ROME (AFP) — South African singer Miriam Makeba has died aged 76 after being taken ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta following a concert, ANSA news agency reported Monday.
Miriam Makeba on Sunday in Castel Volturno, Italy, during her final concert
She died overnight after taking part in a concert for Roberto Saviano, a writer threatened with death by the Mafia, the Italian agency said.
Miriam Makeba, known as "Mama Africa", was the legendary voice of the African continent who became a symbol of the fight against apartheid in her home country.
She died just after having sung for half an hour for the young author of "Gomorrah" at Castel Volturno near Naples along with other singers and artistes.
She was taken ill and was quickly taken to a clinic in Castel Volturno where she died of a heart attack, ANSA said.
Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg on March 4, 1932. She made an international farewell tour in 2005.
Born from a Swazi mother and Xhosa father, Makeba captured international attention as vocalist for the South African group, The Manhattan Brothers, while they toured the United States in 1959.
The following year, when she wanted to return home to bury her mother, the apartheid state revoked her citizenship and later also banned her music. As a result she spent 31 years in exile, living in the United States and later in Guinea.
She became the first black African woman to receive a Grammy Award which she shared with folk singer Harry Belafonte in 1965.
Two years later her fame sky-rocketed with the recording of the all-time hit "Pata Pata" (Xhosa for "touch, touch" describing a township dance) although she unknowingly signed away all royalties on the song.
She hit an all-time low in 1985 when her only daughter, Bongi, died aged 36 from complications from a miscarriage. Makeba did not have money to buy a coffin for Bongi, and buried her alone barring a handful of journalists covering the funeral.
But she picked herself up again, as she did many times before, like when her father died at a young age, or when she recovered from cervix cancer, or her many unhappy relationships, or unfounded rumours of alcoholism, according to her biography.
She returned to South Africa in the 1990s after Mandela was released from prison but it took a cash-strapped Makeba six years to find someone in the local recording industry to produce a record with her.
She since released "Homeland" which contains a song describing her joy to be back home after the many years in exile in which she spoke out against apartheid and testified twice before the United Nations.
"I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa and the people without even realising," she said in her biography.
MIRIAM MAKEBA IN THE 1960S - TIME MAGAZINE EXCERPTS:
Time Magazine - Monday, Feb. 01, 1960
The trouble is that she wants to go home—home being a four-room house in Mofolo Village, a South African "location" (Negro reservation) outside Johannesburg. "Down there, if you aren't white, you may be a star, but you're still a nothing," she admits. "But I still want to go home."
Singer Miriam Makeba, a Xosa tribeswoman… is probably too shy to realize it, but her return to Africa would leave a noticeable gap in the U.S. entertainment world, which she entered a mere six weeks ago. Miriam Makeba, 27, has had no formal musical training, and a few years ago she still earned her living as a housemaid in Johannesburg, but she is the most exciting new singing talent to appear in many years...
The little girl from Prospect Township is making $750 a week, which could be eight years' rent for a native family in Johannesburg. RCA Victor is planning to record her songs. But Miriam wants to go home.
Time Magazine, Feb. 29, 1960
Sir:
I want to tell you how happy I was with the article in the Feb. 1 issue [SHOW BUSINESS]. It was very gratifying.
I did notice that there was a slight error, which I do not think you will mind my calling attention to. It concerns my African name, and if I may, I would like to spell it correctly for you.
Zenzile Makeba Qgwashu Nguvama Yiketheli Nxgowa Bantana Balomzi Xa Ufun Ubajabulisa Ubaphekcli Mbiza Yotshwala Sithi Xa Saku Qgiba Ukutja Sithathe Izitsha Sizi Kkabe Singama Lawu Singama Qgwashu Singama Nqamla Nqgithi.
The reason for its length is that every child takes the first name of all his male ancestors. Often following the first name is a descriptive word or two, telling; about the character of the person, making a true African name somewhat like a story. This may sound most unusual to Americans, but it is the custom of my people.
MIRIAM MAKEBA New York City
¶ Freely translated, the descriptive word or two in Miriam Makeba's name say: "There is a saying that after dinner, the Xosa kick the dishes."—ED.
May. 1, 1964
Married. Miriam Makeba, 32, gaunt South African Xosa tribeswoman whose plaintive folk chants have made her a top U.S. nightclub and recording star; and Hugh Masekela, 25, South African trumpeter and her arranger; she for the third time; in Stamford, Conn.
May. 3, 1968
Married. Stokely Carmichael, 26, Black Power firebrand; and Miriam Makeba, 36, South African singing star, who met Stokely in 1960 during a U.S. tour; he for the first time, she for the third; in Washington, D.C.
May 31, 1968
Tricked out in gaudy tribal trappings, Black Power Warrior Stokely Carmichael, 26, and Click-Singer Miriam Makeba, 36, celebrated their recent marriage at a reception held in Mount Vernon, N.Y., by Akili Danieli, Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.N. Married secretly about a month ago in Washington, D.C., the couple canceled their plans for a mammoth reception because of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Now the newlyweds have little time for honeymooning. Miriam went to South America for a monthlong concert tour; Stokely holed up in Washington and let the world know that Black Power machinations and marriage were not mutually exclusive pursuits. "My wife," he said, "has already been a freedom fighter."
Posted by: Remember Mama Africa | November 10, 2008 at 11:50 PM