The Manhattan Brothers was a popular South African singing group in the 1940s and 1950s, during the Apartheid era.[1] Their sound drew on American ragtime, jive, swing, doo-wop, and several other jazz strains, as well as African choral and Zulu harmonies.[2] Members of the group included Nathan Dambuza Mdledle(leader and founder), Joe Mogotsi,[3] Ronnie Sehume,[1] Rufus Khoza,[1]and Miriam Makeba. Makeba, who went on to international fame, started her career with The Manhattan Brothers and was part of the group for much of the 1950s.[2] In the 1950s, the Manhattan Brothers chose as their backing band a musical group led by Mackay Davashe. Davashe was described as having a considerable influence on the Manhattan Brothers sound as a composer by bringing in African influences.[4] 'General' Duze, a guitarist for the Manhattan Brothers, stated in 1987 that the band developed a unique, rather than imitative, sound during Davashe's tenure.[4] The group had one US Billboard pop chart hit, "Lovely Lies", which peaked at number 45 in March 1956.[3] The original Xhosa version of the song was written by Davashe. Its popularity led to requests for an English version, which became the first South African piece on the Billboard Hot 100.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Craig Harris. "Allmusic bio". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  2. ^ a b Lloyd Gedye (15 November 2008). "Early recordings get a facelift". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Payback time for the kings of swing". Mail & Guardian. 15 August 1997. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b Ballantine, Christopher (1999). "Looking to the USA: the politics of male close-harmony song style in South Africa during the 1940s and 1950s". Popular Music. Cambridge University Press (CUP). 18 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1017/s0261143000008709. ISSN 0261-1430.
  5. ^ Jolaosho, Omotayo (29 October 2021). "Miriam Makeba". In Spear, Thomas T. (ed.). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.774. ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4.
  6. ^ Jaggi, Maya (29 April 2000). "The return of Mama Africa". The Guardian.
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