Picks of the Week - Public Service Announcements In Song (Various)

PSA songs in the service of Covid-19 (Botswana), HIV (Zimbabwe), and child nutrition (Malawi).

Mahempe is a band from Botswana that struck a nerve with me, as you've noticed if you've been following along here for a while. Their"shtick" is to dress as old men, in ragged clothes (shred the pants) and dance in a way that would drive most old men to exhaustion.

They also make great music. Such as "Itshireletseng," which is on my "Ultimate Top 10" songs playlist. The band are in uniform in this video, but they are a little more low-key. Perhaps because the song and video were made to promote safe practices during the Covid-19 crisis.

Surfing in Malawi? Not likely, since the country is landlocked. But at Jack Allison's web site, "Ufa Wa Mtedza" (The Peanut Flour Song)" is described as having a "surf-guitar beat." In 2020, Allison also wrote a Covid-19 song called "Tipewe Mulili wa Colona (Let’s Prevent the Corona Pandemic)." The story of the earlier song, which Allison wrote, is covered in more detail here. Here's a snip.

In 1967, Jack Allison had already ‘opened’ for The Dave Clark Five on The Ed Sullivan show as a member of the UNC Men’s Glee Club and played North Carolina gigs with his band The One-Eyed Jacks. But he never expected that the little “jingle” he wrote to promote protein for child nutrition would become the number one hit on Malawi’s only radio station while he was serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. With its surf-guitar beat, “Ufa Wa Mtedza” (The Peanut Flour Song) proved to be not only an effective way to spread a social message, but a great way to raise awareness and funds for development projects.

Listen to Allison's song here.

In Zimbabwe, the song "Knock, Knock, Knock" is also known as the ZIMPHIA (Zimbabwe Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment) Survey Song. As the notes to the video say, "ZIMPHIA is a nationally representative, population-based household survey that will estimate HIV incidence and prevalence in Zimbabwe."

Various artists were recruited for the effort (they're listed in the opening to the video). Musically, it's quite good. Lyrically, well, it was meant to send a message.