Two Songs From Mahlathini And The Mahotella Queens

South Africa's "King of the Groaners" and his Queens

I don't recall exactly when I started listening to African music. It’s been a while. I ran across a few Malathini albums some decades ago that were released on the Earthworks label, through Caroline Records. That was in the early Nineties.

Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde was a South African singer of a type known as a groaner - one of those Earthworks/Caroline albums was called King of the Groaners. His deep voice was probably closer to a growl or a croak than a groan, but who am I to nitpick?

Wikipedia alleges that Mahlathini And The Mahotella Queens were "a South African mbaqanga supergroup." Which is a fair enough description. The trio of singers got together with Malathini in the Sixties and lasted until his death in the Nineties and for a few decades after that.

Here are a few songs that grabbed me. Enjoy.