A Mavuthela Christmas - Part Two

ABOVE - AN EXCERPT OF AN LP COVER FEATURING A CARICATURE OF MAVUTHELA'S POPULAR MAHOTELLA QUEENS IN 1972.

LEFT TO RIGHT: EMILY ZWANE, HILDA TLOUBATLA, OLIVE MASINGA, THANDI RADEBE AND THANDI KHESWA

At last… the concluding part of A Mavuthela Christmas is offered to Electric Jive readers all across the globe. In this mix of festive mbaqanga treats, we take a look at the astonishing talents of the male and female vocal groups that graced the Gallo studios during the Mavuthela era.

Sumptuous guitar work and traditional male vocals grace the tune of “Manyane Jive Part One”, a 1976 recording by the studio band Pops and Sons. The tune was written by the then-husband and wife team of Rupert Bopape and Irene Mawela, although the accomplished vocalist Mawela does not appear in this song. She does, however, lend her beautiful vocals to The Zebras’ “Selemo Sekene”, perhaps one of her most marvellous songs. The Zebras was another studio band that twisted the then-popular arrangement of female singers fronted by one male around on its head – in a unique and somewhat ironic throwback to the style that the female-led mbaqanga had replaced, The Zebras featured a selection of Mavuthela male singers who were fronted by one female (Irene). Sometimes, though, they managed to creep into the studio without Irene to record some fine classics, such as “Retsoa Daveyton”.

The mid-1970s gear shift towards male mbaqanga was not unusual – the female-led mbaqanga had dominated the country since at least the late 1950s, when the formula was arguably set by Miriam Makeba and The Skylarks. Rupert Bopape, who was then at EMI, sought to replicate that formula en masse for two reasons. Number one, The Skylarks sounded great; and number two, it might be more fun to turn the then-popular combination of four or five men with a single female lead right round on its head. Under his keen producing eye, some of the most popular groups were built up. Having had successes with the Dark City Sisters and the Killingstone Stars, his move to Gallo in 1964 saw him build up even bigger successes with the Mahotella Queens, the Mthunzini Girls and Izintombi Zomoya. But by 1974, the only successful female mbaqanga groups were the aforementioned bands and others that had been in existence for some years by then. Almost all the new female groups of the mid-1970s found little success. The biggest mbaqanga group of that decade was, unsurprisingly, a completely male line-up (perhaps the male equivalent of the Mahotella Queens) called Abafana Baseqhudeni. Abafana was not just comprised of male singers who blended well – all five of them were groaners who had built up their careers singing with female groups. Robert ‘Umfana Wembazo’ Mkhize was the leader of the group, and continued to make his own solo recordings while heading up Abafana. The group was extremely popular and productive until the rise of the disco-soul sound in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Experiments with a male-led mbaqanga happened as early on as the 1960s. The Black Mambazo (not related to the wonderful isicathamiya group from Ladysmith) combined their pennywhistle skills with their guttural moans and wails to create interesting material, and it became one of South Africa's most popular bands until tastes changed as the decade wore on, and their popularity faded. When Bopape moved to Gallo and ended up with several female units under his belt, he combined all the groaners of the lower-tier groups to create a male equivalent to Izintombi Zomoya – it was called, aptly, Izinsizwa Zomoya. Unfortunately, the group did not last long. It was not until Abafana came along in 1974 that the male-led mbaqanga really took the country by storm.

One of Mavuthela's most popular female groups (underneath the top-selling senior group, the Mahotella Queens) was the Mthunzini Girls. Originally a quartet consisting of Julia Yende (lead vocals), Windy Sibeko, Teddy Nkutha and Virginia Teffo, the group soared to the top with memorable hits like "Ngikhala Ngiya Baleka", "Gijima Mfana", "Sobonana Emafini" and other greats. John Moriri became the group's regular male vocalist in 1967. With John on lead vocals, they developed an even bigger stage presence with the likes of "Dikuku", "Tsabohadi", "Sedikwedikwe" and more. Around 1970 the line-up disintegrated, but the group was kept together by John. He recruited Beatrice Ngcobo to the group as the new lead singer alongside members Phyllis Zwane, Thandi Nkosi, Maseri Nombembe, Barbara Shabalala and others. Under this line-up, more effervescent jive hits were recorded - one of them, "Majazana", is included in this mix for your enjoyment.

