco[sic] into his sound. You can also hear Funk influencing the angular, stuttering grooves and the heavily effected horns on the tracks. An excellent document of the ongoing cultural exchange between African and American popular music at the time, it's fun, danceable music as well." [6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Told Your Mama Not to Worry" | Hugh Masekela, Letta Mbulu | 7:18 |
| 2. | "Hangover" (Babalazi, aka "I Haven't Slept") | Hugh Masekela, Letta Mbulu, Stanley Todd | 5:20 |
| 3. | "Soweto Blues" | Hugh Masekela, Stanley Todd | 5:48 |
| 4. | "Black Beauty" | Stanley Todd | 6:17 |
| 5. | "Mami Wata" (aka Mamiwater) | Hugh Masekela, Stanley Todd | 3:36 |
| 6. | "Makonko" | adapted by Hugh Masekela | 4:37 |
| 7. | "The Mandingo Man" | Hugh Masekela | 5:42 |
 |
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".
Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.
Heads Up International is a jazz record label that was formed in Cleveland, Ohio. It was bought by the Concord Music Group in 2005.
Welela is an album by the South African musician Miriam Makeba, released in 1989. It was produced primarily by Sipho Mabuse.
"Soweto Blues" is a protest song written by Hugh Masekela and performed by Miriam Makeba. The song is about the Soweto uprising that occurred in 1976, following the decision by the apartheid government of South Africa to make Afrikaans a medium of instruction at school. The uprising was forcefully put down by the police, leading to the death of between 176 and 700 people. The song was released in 1977 as part of Masekela's album You Told Your Mama Not to Worry. The song became a staple at Makeba's live concerts, and is considered a notable example of music in the movement against apartheid.
Trumpet Africaine: The New Beat from South Africa is the debut studio record (LP) by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and released in August 1962 via Mercury Records. The album was released whilst Masekela was still in school.
Grrr is the second studio album by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and released in 1966 via Mercury Records. Grrr was re-released on LP in 1968 on Wing/Mercury labels as Hugh Masekela and on CD in 2003 on Verve label. On this record, he seamlessly fuses jazz ideas with the rhythmically complex South African music known as Mbaqanga.
The Americanization of Ooga Booga is a live album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. MGM released the record in June 1966.
The Lasting Impression of Hugh Masekela is a 1968 live album by South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela.
The Promise of a Future is the eighth studio album by South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela released via Uni Records label. It was recorded in March 1968 in Los Angeles, California. The album was re-released on CD in 1993 on One Way label. The Promise of a Future features Masekela's version of a famous instrumental composition "Grazing in the Grass".
Hugh Masekela & The Union of South Africa is the thirteenth studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, released via the Chisa Records label in May 1971. The album was re-released on CD in 1994 on the MoJazz label.
Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz is the fifteenth studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria, and released in 1973. The track "Languta" was later included in Masekela's 2004 album Still Grazing.
I Am Not Afraid is the sixteenth studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Los Angeles, California, and released in 1974. Tracks 2 and 7 were also included in Masekela's 2004 album Still Grazing.
The Boy's Doin' It is the seventeenth studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and in Lagos, Nigeria, and released in June 1975 via Casablanca Records label. The album was re-released on CD in 1998 on Verve Records, with six additional tracks.
Colonial Man is the eighteenth studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York and Chicago and released on LP and eight-track cassette on 30 January 1976 via the Casablanca Records label. The album's title song "Colonial Man", "Vasco Da Gama" and "Cecil Rhodes" express African anti-colonial sentiments. At the time of its release, it was referred to variously by reviewers as a concept album and a protest album.
Melody Maker is the nineteenth studio album by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia, and released in 1976 via Casablanca Records label. Songs "Toejam" and "Hi-Life" were re-released on CD in 1998 on Verve Records as part of The Boy's Doin' It album.
The apartheid regime in South Africa began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. It involved a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and placed all political power in the hands of a white minority. Opposition to apartheid manifested in a variety of ways, including boycotts, non-violent protests, and armed resistance. Music played a large role in the movement against apartheid within South Africa, as well as in international opposition to apartheid. The impacts of songs opposing apartheid included raising awareness, generating support for the movement against apartheid, building unity within this movement, and "presenting an alternative vision of culture in a future democratic South Africa."
Tomorrow is a 1987 studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela.
Sixty is a 2000 studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa, and released via the Shanachie label.
Reflections is the 2004 final studio album of Miriam Makeba. It won three prizes at the South African Music Awards in 2004.
