Mahotella Queens - Ezesimanje (1982)

For today’s post, an early 1980s album from female mbaqanga mavens the Mahotella Queens - Ezesimanje, released in 1982 on the Hit Special label and produced by guitarist Marks Mankwane.

Naturally the staples of 1980s mbaqanga are all there – the lone lead guitar, bass, lively organ and disco drums – but unlike most of the other African pop acts of the day, this one does not follow the restrained Soul Brothers beat and instead feels much more vigorous and buoyant. Whether the presence of female singers has anything to do with it isn’t quite clear, and to be fair to the great Soul Brothers, they were always much more enthralling and exciting live on stage than on LP. (That didn’t stop them outselling the Queens and every other mbaqanga act in the 1980s though!)

The lead vocals on Ezesimanje are handled by Emily Zwane, who was the de facto leader of the group during the somewhat circuitous late 1970s – mid 1980s period, until producer Marks Mankwane dissolved the line-up and brought back three of the more famous singers who had seen the Queens through its supreme glory days of the mid 1960s through the early 1970s. (The line-up on this album, referred to by industry figures as ‘Mahotella B’, actually continued to perform together long after Mankwane terminated their services in the wake of the international breakthrough of South African music. Mankwane busied himself with the reconstituted Mahotella Queens, Mahlathini and the Makgona Tsohle Band, while the Mahotella B line-up continued to perform under that moniker for audiences at home for some years thereafter, creating some confusion among punters about which act was actually the legitimate one.)

The opening tune, “Amanga Neqiniso”, advises people to be truthful in order to gain the love of others, rather than lie and court misery. The lyrics may be tame but the vocal harmonies are sweet and pleasant, as is the Mahotella way. “Ngothini Na?” is a lovely soothing gospel ballad featuring a solo sax and spiritual vocals. The fifth track “Bongani Mntanami” chides a youngster for going out late and disrespecting his granny – a perpetually relevant topic. The last track isn’t musically outstanding but still one of my favourites: “Isono Sami” is a poignant number about a woman who says she has sinned by remaining in Johannesburg without having returned home to see her loved ones. With each passing year she has remained in Joburg despite their pleas for her to come back to see them. ‘What will I say when I go back?’ she says.

Marks Mankwane, in addition to producing the album, plays lead guitar here alongside Mzwandile David on bass. The keyboardist is Thamie Xongwana, Mike Stoffel plays the drums, while Mike Nyembe provides a secondary guitar on one or two of the numbers.

Queens (from left to right on album cover): Beatrice Ngcobo, Maggie Khumalo, Emily Zwane (lead vocals), Hazel Zwane, Caroline Kapentar.

Enjoy!

MAHOTELLA QUEENS

EZESIMANJE

produced by Marks Mankwane

engineered by Keith Forsyth and David Segal

Hit Special IAL 3034

1982

Zulu Vocal

MF

Alpheus Ramavhea - Ndo Shavha Tshikolo (1982)

Alpheus Ramavhea ranks alongside Eric Mukhese and the Takalani Band, Irene Mawela, Daniel Luambo, Colbert Mukwevho and Adziambei Band as one of the most influential Venda artists of all time. Today we share Ramavhea's 1982 album, Ndo Shavha Tshikolo, released on the Igagasi label and produced by Mavuthela guitarist Marks Mankwane.

By the late 1970s, Irene Mawela had become highly revered by Venda listeners and artists alike as the first artist to record mbaqanga songs in her mother tongue. (Record companies generally discouraged artists from recording songs in 'unsellable' languages, so the bulk of Irene's compositions were written in Zulu and Sotho for Gallo to release on 45rpm singles. Irene would then translate most of these into Venda for airplay on the then-Radio Venda, a unique move making her the first 'pop star' of the station when all other music broadcast was labelled 'traditional'.) Alpheus Ramavhea signed a recording contract with Gallo/Mavuthela in about 1979 and was immediately joined by Irene in the studio, who provided backing vocals and offered suggestions on how to make his sound more distinctive over potential competitors.

With the help of both Irene and guitarist and producer Marks Mankwane, Ramavhea's laidback vocals, groaning moans and acoustic picking were infused with the trademark mbaqanga sound. Ndo Shavha Tshikolo is Alpheus Ramavhea at his best, featuring twelve foot-stomping tracks. The vocal patterns here are just excellent and the backup is crisp. Particular highlights include "Vhuhadzi" (that is Irene doing the solo halfway through the song), "Muhadzinga", "Tshililo" and "Lufuno". Simply great music!

Enjoy!

ALPHEUS RAMAVHEA
NDO SHAVHA TSHIKOLO
produced by Marks Mankwane
engineered by Keith Forsyth
Igagasi IAL 3029
1982
Venda Vocal

MF

Mahotella Queens - Tsamaya Moratuoa (1980)

We turn our focus now to some sunny early 1980s female mbaqanga. Tsamaya Moratuoa, featuring 12 Sotho songs originally released on singles in late 1979, is a 1980 release from the always wonderful Mahotella Queens. Although soul and disco music had already started to take the focus away from mbaqanga, the Queens continued to enjoy some substantial popularity thanks to strong compositions, superb vocals – and a revitalised instrumental backing: the second guitar was replaced by an organ, and the old sidestick snare was more or less exchanged for full disco-style drums.

