(Johnny
Clegg receives the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Music. October 21 2016.
Pictured: Former Acting Group CEO for SAMRO, Reverend Abe Sibiya, Johnny Clegg,
Bronwen Harty – former ACT trustee and Rashid Lombard – ACT trustee.
Photograph:
John Hogg/ ACT)
Johnny Clegg, the
barrier-breaking music and culture figure dies at 66.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is deeply saddened
by the death of South African music and culture luminary Johnny Clegg, on
Tuesday, after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015 and
is survived by his wife of 31 years, Jenny and their two sons Jesse and Jaron.
Clegg’s music career spans over three decades and
he has sold more than five million albums worldwide. Besides being an
incomparable figure in music, dance and culture, Clegg is also an
anthropologist and is sometimes fondly referred to as Le Zoulou Blanc (The
White Zulu).
(Right: Johnny Clegg accepting his ACT Lifetime Achievement Award. Photograph:
John Hogg/ ACT)
To many South Africans, Clegg’s music was the
soundtrack for the new South Africa. His music represented freedom and a united
South Africa.
His iconic status earned him numerous awards from
various international and local bodies for his contribution to music such as
the Order of Ikhamanga from the South African government in 2012 and the Knight
of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1991. In 2016, Clegg was also
honoured with the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for music (sponsored by SAMRO)
to celebrate his extraordinary career that contributed significantly to the
enrichment of cultural life in South Africa.
Marcus Desando, ACT CEO states: “ACT is proud to
have had the opportunity to honour Johnny Clegg and his contribution as a
barrier-breaking cultural figure. Mr Clegg has had a profound and lasting
impact on music, not only in South Africa but world-wide. The music industry in
South Africa would not be what it is today without the dedication and
fearlessness of Johnny Clegg and his music.”
The renowned music legend was born in Bacup
England, in 1953, to an English father and Zimbabwean mother, a cabaret and
jazz singer. He moved to South Africa with his mother at the age of seven, when
his mother married a South African crime journalist. It is through his mother
and stepfather, who took him to the townships, that Clegg was exposed to
various cultural perspectives from an early age.
At age 14 Clegg met with Mntonganazo Mzila, who
played street music near his home in Johannesburg, and he learnt Zulu language,
maskandi guitar and Ihhlangwini (Zulu stick dancing). Following the meeting
with Mzila, Clegg met with Sipho Mcunu, self-taught guitarist and they released
their debut single Woza Friday in 1976.
In 1979, the duo became the Juluka we all know. In
the same year, they released their critically acclaimed debut album Universal
Men. The album paid homage to the migrant workers who left their homes to
go work in the cities. The album did not receive any airplay due to the
apartheid laws that prevailed at the time but did get positive traction amongst
South Africans through word-and-mouth.
Their second album, African Litany, was
released two years following the first album and featured Juluka’s well-known
hit single Impi. The band gained international recognition two years
later with their fourth album Scatterlings which catapulted the band
onto the world stage.
Although Juluka eventually split in 1985, following
the success of two platinum and five gold albums, Clegg and Mchunu remained
friends. Clegg then formed his second band, Savuka, whose sound was a mix of
African music with a wider music base and international rock sounds.
Savuka’s debut album, Third World Child in
1987 sold more than two million copies and broke international sales records in
France, Switzerland and Belgium. The album featured the song Asimbonanga
which became a struggle anthem as it was dedicated to former president, Nelson
Mandela who was in jail at the time of release.
Heat, Dust & Dreams, Savuka’s
fourth album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best World Music
category and won the Billboard Music award for "Best World Music"
album in 1993. Following the breakup of Savuka in 1993, Clegg joined with
Mchunu to re-form Juluka and they recorded Ya Vuka Inkunzi (also
released as Crocodile Love).
Clegg released several successful solo projects
such as New World Survivor in 2002 and One Life in 2007. His
latest album, a concert set recorded in the fall of 2013, Best, Live & Unplugged:
At the Baxter Theatre Cape Town was released in 2014.
Andre Le Roux, Corporate Affairs Executive General
Manager at Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) states that,
“When the news of Johnny Clegg passing, hit me yesterday I found solace in the
tribute from 50 top artists singing The Crossing for Johnny Clegg, and
amongst them, Mum Dorothy Masuku, who is also an ACT Lifetime Achievement Award
recipient and is now deceased. SAMRO is deeply saddened at the passing of one
of our longest serving members. Johnny Clegg is undoubtedly an iconic and
highly celebrated artist not just in our country, but world-wide. We are
honoured to have been a small part of Mr Clegg's great legacy in music.
Partnering with ACT in the sponsorship of the ACT Lifetime Achievement Awards
of which Mr Clegg was the 2016 recipient, represents one of the many
initiatives that demonstrates SAMRO's appreciation of great talent in the South
African Music Industry. Mr Clegg is a huge loss to this country and may his music
live on”.
For more information on ACT, visit act.org.za
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