Disco Jive Special - Vol. 1

It made sense that black South Africa would seek guidance from black America with regards to style and fashion. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, local artists began to imitate the musical sounds produced by African-American artists of the day – and it wasn’t long before the country had its own vibrant African soul scene. In the late 1970s, the popular township sound of mbaqanga began to fall out of favour with audiences that demanded a more westernised music. Soul and disco started to fuse with jive to create a unique, original new sound that absolutely drew upon what came before while looking to the future. The usual mbaqanga elements were retained, but with less focus on lead guitar and more attention on the florid organ/keyboard sound that eventually became a core element of the music scene. Today, Electric Jive turns its focus towards that remarkable era where several musical genres paused at a crossroads and converged in one direction – the road to modernity. Disco Jive Special – Vol. 1 comprises 20 smashing hits originally released between 1976 and 1982.

Solo star Olga Mvicane’s “Sanibonani Nonke Zihlobo” opens our compilation with a beautiful bang. Olga, born in 1944, started singing in school choirs and eventually went on to compete in local competitions that saw her bringing home armfuls of trophies. Hoping to make a career out of her talent, Olga moved from her birthplace of Transkei to Johannesburg in the mid-1970s. In 1978, she secured a regular gig at the Pelican Club as a backing vocalist for the legendary Dick Khoza. Khoza, blown away by Olga’s stunning voice, wrote a letter to Gallo producer Marks Mankwane requesting him to audition her. Mankwane wasted no time in signing her to Gallo’s Mavuthela division. For the next few years, Olga was a huge star. She recorded a series of hugely successful 45 rpms, released three hit LPs and performed to capacity audiences across South Africa. But while she received all of the fame, she received none of the money, and her career eventually dissolved when she quit to find a job that paid. Olga later made her name as an actress, starring in a variety of Xhosa-language television dramas of the 1980s and 1990s and several television commercials.

OLGA MVICANE and THE BEGGERS in a Gallo rehearsal room, early 1980s

BLACK DUKE, circa 1982

Duke Ndlovu, alias Black Duke – not to be confused with the 1950s kwela artist who recorded for Troubadour and Trutone – hit the music scene in the mid-1970s, recording a few Percy Sledge-style 45s under the pseudonym The Herbalist. By the early 1980s disco jive era, Ndlovu had cultivated a new identity as Black Duke. Under the production of bassist Joseph Makwela, Black Duke recorded a string of fantastically badass and downright funky singles (issued either under the names Duke Ndlovu, Black Duke, Black Duke & The Counters, etc). His two numbers in this compilation, “Bushi” and “Mmantwa”, present the best of Duke’s treacle-thick tar vocals with excellent synth, organ and guitar accompaniment.

The growth of disco jive called for new stars. Marks Mankwane recruited a new team of instrumental players, The Beggers, and a number of excellent male vocalists to front the band on a selection of recordings, some of whom included Walter Dlamini, Jacob Khoza, Willie Motala and Paul Hlatshwayo. These fantastic singers not only created magical solo recordings of their own (track 3, "Nomkhosi", spotlights Willie's voice), they also provided lead vocals on some recordings made by the Mahotella Queens, the mbaqanga girl group that managed to retain its stardom by quickly adapting to the newer soul/disco-infused jive. “Otlankesa Kae Kesegole Sahao” is a beautiful soulful Mahotella tune with lyrics and melody written by mbaqanga session legend Irene Mawela (though the credit ultimately gave equal billing to Irene and her then-husband, Mavuthela boss Rupert Bopape, despite him not contributing to this particular song).

“Kemolahlela”, an easygoing and laidback number recorded by the Queens in the same session as “Otlankesa Kae Kesegole Sahao”, is one of my all-time favourite songs by the group. The lyrics are excellent, the vocal arrangements are raw and fantastic and the jangly guitar-led backup (complete with sax solo) is perfect. The Queens in this recording are Caroline Kapentar (lead vocal), Irene Mawela, Beatrice Ngcobo, Nomsa Njakazi, Thandi Nkosi, Thandi Radebe and Emily Zwane. A real gem of a song! Irene's beautiful voice returns later in this compilation to lead “Nqonqo”, an upbeat Xhosa disco jive vocal credited to Irene and The Sweet Melodians. Those sweet melodians include Thandi Radebe, then a member of the Mahotella Queens, who offers a brief solo towards the end of the song.

The golden voice of golden boy Ernest Shelembe hit the airwaves in the late 1970s in recordings by a shortlived lineup called The Heroes, produced by Hamilton Nzimande for GRC’s Isibaya Music division. In about 1980 he moved over to Mavuthela and was immediately taken under the wings of top producer West Nkosi. For about two years he contributed his gliding falsetto vocal to dozens of recordings that were issued mostly as Ernest & The Leaves, or simply The Leaves. Shelembe later soared to national prominence with his 1990s kwaito-inspired album Zamalek’, named in reference to Carling Black Label beer. In 1981’s “Wakhetha Iphela Emasini”, Shelembe’s golden voice is spotlighted against crystal clear guitar and wonderful synth as performed by Mandla Mtalana.

Jacob ‘Mpharanyana’ Radebe was without question the finest soul singer South Africa has ever produced. His distinctively smooth vocal – peppered with the odd cough that became the trademark gimmick separating him from the others – was tragically silenced with his untimely death in 1979. A couple of years before his death, Mpharanyana had parted ways with The Cannibals and joined The Peddlers, with whom he jumped both feet first into the disco jive era. They also sometimes made a few recordings under alternate pseudonyms. “Johnny Boy”, a fine love ballad credited to The Butterflies, is unmistakably Mpharanyana, together with Sandra Senne on backing vocals.