So much of the Queens’ music of this era developed from real-life situations. The title song of this particular LP is nothing short of a masterpiece. Emily Zwane, vocalist for the Queens since 1971 and the group’s main lead singer between 1978 and 1987, wrote “Tsamaya Moratuoa” after her marriage to taxi driver Moses Mathibe collapsed. The two had got wed and moved in together in Daveyton, Johannesburg, but Emily’s job required her to tour South Africa (and surrounding countries) for up to six months of the year. After returning home from a Queens tour, Emily was shocked to discover Moses – and his belongings – absent from their marital home.

Emily later discovered that the man she loved had been legally declaring himself as unmarried for the entirety of their relationship. (For reasons known only to him, Moses continued to boast about once being with the famous Mahotella Queen for decades afterwards.) Emily, an archetypal strong woman who – for all her warmth and good nature – was never one to share her emotions, took the obviously therapeutic step of singing out her sorrow: “Go with peace, my love… you left me alone and miserable, putting your happiness before mine… I hope that wherever you go, they treat you with the same care and love I gave you… don’t cry, my love, because I’m not in tears myself… it’s true what the elders say… ‘Every difficult situation eventually comes to an end.’”

“Tsamaya Moratuoa” was a huge hit song for the Queens. Marks Mankwane arranged for the ladies to do alternate versions of the song in Zulu (“Hamba Sithandwa”) and in Tswana (“Tsamaya Moratiwa”), which won Emily the award of ‘Top Composer on Disc’ from Radio Tswana in 1981.

Another brilliant few songs come from group member Caroline Kapentar, who joined the Queens in 1973 after seven years at Mavuthela. Caroline is noted for her strong compositions - meaningful lyrics and extremely catchy melodies. "Mokgadi O Fihlile" refers to the ladies who long to see their men; the husbands who work all year long with only a brief Christmas holiday to see their wives and children. Another, "Ke Utloile", is a beautifully emotive ballad urging children to listen to their parents - this way, they'll avoid the feelings of guilt and regret when they become adults.

The other standout songs on this LP come from the creative mind of solo star Irene Mawela. (In 1979, the Mahotella Queens fell short of a few vocalists, so producer and guitarist Marks Mankwane recruited Irene and fellow solo singer Olga Mvicane to temporarily flesh out the group while they were in the studio. More permanent members were recruited later on in the form of Hazel Zwane – no relation to Emily – and Maggie Khumalo.) Irene re-arranged two traditional Sotho numbers for this album: “Mangwani Mpulele” and “Re Basadi Kaofela”. In the first number, the ladies sing the catchy English ‘it’s raining outside, raining outside’ lyrics, peppered with male vocals from dynamic soul singers Walter Dlamini and Mandla, and Irene takes the second song to a high with the repetitive ‘dumela, dumela…’ (‘greetings to you all’), performed in her usual sweet, supernatural voice.

The Queens on Tsamaya Moratuoa are: Emily Zwane (lead vocal), Irene Mawela (lead vocal), Caroline Kapentar, Thandi Nkosi, Sheba Malgas and Olga Mvicane. They are backed by The Beggers: Marks Mankwane (lead guitar), Mzwandile David (bass), Thamie Xongwana (organ), Mike Stoffel (drums). Enjoy!

MAHOTELLA QUEENS
TSAMAYA MORATUOA
produced by Marks Mankwane
engineered by Greg Cutler and Phil Audoire
Gumba Gumba BL 226
1980
Sotho Vocal

MF

Boyoyo "900" Umjiko Wamarabi (1973)

As summer comes to an end in the north, we feature an exciting early 70s compilation on the Trutone label. Strangely, none of the artists are credited on the cover, but the composer notes do reveal some of the best from Gallo — Marks Mankwane, Lucky Monama, West Nkosi and others — playing an eclectic array of mbaqanga instrumentals on sax, concertina and organ.

Thomas Phale’s first major hit with the T-Bones was “Boyoyo” in 1972. The title also happened to be the nick-name of the group's first drummer. The track was so successful the group decided to change their name permanently to the Boyoyo Boys. Issued in February 1973, the Trutone LP featured today, is clearly riding the wave of the "Boyoyo" phenomenon. Nevertheless I am not sure if any of the Boyoyo Boys are featured here.

Watch this space for some more comprehensive archival material coming soon!

Boyoyo "900" Umjiko Wamarabi
Trutone
MSLP 502
(1973)

Sax Jive Special - Vol. 2

We're keeping this instrumental theme going for just a little bit longer here on Electric Jive. Why? Well, why not?! Sax jive happens to be one of the most peppy and sweet styles of instrumental dance music that has ever existed - and what better way of celebrating the genre than sharing with our readers another bumper collection of the very best sax jives? Following on from our last delve into the archives, we present to you Sax Jive Special - Vol. 2.