In 1972, John Moriri left Mavuthela following Rupert Bopape's refusal to reimburse the group for a local tour. He went to Satbel Records and was joined by the members of the Mthunzini Girls, and they formed a new group which released phenomenally high-selling hits under the name John Moriri and Manzini Girls. Back at Mavuthela, singer Julia Yende returned to the studios, and - as the Mthunzini Girls were now recording under another name for another company - joined Izintombi Zomoya as their new lead vocalist. She leads the great and soulful 1975 tune "Phuma Makoti".

The signature female mbaqanga group, the Mahotella Queens, also makes its appearance on this compilation. Their trademark vocal sound is put to effective use in the song “Wamuhle Makoti”, a song written by regular Queens vocalist Olive Masinga about the beauty of a young bride-to-be. It is a wonderful arrangement, with a rather large-sounding assortment of the usual vocalists (Rupert Bopape would often squeeze as many as seven or eight vocalists into the studio for Mahotella Queens recordings!) as well as the male backing vocals of Robert Mkhize and Elphas Ray Mkize. The Queens also feature here twice more. The ladies (under a slightly different combination of singers) sing the 1970 song “Morabaraba”, with its feisty mgqashiyo “no-nonsense” arrangement. There is also a tune here by Emily Zwane and The Sweet Sounds from 1974 – a pseudonym which is actually the Mahotella Queens fronted by lead singer Hilda Tloubatla, singing the song “Izinto Zimanukwenzeka” written by member Constance Ngema. Emily, who sings here only as part of the group itself, actually did go onto become the lead singer of the Queens when Hilda left the band in 1976. Emily fronted the group until it was reorganised in 1987 for the international breakthrough, at which point Hilda and two of the other original Queens were reunited.

…and that, EJ readers, is all from me for now. It’s been a huge pleasure to regularly serve you with long forgotten rare and exciting gems, and to give people a real insight into who these musicians were and why their stories are still relevant and important today. Whatever the future holds for the blog, I’m glad to have combined in-depth context with some of the most beautiful and important music ever recorded – and I sincerely hope that all of you have appreciated and enjoyed it as much as I have. There are more exceptional treats to come over the next couple of weeks, so please do stay tuned to Electric Jive.

Merry Christmas!

A MAVUTHELA CHRISTMAS – PART TWO

COMPILED BY NICK LOTAY

VOLUME 5.2

1. Manyane Jive Part One

Pops and Sons

MJW Records MJW 114

1976

2. Selemo Sekene

The Zebras

MJW Records MJW 104

1976

3. Khiphan’ Izinkomo

Umfana Wembazo

Motella MO 574

1974

4. Wamuhle Makoti

Mahotella Queens

Gumba Gumba MGG 604

1973

5. Umgqashiyo Wendlele

Izinsizwa Zomoya

Motella LMO 108

1968

FROM THE LP “SILANDELA UMGQASHIYO” (1968)

6. Mama Kutheni

Izintombi Zomoya

Smanje Manje SJM 17

1968

7. Retsoa Daveyton

The Zebras

MJW Records MJW 102

1976

8. Izinto Zimanukwenzeka

Emily Zwane and The Sweet Sounds

Gumba Gumba MGG 625

1974

9. Sina Ngoanaka

Markhams and Sisters

Gallo-USA 306

1965

10. Ubugcwelegcwele - live performance

Abafana Baseqhudeni

1978

FROM THE LP “RHYTHM OF RESISTANCE” (1979)

11. Morabaraba

Mahotella Queens

Gumba Gumba MGG 555

1970

12. Sadlula Thina

Abafana Baseqhudeni

Gumba Gumba RL 315

1975

FROM THE LP “EZIPHOLILE ZAMAGAGU” (1980)

13. Majazana

Mthunzini Girls

Motella MO 372

1972

14. Kumnyama Khanyisani

Abafana Baseqhudeni

Gumba Gumba RL 315

1976

FROM THE LP “EZIPHOLILE ZAMAGAGU” (1980)

15. Phuma Makoti

Izintombi Zomoya

Gumba Gumba RL 315

1975

FROM THE LP “EZIPHOLILE ZAMAGAGU” (1980)

RS / MF