Manhattan Brothers

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The Manhattan Brothers were a South African vocal group that was very popular during the 1940s and 1950s. The group that had jive , swing and doo-wop numbers in their repertoire was the first band on the South African music scene with record sales in the millions. It was revived in 1990.

History of the band

The group included Joe Mogotsi, Ronnie Sehume, Rufus Khoza and Nathan Mdledle, who had already met to sing in the Pimville Government School in the later Soweto in the 1930s and initially worked together as street musicians . While they initially interpreted traditional Zulu chants and performed under the name Manhattan Stars , they later sang South African versions of American hits , inspired by their record company Decca Records . They also had South African numbers in their repertoire, for example by Mackay Davashe . Miriam Makeba also sang with the Manhattan Brothers at the beginning of her career , around 1953 Davashes Lakutshona Ilanga . The group also had a hit on the American Billboard Hot 100 in 1956 with Lovely Lies . In South Africa, the group performed on the radio at prime time until the 1950s and was accompanied by well-known jazz musicians such as Kippie Moeketsi . The group also appeared in Todd Matshikiza's musical King Kong ; the band members did not return to apartheid South Africa in 1961 after the musical production had performed in London . Joe Mogotsi founded a new edition of the Manhattan Brothers in London in 1990 , which also appeared with Joe Zawinul .

Discographic notes

  • The Very Best Of The Manhattan Brothers. Their Greatest Hits (1948–1959) (Stern's Africa, 2000)

literature

  • Joe Mogotsi (and Pearl Connor): Mantindane - He Who Survives. My Life With The Manhattan Brothers. Copenhagen 2002,

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Lloyd Gedye: Early recordings get a facelift . In: Mail & Guardian . Retrieved December 3, 2010. 
  2. ^ A b Payback time for the kings of swing . In: Mail & Guardian . Retrieved December 3, 2010. 
  3. ^ A b Jürgen Schadeberg Jazz, Blues and Swing: Six Decades of Music in South Africa. David Philip, 2007, p. 146