The Makgona Tsohle Band were the first guys on the scene in the 1960s to take the swing-style instrumental jive and reshape it into the more danceable, more electric and elastic mbaqanga beat which soared to amazing heights. If just one listen to real gems like "Umzinto", "Cowboy" or "Sithunyiwe Thokozile" doesn't at the very least get your foot tapping, then there's something truly wrong with your musical tastes. Under various recording pseudonyms, the men behind the Makgona Tsohle Band created the biggest instrumental hits of the day. That team - Marks Mankwane on lead guitar, Vivian Ngubane on rhythm guitar, Joseph Makwela on bass, Lucky Monama on drums and West Nkosi leading on alto saxophone - was the gold standard, the benchmark against which all other mbaqanga bands were measured.

The Makgona Tsohle Band didn't just back West - they were the Mavuthela house band who generally backed every one of the stable's saxophone players and vocal jive groups. Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso shot to fame as the child pennywhistler of the late 1950s - but by the 1960s, with kwela out and mbaqanga in, he turned to the alto sax and joined forces with Makgona Tsohle for a series of recordings that included "Sipho Special". You can clearly hear everyone in the studio feeding off each other's high spirits on this bouncy number.

Spokes Mashiyane, the man who brought sax jive to prominence, also joined forces with Mavuthela during the 1960s. It might be true to say that the great Mashiyane became sidelined and unappreciated as the style developed further and further into the more hard and bouncy mbaqanga, with the spotlight focusing instead on fresh young talent like West Nkosi, David Thekwane, Reggie Msomi, Boy Masaka and others. Mashiyane did continue to record sporadically though and did create some great sax jives with the Makgona Tsohle Band, such as "Kgwale". "Sediba" is also an enjoyable tune featuring Mashiyane on top form. The real star here though is Vivian Ngubane who bends the melody fantastically with his rhythm guitar. Ngubane, for some rather puzzling reason, seems to be generally forgotten compared to those he worked with such as Marks Mankwane and Joseph Makwela. This is all the more strange because Ngubane was nothing less than a trendsetter. His rhythm guitar, sandwiched between Mankwane's lead guitar and Makwela's bass, became the signature elastic bedrock of the music. Until Ngubane joined the Makgona Tsohle Band late in 1964, the rhythm guitar line was still being filled by an acoustic guitar player who strummed nothing more than simple chords. Ngubane's trademark sound opens "Umzinto", a good example of the staple instrumental mbaqanga that Makgona Tsohle pumped out of the Gallo studio every week.

Sipho Bhengu, before joining the famous Mango Groove and lending them his wonderful talents, was a supreme sax jive star of the 1970s. His "Welani Imifula" opens with a boisterous spoken word from Mavuthela's boss Rupert Bopape and then gives way to the musical backing of the Jets and Sipho's great sax rhythms. Another sax jive star was Selby Mmutung - better known to you and me as Bra Sello. Sello made his name playing with Abafana Bentuthuko and later joined Mavuthela, working with the late genius Mzwandile David to produce sax-accordion jives under the name Mathwalimbuzi. "Umsuzo" rather bizarrely refers to someone breaking wind and Sello certainly creates the right impression during the opening of the tune. Reggie Msomi was also a talented somebody. During the 1960s, Msomi and his Hollywood Jazz Band (usually comprising Reggie on sax backed by the talented Makgona Tsohle Band!) produced some rather adventurous instrumental hits - taking sax jive and mixing it with various other styles such as soul, ska or reggae. "Chumba" is a great tune with some hints of Congo rumba. Aaron Jack Lerole also turned and twisted sax jive and took it to newer heights. "Space Age" is simply amazing - just listen and hear for yourself.

The marvellous Zwino Zwino Boys, led by bass guitarist James Mukwevho, bring our compilation to a fitting close with the excellent "Thala Thala". This has to be one of my favourite sax jives of all time. Sam Jagome effortlessly kicks everything off with a few calm strums of his electric lead guitar. The rest of the band joins in and this combined force works up some truly magical rhythms. The late Sam has to be one of the forgotten geniuses of mbaqanga music. He followed Marks Mankwane's unique innovations and ended up creating a signature style all of his own. Sam's beautiful lead guitar strains could be heard not only in the Zwino Zwino Boys but also behind the spirited vocals of Izintombi Zomoya.

Our thanks to Laurent Dalmasso for contributing two wonderful tracks to this compilation from the original 78 rpm discs - "Sediba" and "Sipho Special". All you need to do now is download this mix and get yourself ready for some serious jiving until you drop.

ENJOY!