And when Mpharanyana was on his way out, Walter Dlamini was on his way in. Dlamini hit the big time in 1978 when he met producer Marks Mankwane. Before long, the group known as Walter & The Beggers was ruling the local disco jive scene with their gorgeously lovey-dovey songs. “You Don’t Love Me” is actually credited to another of those alternate aliases, the rather unimaginative ‘Soul Members’, but it’s still top class Walter & The Beggers. The man-who-knew-he-was-a-star fires on all cylinders in his big 1979 hit “Mr. Postman”, with startling synth effects, fervent bass and the usual English rap about Walter’s love for his sweetheart. The popular Walter & The Beggers operation came to an abrupt end when Walter left Mankwane's unit for West Nkosi's. He re-emerged in the early 1990s as 'Walter D' but quickly faded back into obscurity. Before Walter's life story could be documented from the horse's mouth, the dynamic singer passed away after a short illness in November 2012.

It might be surprising to learn that even traditional music was given the disco treatment in the late 1970s. Alpheus Ramavhea was one of several Venda-traditional artists who arrived in Johannesburg in the 1970s hoping to break into the music industry. Irene Mawela, the very first Venda singer to record mbaqanga songs in that language, offered advice, guidance and a backing voice for Ramavhea, Eric Mokhese and the other Venda artists who won recording contracts with Mavuthela. Ramavhea’s 1979 hit “Mashonelo” begins with some rather atypical acoustic fingerpicking that is quickly joined by electric guitar, electric bass, pop drums and florid organ. Ramavhea’s enjoyably blasé voice breaks into a Mahlathini-style groan once complemented by Irene’s sweet backing.

And speaking of Mahlathini – yes, even the great groaner found himself standing awkwardly at the crossroads when mbaqanga finally fell out of favour. Supported by friend Selby ‘Bra Sello’ Mmutung as his producer (and backing vocalist), Mahlathini recorded a series of admittedly unremarkable disco jive recordings for EMI’s CCP division between 1979 and 1981. “Wosala Kahle” features raw male mbaqanga vocals backed by a modern disco jive beat. It's pleasant enough to my ear, but clearly this combination was too jarring or passé for audiences as these efforts sold relatively poorly. Mahlathini soon found himself without a permanent recording contract and it wasn't until 1987 that he began to enjoy some more substantial popularity again – this time from an overseas crowd.

Sax jive was one of the most popular dance sounds of the 1960s and 1970s. Although the original sound was eventually supplanted by music with a heavier western influence, the same basic formula of sax, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards remained in use well into the 1980s. Alto sax legend Teaspoon Ndelu recorded a number of albums in the early 1980s backed by Gallo session teams including The Peddlers and The Beggers. 1981’s “Disco Funk”, from the LP Ke Kopa Madulo, is simply supreme, combining Teaspoon’s famous sax phrases with trumpet, pounding bass, crisp drums, electric keyboard and sharp guitar to create a moody, psych-like musical environment.

Abaduduzi seems to be one of the dozens of groups that sprung up in the late 1970s and early 1980s hoping to follow in the footsteps of the hugely popular Soul Brothers. But Abaduduzi seems to have enjoyed some substantial popularity if judging from the amount of material they recorded in the 1980s. And 1982’s “Mus’ Ukuyishaya Thembisile”, produced by Marks Mankwane for the Hit Special label, isn’t bad at all – a little more on the jive side than disco, but still a pleasing tune with fairly nice vocal performances (a duo consisting of Sipho Mkhize and, if not Ernest Shelembe himself, then a damn good soundalike), watery organ, soulful guitar and that fresh early '80s percussive beat.

Well, that’s all for now – time to download, grab that old disco ball and get your groove on! Can I get a ‘yebo’?!

DISCO JIVE SPECIAL – VOL. 1
COMPILED BY NICK LOTAY

01) OLGA MVICANE – SANIBONANI NONKE ZIHLOBO (1980)
02) BLACK DUKE – BUSHI (1982)
03) THE BEGGERS – NOMKHOSI (1978)
04) MAHOTELLA QUEENS – OTLANKESA KAE KESEGOLE SAHAO (1978)
05) THE BIG SIX – KITLA KGULELE JOANG (1976)
06) THE LEAVES – WAKHETHA IPHELA EMASINI (1981)
07) THE BUTTERFLIES – JOHNNY BOY (1978)
08) CONNECTIONS – S’THANDWA NGISHADE (1981)
09) SOUL MEMBERS – YOU DON’T LOVE ME (1979)
10) MAHOTELLA QUEENS – KEMOLAHLELA (1978)
11) IRENE AND THE SWEET MELODIANS – NQONQO (1978)
12) ALPHEUS RAMAVHEA – MASHONELO (1979)
13) INDODA MAHLATHINI NA MADODANA – WOSALA KAHLE (1980)
14) WALTER & THE BEGGERS – MR. POSTMAN (1979)
15) TEASPOON NDELU – DISCO FUNK (1981)
16) STEVE KEKANA – PONKO (1982)
17) ERNEST & THE LEAVES – MAKHELWANE AWUNGITSHELE (1981)
18) MAHOTELLA QUEENS – BOTEBONG BAPELO EAKA (1978)
19) ABADUDUZI – MUS’ UKUYISHAYA THEMBISILE (1982)
20) BLACK DUKE – MMANTWA (O SILE MOTSE WA HAE) (1982)

Download link: MF