Best of Dorothy Masuka

Dorothy Masuka | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wrasse Records
• ASIN: B00007BH9V
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,277,078 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hamba Notsokolo

2. Teya Teya

3. Andizenzinsi

4. Pata Pata

5. Themba

6. Ngi Hamba Ngedwa

7. Kutheni Zulu [Earth Mix]

8. Naledi

9. Usemncane

10. Mama Ngi Niki

11. Khanyange

12. Ufikizolo

13. Five Bells

14. Mfan' Omncane

15. Mali E Shebeen

16. Nhingirikiri

17. Magumede

18. Hapo Zamani

19. Impi

20. Mzilikazi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to a forgotten queen of African pop, January 18, 2004

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Best of Dorothy Masuka (Audio CD)

An early contemporary of Miriam Makeba, Dorothy Masuka was part of the 1950s South African "jive" scene, mixing American-style group vocals and swing beats with local melodic and harmonic styles. She's best known as the author of the song, "Pata Pata," which was one of Makeba's earliest and biggest international hits. Like Makeba, Masuka found herself in exile in the early 1960s, as the campaign against apartheid intensified, and artists seen as sympathetic to the African National Congress were proscribed and placed under threat of arrest. Unlike Makeba, she was unable to crack into the international market in Europe and the USA, performing (and for a while retiring from music, in order to keep a low profile) mainly in the other African countries that were able to shelter her. This collection gathers some of her rare early work on the Gallo label, off of stellar albums such as "Hamba Notsokola," (her 1950s debut), and moves on to include later, glossier material from the early 1990s, when she made her comeback. It's the old stuff that I find irresistible: I just love the original "jive" sound. It's nice, though, to see Masuka finally getting her due, and this retrospective is a most welcome addition to any African pop library. Recommended!