SAX JIVE SPECIAL - VOL. 2

01) PAKU PAKU - MAKHOLOKHOLO (1965)

02) SEDIBA - SPOKES AND HIS GOLDEN SAX (1966)

03) UMZINTO - LUCKY MONAMA AND HIS PARTNERS (1968)

04) CHUMBA - REGGIE MSOMI AND HIS HOLLYWOOD JAZZ BAND (1969)

05) SIPHO SPECIAL - LEMMY MABASO AND HIS SAX (1965)

06) JIVE SMODERN JIVE - MAKHOLOKHOLO (1965)

07) COWBOY - WEST NKOSI AND HIS SAX (1967)

08) TADIMA TADIMA - ZWINO ZWINO BOYS (1971)

09) WELANI IMIFULA - SIPHO BHENGU AND HIS JETS (1973)

10) MANYANE JIVE PART TWO - POPS AND SONS (1976)

11) PULL MAN NO. 2 - MARKS AND THE SHALUZA BOYS (1976)

12) UMSUZO - MATHWALIMBUZI (1976)

13) BATHATHE GEORGE - ABAKHWENYANA (1973)

14) KIT BAG - MAMBAZA NABAFANA BOMSHOSHOLOZO (1971)

15) FOUR MABONE - WEST NKOSI NABASHOKOBEZI (1973)

16) AMANZI AMANCANE NO. 5 - LUCKY MONAMA AND HIS PARTNERS (1971)

17) SITHUNYIWE THOKOZILE - MAKGOLOKGOLO (1967)

18) KGWALE - SPOKES AND HIS GOLDEN SAX (1967)

19) SPACE AGE - BIG VOICE JACK (1971)

20) THALA THALA - ZWINO ZWINO BOYS (1971)

MF

Everybody Say Yeh - Walter and The Beggers (1978)

“Like thunder on a bright and sunny day – that’s the only way you can describe the invasion of Walter and The Beggers into the record scene. And like lightning, they are already sweeping the boards. And like a brook, they are destined to go on … and on!”

The words of then-showbiz editor of the Sunday Post, Elliot Makhaya, grace the back cover of Everybody Say Yeh, the first LP from the soon-to-be hit group Walter and The Beggers. Produced by Marks Mankwane, the album was released on the Disco Soul label in 1978.

Walter Dlamini, 1978

Walter Dlamini was a singer whose repertoire, the veteran DJ Max Mojapelo suggests, was somewhere in between Jacob “Mpharanyana” Radebe and The Movers’ Philip Malela. Walter’s soulful singing oozes charm and sensitivity, and it glides across the melodies of the other musicians with incredible ease. A native of Wattville, a township close to the city of Benoni, Walter had joined the music industry somewhere in the mid-1970s and began recording material for the Fire label. His music formed a part of the quiet move from what might be termed “traditional mbaqanga” to the more organ-led, American soul-infused sound of the late 1970s. It was a sound that had its roots within mbaqanga music, but one that closely aligned itself more with Afro wigs, flares and platform shoes than skins and tribal costume. When Walter came to Gallo-Mavuthela in 1978, the sound was being replicated there already by producers West Nkosi and Marks Mankwane and groomed to replace the traditional mbaqanga sound that the company itself had popularised more than a decade previously.

Keen guitarist Marks Mankwane had began his career in the late 1950s as part of the session team at Troubadour Records. He had already started to perfect a brand new style of guitar playing, shifting the familiar ‘ukupika’ sound of maskanda onto the electric guitar and fusing it with a “pop music” twist. However, it was not until he joined Gallo-Mavuthela in 1964 that he was allowed to exploit it to the full extent. He was the bedrock of the company’s new popular session team the Makgona Tsohle Band, and his guitar playing became a trademark of the sound of Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens. In 1972, executive head Rupert Bopape promoted West Nkosi – one of the company’s big sax jive stars and another key member of Makgona Tsohle – to producer. Nkosi’s fresh and varied roster of stars added greatly to his prestige at Gallo. Mankwane, who by now had become the main arranger of the Queens, was promoted to producer in 1976 and (like Nkosi) continued to play on numerous recording sessions at the same time. In 1977 Bopape suffered a mild heart attack and decided to step down as head of Mavuthela. Makgona Tsohle, who had until now backed the company’s top mbaqanga groups, was disbanded so that the members could jointly fulfill the role Bopape had left. It was Nkosi who beat the others to the position of executive head, and immediately fell out with friend Mankwane. Nkosi considered the Queens to be an act that was long past its sell-by date, even though their popularity was still very strong. Mankwane continued to produce the group and all but stopped speaking to Nkosi for some years.

By the point, the preferred sound of the townships was the soul-infused mbaqanga as mentioned above. Mankwane decided to form a new backing team for his own artists (including the Queens) and gave it a distinct name – The Beggers. The pool of musicians that comprised The Beggers included: himself (guitar/producer), Mike Nyembe (guitar), Marubini Jagome (guitar), Mzwandile David (bass/organ), Thamie Xongwana (organ), Mike Stoffel (drums) and Elias Lerole (saxophone). The Beggers were also aided by composer-vocalist Irene Mawela, as well as Rupert Bopape who now focused his attentions on songwriting and arranging. When Walter Dlamini arrived at the company, it was at the right time. Mankwane immediately signed him up and Elias Lerole penned two English numbers – “Everybody Say Yeh” and “I Told You” – for Walter to sing, backed by a trio of girls (Thandi Radebe, Emily Zwane and Irene Mawela) and the instrumentation of The Beggers. This particular 45-rpm became an unexpected smash hit, and before long, Walter and The Beggers was ruling the local music scene with their wonderful brand of “disco jive”. The songs were simple tunes that called upon the usual things – love, relationships and partying. Notably, all the material recorded by the group was in English, perhaps intentionally targeting the post-1976 youth audience who so dogmatically rejected the tribal nature and apparent political subtext of traditional mbaqanga music. What is quite ironic is that the songs produced by groups like this one are merely English-language mbaqanga songs - the same topics are explored, the same lyrics are sung (albeit in a language other than Zulu or Sotho). Although the English lyrics may sound awkward, they will give you an idea of what the musical intention was.

