Ray Phiri

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Ray Phiri (2007)

Raymond "Ray" Chikapa Enock Phiri (born March 23, 1947 in Hermansberg near Mbombela ; † July 12, 2017 in Mbombela) was a South African fusion and mbaqanga musician (guitar, vocals).

Phiri, whose Malawian father was also a guitarist, played guitar since 1962. He was one of the founding members of the Cannibals in the 1970s, to which he belonged until they dissolved in 1981. Then he founded the band Stimela , with which he was very successful. He became internationally known through his collaboration with Paul Simon in his Graceland project and the follow-up album The Rhythm of the Saints . He also performed in subsequent concerts, including the free concert on August 15, 1991 in Central Park to an audience of about 600,000 to 750,000. In 1992 he released his solo album People Don't Talk so Let's Talk.

In 2006 Phiri founded the Ray Phiri Arts Institute music school in KaNyamazane near Nelspruit, today's Mbombela. In 2011 he received the Order of Ikhamanga in silver. He died of lung cancer in 2017 .

literature

  • Sean Barlow, Banning Eyre: Afropop! An Illustrated Guide to Contemporary African Music . 1995, ISBN 978-0785804437 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b portrait at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on July 12, 2017
  2. ↑ 'Music veteran Ray Phiri has died', reports. timeslive.co.za from July 12, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Phiri, Ray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Phiri, Raymond Chikapa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African musician
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Hermansberg near Mbombela
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 2017
Place of death Mbombela