There is something about surfing that generally leads to great, feel
good music. The Beach Boys (although only one of them actually surfed)
were amongst the best exponents of this. In more modern times, Jack
Johnson took a more laid back approach to this kind of music. In South
Africa, we have, for a good few decades now, been privy to the laid
back ‘surfer’ music of Robin Auld.
‘Drunken Girl’ is another slice of perfect laidback pop from our
little maestro. It has Auld’s trademark mellow vocals surfing nicely
upon a groove wave of guitar and rhythm, taking you on a great ride.
But scratch the surface of this song a little and you’ll realise that
‘Drunken Girl’ is not as easy as the title suggests. The lyrics are
thoughtful and somewhat sad. This was always a trademark of Auld. The
sounds might seem carefree, but there was always a serious side to his
lyrics and this combination is what has given his work its longevity.
Where to find it: Africana, Free Lunch Productions (2010)
In 1972 Tony Osher, Norman Coates and Mandi Hayns (later to become Marloe Scott Wilson) put out a single under the name of Canticle. The song was called ‘Ray Of Sunshine’. The song was very much of its time and has a Carpenter’s feel to it. The lyrics are about love and very positive. This may not be suited to everyone’s taste, but would have certainly appealed to South Africans in the early 70’s. Surprisingly, this song did not chart on the South African charts.
There are lush orchestral sounds with a warm brass section which underpin Mandi’s pure voice. The song was released in Germany in 1973 under the artist name Mandi Wilson & Canticle as well as being released in the UK and Belgium.
The folk movement of the early sixties took this old spiritual to its heart and acts like Peter, Paul & Mary and Pete Seeger recorded versions of it. However, it was The Highwaymen that took it to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Unlike The Highwaymen of the 60’s, Richard Jon Smith gave the song a disco twist and took it to the top of the South African charts in 1979.
Smith, who went on to have some minor success in the UK (his greatest achievement was his backing vocals on Tight Fit’s UK Chart topping single ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’), was born in Cape Town in 1950 and was discovered by Clive Calder (who went on to form the internationally successful record Jive label). His dynamic performances earned him the nickname Mr Knockout.
Starting off with a loud cry of ‘Hallelujah!’ and a chorus responding with a repeated ‘Hallelujah!’ Smith’s version soon has you tapping your toes along with the Boney M-esque beats. In fact later in the song there are some backing vocals that must have been influenced by Bobby Farrell (the guy in Boney M) which adds to this feel to the song. This interesting interpretation of the old classic is a good example of how South Africa embraced the disco craze of the late 70’s.
Where to find it:
Yesterday’s Best Vol 2, 1995, Teal, MORCD536
Chris Letcher and Matthew van der Want have teamed up a couple of times to make music and this has produced some great results. Both ‘Low Riding’ and ‘Bignity’ are worth having in any self-respecting SA Rock fan’s album collection, and their solo projects are also worth checking out. But when they get together, there is a synergy that makes it quite special.
‘Saving The Scenes’ is one of the stand out tracks on 2002’s ‘Bignity’. It sound a little like those whiny but laid back grunge acts like Counting Crows but without the angst laden vocals. The song seems to float along on the back of a head-nodding beat and if there was such a genre as chilled-rock, this would slot into it nicely. On a lyrical front, there is a reason why the song did not make it on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Consider the line ‘O silver stars make me nervous, make me wanna run join the Taliban.’
‘Bignity’ made the Mail & Guardian’s list of the top 20 albums of the first decade of this millennium, and with a track like ‘Saving The Scenes’ on it, I am not at all surprised that it did.
Where to find it:
Bignity – Van der Want/Letcher (2002), Sheer Sound, SHIF004
Great Heart – Johnny Clegg (The Spirit Of A Grey Tart)
Johnny Clegg & Savuka
People often try and describe what is fantastic about Africa and invariably these efforts resort to clichés about blue skies, open plains and bushveld. Few people have really managed to capture the spirit and greatness of the continent as Johnny Clegg did in ‘Great Heart’ and even less have done so to such a catchy tune. Full of imagery and loaded with high kicking, foot-stomping beats. This is one song about Africa that never fails to excite and delight.
The song was used in the movie version of Sir Percy Fitzpatrick’s book ‘Jock Of The Bushveld’ (most of the rest of the soundtrack being handled by Neill Solomon) and was also in the closing credits of Disney’s ‘Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale’. Jimmy Buffet did a cover version of it which had a Caribbean sound. While it’s great that international stars are covering a local artist, I’m afraid this version doesn’t work for me, it seems to lack hands on experience of the subject matter and tends to be a little bland in comparison to the original.
In more recent times, Johnny Clegg joined up with the elite of South Africa’s rock scene (Karen Zoid, Parlotones, Chris Chameleon to name a few) to re-record the song in aid of the Starfish charity. This version is well worth seeking out as it remains true to the spirit of ‘Great Heart’ but at the same time brings an updated slant to it.
