Miriam Makeba

There aren't many people who you can say loom large in world music. But with a career spanning more than four decades, Miriam Makeba deserves a place among that elite. She was the first African to win a Grammy (in 1959!), the first to have an international hit, with "Pata Pata" in 1967. She's an icon in her native South Africa, having spoken out against apartheid in 1963 (for which she lost her citizenship). She's performed for popes, presidents, heads of state, and at the age of 68, she's just issued her first studio record in six years, the very celebratory - and surprisingly rootsy - Homeland.

"Nobody wanted to record me until Frederick Samson came along and said, ‘Why don't we do an album?' Makeba explained. I said, ‘You got the money?' So we went ahead and did it. I just chose songs that came my way. Each one of them is about love - of one's country, one's continent, the love of children in the world, opening up your heart to them. It all seemed to come together."

And it came together quite perfectly, reflecting all the different facets of Makeba's singing, the ballads, jazz (she was once married to Hugh Masakela), the South African groove of tracks like "Masakhane,' and even a reworking of "Pata Pata," which updates the song without swamping it in modern technology.

"I went home in 1990 for six days, then in 1991 I did two concerts there. I decided I had to stay, and I gathered my rags and moved back. It's wonderful to be back home; there's no place like it."

"That just happened in the studio," she laughed. "I wasn't planning on it, but someone suggested we re-do it. I said, ‘Oh no, I've been singing it for years.' But we went ahead, and it came out okay, so I'm stuck with it!"

It helps bring things full circle, as does the township jazz of "Unhome," whose piano work seems to pay homage to South African greats like Abdullah Ibrahim and Chris MacGregor.

"That's an old Swazi song, a lament for a young girl. The pianist likes to play jazz, he has that style, and it's jazz with its roots in the townships."

The whole record has its roots in Makeba's native land, to which she was able to return once apartheid had ended.

"I went home in 1990 for six days, then in 1991 I did two concerts there, which were wonderful, packed to the brim, like a revival. I decided I had to stay, and I gathered my rags and moved back. It's wonderful to be back home; there's no place like it."

For all that she's now back where she belongs, Makeba spends an awful lot of time on the road. Even though it's been quite a while since her last album of new material, she still performs all over the world. And though she has acquired a reputation as a very political person, she emphatically says that's not the case.

"I was never politically involved. People always think I'm political, but I'm not. I just speak the truth. When I say we're oppressed, I'm not lying. I'm glad I've been vindicated, in a way. I could have been in parliament, but I'm not a politician, I'm a singer. I love to sing, that's what makes me happy."

Singing and entertaining have been her vocation, really, and over the course of more than four decades, she's racked up plenty of remarkable experiences. But two in particular stand out in her mind.

"Singing at the birth of the Organization of African Unity in 1963, meeting all the presidents, the men who led their countries to independence," she recalled. "That was, to me, something. Here I was, coming from nowhere, and singing to all these important people. And then there was the birthday salute to President Kennedy in 1961, where I was the only foreign artist among the big giants of America paying tribute to him."

Makeba actually lived in the United States for some years, where she ended up marrying Black Panther leader, Stokely Carmichael, a move that caused some controversy, and resulted in her moving back to Africa.

"It wasn't the authorities that harrassed me. When we got married, I had many shows booked. Some people canceled. When I saw thought, I thought, ‘Hey, it looks like I'm going to be drowning here,' so I left and went to Africa. But I kept coming here to visit my grandchildren." And now she returns to see her great-grandchildren.

At the age of sixty-eight, most people are thinking of taking it easy. But Miriam Makeba, singer, South African, great-grandmother, seems busier than ever, jetting around continents, genuinely excited about her new record. It's as if life is beginning for her all over again.

"I always say my life is like a yo-yo. It's up and it's down. I fall and I get up, brush myself off and keep going. It's been hard, but it's also been gratifying. I've been loved and misunderstood. All of those things make Makeba."

Miriam Makeba

"I went home in 1990 for six days, then in 1991 I did two concerts there. I decided I had to stay, and I gathered my rags and moved back. It's wonderful to be back home; there's no place like it."

Related Articles in the 'African Artists' Category...