Walter and The Beggers continued to be successful and popular for three or more years, until the singers fell apart and brought an abrupt end to the act. Walter himself was recruited under West Nkosi’s wing, recording as part of a new group called Kataki. Nkosi and Mankwane were reunited when the Makgona Tsohle Band came back together for their own television show Mathaka. The Beggers continued to back Mankwane’s own artists until he left Gallo-Mavuthela in late 1984, when the Mathaka series fell through. He set up his own eponymous independent label, Mankwane, which saw Walter return to his former producer in a new disco-funk male trio entitled Wataja (Walter was the "wa" of the group name; Thapelo Khomo and Jack Tsatsimpe were the other two). Walter later left the music business, returning only to make a one-off album in 1992, once again under Nkosi’s production. And, as fate would have it, Nkosi and Mankwane reunited once more in 1987, with a rejuvenated Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens spreading their music round the globe.

Everybody Say Yeh provides an insight into what was a very popular sound of its day... and as with everything we share, it helps to contribute to the vast and growing understanding of South African music of the past. Can you dig it? Enjoy!

EVERYBODY SAY YEH (Walter and The Beggers)

Disco Soul BL 156

1978

1. EVERYBODY SAY YEH

2. I LOVE YOU BABY

3. HAPPY DAY

4. DON’T MISS MY LOVE

5. YOU’VE BEEN GONE

6. YOU’LL NEVER KNOW

7. LET’S GO TO THE DISCO

8. JUDY

9. I MUST GO HOME

10. DISCO JIVE

11. SWEET MIRIAM

12. I TOLD YOU

RS / MF

2 Mabone (1973)

1970s South Africa developed a taste for everything American. In fact, one could argue that black South Africans have always looked towards the African-American scene for inspiration and influence - but particularly into the 1970s, together with the afros and platform shoes, the Chevy Impala became something of a key image for the urban, modern city dwellers.

In 1973, the studio group West Nkosi Nabashokobezi worked up a sensational mbaqanga beat that just had to be recorded. Released on the FGB Producers label in 1973, the hit single “Two Mabone” defined that alignment with the US. The single became a huge hit within South Africa, quickly attaining gold status – the tune was so popular that Gallo Africa issued it for international release via London Records in the US. Before long, jive Mabone – referring to the headlights of the Impala – became the in-thing. A long string of recordings by various sax jivers all helped to keep the trend alive for some two or three years. It may be something of an irony that this typically, uniquely African beat displayed the increasing Westernisation of black people living in the cities of South Africa.

The obscure long-playing record 2 Mabone, released on the FGB Producers label in 1973, comprises 12 ‘headlight’ offerings by various Mavuthela combos.

Mavuthela did begin the trend with “Two Mabone”, but were by no means the only black music production company to peddle it to the public. Lulu Masilela, backed by Teal Records' effervescent Boyoyo Boys, recorded “Three Mabone” in anticipation of the great sales that the original recording had received. West Nkosi Nabashokobezi recorded “Four Mabone”, while violinist Noise Khanyile and His Violin gave “Five Mabone”. The Big Bag Boys, led by alto saxophonist Elias Shamba Lerole, gave the public the peppy little “6 Mabone”, but was perhaps blown out of the water by Lulu Masilela’s soulful stomping “Six Mabone”, which became a big hit. Nonetheless, West Nkosi hit back with the great “Seven Mabone”, which added accordion rhythms into the mix. The tunes came fast and thick from all of the major black labels and producers including Thekwane, Bopape and Nzimande... and it was by no means a given that once somebody had recorded “10 Mabone” that the next tune must be “11 Mabone”. In fact, “12 Mabone” superseded “Seven Mabone” and then was followed straight after by “17 Mabone”… the highest number (to our current knowledge) was “Jive Mabone 800”, recorded in 1974 by studio artist 'Mr. Singo'. We can safely assume that there were not 799 Mabone tunes recorded before we got to that one (!) But indeed, just the use of the word "Mabone" was enough to capture the eyes of people (see last week's post from Chris for a nice example). David Thekwane instituted a Teal label named 'Six Mabone' after Lulu Masilela's big hit, and Teal's popular soul outfit The Movers did their own great version of the tune which, in true Movers style, sounded nothing like straight-up mbaqanga!

