Oldies Week - "Guabi Guabi" (George Sibanda)

Taking a week to look some old African songs that became popular outside the continent. This one became popular with American folk musicians in the Sixties.

A few weeks ago we took a week to feature some acoustic guitar music from Africa. We couldn't begin to touch on all the great guitarists and George Sibanda was overlooked.

At SWP Records' Bandcamp page for their album, The Legendary George Sibanda, they have this to say about him:

Singer/songwriter/guitarist George Sibanda from Bulawayo was in effect sub-Saharan Africa's first music star. Discovered by Hugh Tracey in 1948, he became a big radio hit in Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, and Kenya.

An exceptional own style of guitar-picking, coupled with his generous voice and happy-go-lucky songs, made him into a big star.

Later his song 'Guabi Guabi' was covered by several folk artists in the USA. Alas he could not cope with fame and fortune and had drunk himself to death by the end of the 50s. Recordings on this album from 1948, '49, '50, '52.

Here's a snip from a Tumblr called Gwabi Gwabi: The Forgotten Legend of George Sibanda that recounts how the song became popular among American folkies when folk was a big deal back in the Fifties and Sixties:

In the ‘60s, an American folk singer laid his hands on Music of Africa. The guitar-plucking and infectious voice of George of Bulawayo were obviously too hard to resist.

Soon, the record was being played by guitarists in the unlikeliest of places in America; redneck bars where struggling country and folk singers were used to playing songs about poor harvests and cattle.

Soon, there was something of a scramble to record Gwabi Gwabi among folk singers. The track was soon on a musical review, Wait a Minim, and was recorded by dozens of folk singers, among them singers with names such as Ramblin'Joe Elliot, Taj Mahal and Arlo Guthrie.

From 2012, here's Arlo Guthrie discussing the song and then doing a brief live version on acoustic guitar, with his band chiming in.