Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
The isicathamiya choir whose harmonies reached the world through Paul Simon's Graceland, and who have since won five Grammy Awards.
Joseph Shabalala founded Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 1960 in the Natal town of Ladysmith, taking the group's name from his home, from the Zulu word for the black ox, and from the axe that would chop down rival choirs in competition.
They sing isicathamiya, a Zulu a cappella tradition that grew in the migrant workers' hostels around the mines — men far from home singing through the night, the name meaning to walk softly, because the dancing had to be quiet enough not to wake the guards. The group won so consistently at the weekend competitions that they were eventually barred from entering and allowed only to perform.
Paul Simon heard a cassette of them and went to Johannesburg in 1985, at the height of the cultural boycott, to record what became Graceland. The collaboration was criticised at the time for breaking the boycott — a serious charge, and one the group and Simon answered differently — and it also put Zulu choral singing in front of tens of millions of people who had never heard it. Homeless and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes are theirs.
They have since won five Grammy Awards, sung at Nelson Mandela's Nobel ceremony and at his inauguration, and toured continuously for six decades. Shabalala died in 2020 and the group continues under his sons.
They sing isicathamiya, a Zulu a cappella tradition that grew in the migrant workers' hostels around the mines — men far from home singing through the night, the name meaning to walk softly, because the dancing had to be quiet enough not to wake the guards. The group won so consistently at the weekend competitions that they were eventually barred from entering and allowed only to perform.
Paul Simon heard a cassette of them and went to Johannesburg in 1985, at the height of the cultural boycott, to record what became Graceland. The collaboration was criticised at the time for breaking the boycott — a serious charge, and one the group and Simon answered differently — and it also put Zulu choral singing in front of tens of millions of people who had never heard it. Homeless and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes are theirs.
They have since won five Grammy Awards, sung at Nelson Mandela's Nobel ceremony and at his inauguration, and toured continuously for six decades. Shabalala died in 2020 and the group continues under his sons.
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