Not all of the tunes on this "collector's album" (as the liner notes of West Nkosi's Sixteen Original Jive Hits describes it) contain “Mabone” in the title, but all of them are certainly performed in that classic jive Mabone style. Every tune has its moment, but highlights away from the “… Mabone” titles include “Shiluvani”, “Marabi Bell 800”, and “Tonkana”. If you’re a fan of violins – and shouting voices – then I’m sure this album is for you…!

Enjoy!

2 MABONE (Various artists)
FGB Producers LPBS 17
1973

1. TWO MABONE – WEST NKOSI
2. SHILUVANI – BIG BAG BOYS
3. MARABI BELL “800” – WEST NKOSI
4. FIVE MABONE – NOISE KHANYILE
5. ZOLA-MNDENI – WEST NKOSI
6. POKOLO SPECIAL – MARKS MANKWANE
7. FOUR MABONE – WEST NKOSI
8. SIX MABONE – BIG BAG BOYS
9. UMTHAKATHI “500” – WEST NKOSI
10. BRA JOE – NOISE KHANYILE
11. PLATFORM “17” – WEST NKOSI
12. TONKANA – MARKS MANKWANE

RS / MF

Mahotella Queens - Pitsa Tse Kgolo (1982)

A simple offering today, but one I hope you will enjoy. Pitsa Tse Kgolo, recorded in late 1981 and released in new year 1982, is a Sotho/Pedi language album by the Mahotella Queens, produced by Marks Mankwane and released on Gallo's Hit Special label.

Pitsa Tse Kgolo ("the big pot" [idiom: melting pot of music]) was one of a steady stream of LPs released by the then-familiar line-up of the Queens, led by the throaty Emily Zwane. The album contains that classic Mahotella vocal sound combined with the typical early eighties mbaqanga beat - crystal clear guitar, thumping bass, soulful drums and shimmering keyboards. Some readers may recognise the title of the LP as a lyric from Mahlathini and the Queens' 1987 song "Melodi Yalla", a tune that pays tribute to Gallo-Mavuthela by calling it a big melting pot of music - but no version of this song actually appears on this album! The phrase "pitsa tse kgolo", however, had often been utilised in songs over the years to refer to Mavuthela and its music, so its usage as the title of this 1981 LP is perhaps incidental.

"Ditaba Tse Monate" is a nice tune to open the LP. It features some brief lead vocals from vocalist Virginia Teffo (a studio regular since around 1967), lovely Marks guitar, and tight Queens harmonies. Tenor singer Sinah Thibedi takes over in "Tate Nswarele", composed with male soul vocalist Willie Rasebotsa (though his voice does not appear on this album). The pace keeps up through to the Rupert Bopape-Marks Mankwane penned number "Lebowa Le Legolo", a tribute to the North of the country to which this album is dedicated. (Pitsa Tse Kgolo was so popular with Pedi listeners that a follow-up album, Tsa Lebowa, was recorded and released later in 1982.) "O Somela Byalwa" is another straightforward tune that contains pleasant and tightly-binding harmonies. "Dikgupa Marama" is something of an oddity in as much as it throws soul into the mix - but that's no bad thing. Marks is clearly adept at playing in different styles and the long honed "strong" vocal styling of the ladies is put to great use here. It isn't a tune to miss, and the same goes for "Koko". That song, closing the LP, is a lovely soul ballad written by Virginia Teffo in tribute to her grandmother.

The ladies in 1982, being handed carnations by their producer and mentor Marks Mankwane.

L to r: Emily Zwane, Hazel Zwane, Caroline Kapentar, Marks, Beatrice Ngcobo

Though by 1981 the Makgona Tsohle Band had dissolved (not reuniting until 1983 after a 6-year break), producer Marks Mankwane had put together a unique combo of musicians which he named The Beggers to back his mbaqanga/soul artists, including the Queens. (If you haven't already, check out Teaspoon Ndelu's wonderful 1981 LP Ke Kopa Madulo, released shortly before Pitsa Tse Kgolo and featuring excellent on-time accompaniment from The Beggers.) Marks the guitar wizard cuts through the rhythmic atmosphere with his talents, backed by virtuoso Mzwandile David on bass and the other Beggers.

The 1964-1971 period was perhaps the heyday of the Queens - the triumvirate of Mahlathini, the Queens and the Makgona Tsohle Band was a strong steamroller that was hard to beat. 1971 saw the line-up of the Queens begin to change significantly (Mahlathini himself left the team in 1972 for 11 years) and, although the Queens continued to sell-out township halls and garner huge album sales for the next few years, their popularity - and the listenership of mbaqanga - faltered somewhere around 1978-onwards after the infamous political tension and no mbaqanga act was ever to regain its glory (at least within South Africa. Mahlathini and the Queens went onto become more celebrated overseas than at home). Despite this shift, some of the more famous mbaqanga artists continued to record and perform and did so with some degree of success (perhaps they could draw an audience because of the fame of their name). The Queens somehow managed to hang onto a sizeable core of listeners and record-buyers and as such the line-up was able to remain fairly active during these disco/soul-heavy years! (In fact, even when bubblegum music took hold and mbaqanga lost the battle with black listeners, Marks continued to preside over a number of various Queens productions. He left Gallo in 1984 and briefly ran his own independent label, "Mankwane", before joining CCP/EMI as a producer. He eventually returned to Gallo with old friend West Nkosi's persuasion in 1986. Unsurprisingly, Marks took the Queens with him wherever he went!)

Pitsa Tse Kgolo features a line-up consisting of Beatrice Ngcobo, Emily Zwane, Virginia Teffo, Sinah Thibedi, Maggie Khumalo and Caroline Kapentar. This was more or less the group that sustained the Queens during the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, until the original (1964-1971) line-up reunited for the international breakthrough.

Enjoy!

PITSA TSE KGOLO (Mahotella Queens)
Hit Special HIL 2004
1981

1. DITABA TSE MONATE
2. TATE NSWARELE
3. BA MPHURALETSE
4. O SOMELA BYALWA
5. LEBOWA LE LEGOLO
6. MAKAKO A MONNA
7. DITSHABA MATONA
8. EKWANG HLE
9. DIKGUPA MARAMA
10. KOKO

RS / MF

Classic mbaqanga: The Beat of Smanje Manje (1968)

We go back to the king of music in the '60s townships for today's offering. The 1968 compilation The Beat of Smanje Manje brings together twelve memorable tunes originally released on singles on the "Smanje Manje" label - and all twelve of them are true gems.

Hot on the heels of Good Luck Motella, Marena, and all of those "cream of the crop" Mavuthela Music Company compilation LPs, The Beat of Smanje Manje collates some of the most exhilarating 1960s mbaqanga one could ever hope to stumble across.

The likes of West Nkosi, Marks Mankwane, Reggie Msomi and Alex Hendricks (a more mature, saxophone-bearing version of the 1950s/60s kwela star "Little Kid Lex") throw up some damn-near fantastic and rocking sax jives, featuring that tight-knitted trademark electric mbaqanga sound. Guest appearances are made by Julia Yende's Mthunzini Girls, as well as great groaner Mahlathini, both of whom team up for the beautiful "Ngikhala Ngiya Baleka", one of the big mbaqanga hits of the late '60s.

"Vula Bop's", the number that opens this LP, may well just be the perfect example of this kind of music. Joseph Makwela, plucking his electric bass, introduces the tune and, before you know it, is immediately accompanied by Lucky Monama on drums, the oft-underrated professional Vivian Ngubane (on his super-bouncy rhythm guitar), Marks Mankwane playing lilting lead guitar licks, and resident hornblower West Nkosi blowing the alto sax for Africa. The track's title references Mavuthela director/producer Rupert Bopape (who was nicknamed "Bop's" in the Gallo studios), and was released in opposition to "Vala Nzimande", a sax jive song that emanated from GRC's Isibaya Esikhulu Music, so-named after its producer Hamilton Nzimande.

We have often mentioned the Mthunzini Girls and the strong vocals of its leader, Julia Yende, so we'll say no more about them and leave you enjoying the group's biggest hit, "Ngikhala Ngiya Baleka", a soulful and jive-tastic ballad in which every musician in the studio fires on all cylinders.

Reggie Msomi enters the fray with his Hollywood Jazz Band for just one number, but it's a goodie: "Mono Sara No. 2". The song is an instrumental re-recording of a 1964 Mahotella Queens number, "Mono Sarah Nani", a Shona-language song arranged by then-regular vocalist Sarah Mabokela.

"Izulu Liya Duduma No. 2" is a must for all listeners... the Makgona Tsohle Band lives up to its name here and delivers the goods with immense ease. It is another instrumental cover of another big hit, which can be found opening the LP Good Luck Motella. This cover song is one not to be skipped past!

This music is just sublime. From a personal point of view, this was one of the first LPs I came across after getting into this music, so the songs here have a particular resonance with me. Nothing more now needs to be said - all you have to do is download this LP and strut your stuff with The Beat of Smanje Manje. Enjoy!

THE BEAT OF SMANJE MANJE (Various)
Smanje Manje LSJM 1001
1968

1. VULA BOP'S - WEST NKOSI & HIS ALTO SAX
2. NGIKHALA NGIYA BALEKA - MTHUNZINI GIRLS
3. MONO SARA NO. 2 - REGGIE MSOMI & HIS HOLLYWOOD JAZZ BAND
4. UMKHOMBE - ALEX AND HIS ALTO SAX
5. SIKHULEKILE - MARKS MANKWANE & HIS ALTO SAX
6. KHUPA MARAMA NO. 5 - MARKS MANKWANE & DI-ABAFANA
7. SGUB KHWELA JIVE - ABAFANA BE MVUNGE
8. MOPIE SPECIAL - UMKHIZE OMCANE
9. DOVA, DOVA SKUMBA - WEST NKOSI & HIS ALTO SAX
10. BIG BAG NO. 1 - MAKGONA TSOHLE BAND
11. IZULU LIYA DUDUMA NO. 2 - MAKGONA TSOHLE BAND
12. UYAGIYA UMAHLATHINI - MAHLATHINI

RS / MF

Mahotella Queens - Khwatha O Mone (1984)

We present to EJ readers today some clean 1980s mbaqanga courtesy of the Mahotella Queens.

A tasty mix of sounds cooked that great big pot, 1984’s Khwatha O Mone fuses straight-cut mbaqanga with rootsy stuff (“O Boshako”) and gospel (“Thato Ya Modimo”, “Moleko Ntlohele”) but also offers the winning formula of up-front stomping jive (“Ke Mmarona”, “Bana Mamelang”). The cover description calls it “Sotho Vocal / Traditional”, which doesn’t say much at all about how good this material is… American-style soul this definitely isn’t.

“O Boshako” is perhaps one of the finest tunes on this LP. Strong lead vocals from Emily Zwane, striking accordion work from Mzwandile David, amazing drumming from Michael Stoffel and layered lyrics written by Caroline Kapentar all help to make this song a great one. Every song is a gem, and this one gets the album off to a great start.

The friendly rivalry between the Queens and Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje was still going strong in the 1980s: the serene pose of the five Queens on the jacket of Khwatha O Mone mirrors the photo on the front of Izintombi’s 1979 LP Izenzo Zakho. Incidentally, Izintombi’s line-up in the early 1980s included two former Queens, Nobesuthu Shawe and Hilda Tloubatla – who, by the time of Khwatha O Mone’s release, had become a part of a reunion of the original Mahotella Queens in early 1983 – under the name Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgqashiyo. (Stay tuned for a special EJ post soon, featuring music taken from two LPs from that 1983/4 reunion.)

Marks Mankwane, producer of the Queens at the time, once again provides crystal clear guitar work in combination with the typical florid keyboards and intricate bass lines. The vocalists on this album are: Emily Zwane (lead), Maggie Khumalo (alto), Beatrice Ngcobo (alto), Hazel Zwane (tenor) and Caroline Kapentar (tenor).

Enjoy…!

KHWATHA O MONE (Mahotella Queens)
Hit Special IAL 4005
1984

1. O BOSHAKO
2. MMAMODIEHI O KAE?
3. BANA MAMELANG
4. O DULETSENG
5. THATO YA MODIMO
6. KE MMARONA
7. MOLEKO NTLOHELE
8. MMAMOTSE
9. BADISA
10. TLAMA THOTO YA HAO

RS / MF

Soul and funk with Teaspoon Ndelu (1981)

Today we're delving into a tasty mix of soul, funk and mbaqanga with the late saxophone legend Teaspoon Ndelu and his second solo album, Ke Kopa Madulo, produced by Marks Mankwane and released on the Hit Special label in 1981.

Ndelu was a veteran of the studio, particularly at Mavuthela, where his sweet sax harmonies often appeared on singles bearing names such as "Teaspoon and His 'T' Boys" or "Teaspoon and The Waves". He also collaborated with fellow sax jiver West Nkosi on many of the "mabone" singles of the early 1970s.

In the words of the liner notes, written by The Sowetan's Elliot Makhaya: "Teaspoon Ndelu is a high functionary of music idioms... throughout the years he has poured some of the most fascinating music ever squeezed from a saxophone. His music provides the ear with bouquets while driving ya into tunnels of harmony and mountains of rhythms in a red-hot molten tempo. With a minimum of notes, Teaspoon Ndelu can stamp his identity on a performance, even if he's present only to play an obbligato behind a vocalist."

Ndelu's own, talented skills were finally spotlighted with the release of his first solo albums in the early 1980s. This, the second of those albums, contains four songs and a rich collection of sounds. Teaspoon is backed by a talented team of studio musicians. To open the album, we are greeted first with a modern drum beat, before a sweet mbaqanga underscore makes a subdued entrance in the title track "Ke Kopa Madulo". A trio of alto saxes jumpstarts the song and before long, we are thrown calls and phrases from a plethora of singers, one of them Teaspoon himself. "Disco Funk", track two, is very much a product of the increasing Westernisation of South African music at the time - but gives one a great insight into how well versed Teaspoon and the other Mavuthela musicians were at playing vastly different styles of music.

The talented Mr. Ndelu is backed by an uncredited studio team put together by producer Marks Mankwane. Though the members are uncredited, the band is almost certainly "The Beggers" (yes, with an "e"...). The Beggers was Mankwane's tight instrumental unit that backed his Mavuthela acts (Walter Dlamini, Mahotella Queens, etc.) from 1977 to 1983.

The Beggers consisted of: Marks Mankwane (lead guitar), Michael Nyembe (lead/rhythm guitar), Mzwandile David (bass guitar), Michael Stoffel (drums), and Thamie Xongwana (organ) ... and the female vocals as heard on three of the four tracks of Ke Kopa Madulo are almost certainly then-regular members of Mankwane's Mahotella Queens. Well, why not - they were on hand!

Ke Kopa Madulo... a truly tasty mix of music. Download and get funky - enjoy!

KE KOPA MADULO (Teaspoon Ndelu)
Hit Special HIL 2002
1981

1. KE KOPA MADULO
2. DISCO FUNK
3. SPUTLA
4. UNGISHIYELENI

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