Where to find it:
The Very Best Of Johnny Clegg & Savuka – Johnny Clegg & Savuka (2002), EMI, I-8575762 Videos: Johnny Clegg & Savuka:
Johnny Clegg & Friends:
Hog Hoggidy Hog
Jimmy Buffet
Lyrics:
The world is full of strange behaviour
Every man has to be his own saviour
I know I can make it on my own if I try
But I’m searching for a Great Heart to stand me by
Underneath the African sky
A Great Heart to stand me by
Chorus:
I’m searching for the spirit of the Great Heart
To hold and keep me by
I’m searching for the spirit of the Great Heart
Under African sky
Sometimes I feel that you really know me
Sometimes there’s so much you can show me
There’s a highway of stars across the heavens
There’s whispering song of the wind in the grass
There’s the rolling thunder across the savannah
A hope and dream at the edge of the sky
And your life is a story like the wind
Your life is a story like the wind
Chorus
I’m searching for the spirit of the Great Heart
To hold and stand me by
But I’m searching for a Great Heart to stand me by
Underneath the African sky
I’m searching for the spirit of the Great Heart
I see the fire in your eyes
I’m searching for the spirit of the Great Heart
That beats my name inside
Sometimes I feel that you really know me
Sometimes there’s so much you can show me
Guk a ‘mzimba (body grow old)
Sala ‘nhliziyo (but heart remain behind)
Redd Angel was Jerome Martin, a young singer who was known as the Michael Jackson of Langa (a township just outside Cape Town). His promising career was cut tragically short in 2006 when he was killed in a car crash at age 29.
What he did bequeath to us is a toe-tapping-get-up-and-dance-feel-good-funky slice of a pop song in ‘Fabulous Day’. This is sunny music from a sunny country. He is not a Michael Jackson sound-a-like, but he does have that sort of breathy quietness in his vocals that MJ was also famous for. His cover of ‘Man In The Mirror’ does show a closer match on voices, but watching some of his Youtube videos you wouldn’t say that he had the dance moves of Jackson, but he certainly had the pop sensibilities.
‘Fabulous Day’ seems to have been the subject of many different mixes, some for listening to at home while doing the ironing, some for your night out in Ibiza and some for turning up loud as your pimpmobile bounces through the hood.
A sad loss to the SA music world of someone who may well have become our ‘King of Pop’.
Where to find it:
Fabulous Day – Redd Angel (CD Single) (2002), ZYX, ZYX 9536-8
Falling Mirror – The Storming Of The Loft (CD re-issue)
Falling Mirror always like putting a rock n’ roll number on their albums and on ‘The Storming Of The Loft’ it was called ‘Neutron Bop’. It’s a foot tapping tune that has a rock-a-billy beat and a few rocking guitar licks thrown in for good measure. Another feature is a ‘driving through an American desert’ harmonica.
The chorus (which includes Tully McCully) echoes Nielen Marias’ vocals, repeating the last line of the first verse which all rhyme with bop. They then add a ‘Bop! Bop! to later verses whether they end in a ‘op’ sound or not.
Those who prefer the more serious of Falling Mirror’s song will possibly not list this as a favourite as it is jaunty and fun filled, but it does show the breadth of talent that made up the group, allowing them to create rock masterpieces like ‘Johnny Calls The Chemist’ and ‘Makin Out With Granny’, but also opening the way for them to pay homage to a style of music they obviously have a soft spot for. ‘Neutron Bop’ does feel a bit too modern for it to sit completely comfortably with songs from Carl Perkins, early Elvis Presley and Bill Hailey but, I am sure, would have been favourably looked up by those luminaries if they had ever got to hear it.
The song Eloise and the number 8 seem to have an affinity. In 1968 Barry Ryan took the song to number 2 in the UK and number 4 in the US. In 1986, punk group, The Damned, took a cover version to number 3. In between these two chartings of the song, Rouge, a South African group spearheaded by Zane Cronje, featuring John Weddepohl on vocals and, amongst others, Malie Kelly and Avril Stockley on backing vocals, released an epic concerto version in 1978.
Rouge’s version starts with a piano intro which, if you didn’t know what song they were covering, is not immediately recognisable as Eloise. But this all changes pretty quickly and you are into a pulsing disco version of Barry Ryan’s classic. The song is played through, then there is an instrumental interlude which combines the disco beats with a classical flavouring of piano and strings. The vocals then return, accompanied by brassy horns and soaring strings.
This epic and ambitious cover version clocks in at over 17 minutes and is one of the better examples of how disco covers of rock classics were popular in South Africa in the late 70’s.
Where to find it: Disco Fever – Various, (1999), Gallo, CDREDD 627 (Out of print & difficult to find)
‘Pampoene!’ Lise Swart yells at the start of the song, just to make sure you know what it’s about and to grab your attention. For those of you who don’t know, ‘pampoene’ are pumpkins and the tradition in rural South Africa is to put pumpkins on the roof to ripen in the sun. Anton Goosen uses this image to create a classic song.
However, there is a huge tongue in Goosen’s cheek (how often isn’t there one?). He is having a go at the ‘poppies’, those fashion conscious girls who walk around in Gucci and Calvin Klein, pretending to be smart city slickers, but back home, they are just farm girls who live in houses with pampoene oppie dak.
The song is done in a hoe-down style and is jam packed with feel good faction. From the bouncy, toe-tapping fiddle to the hilarious lyrics, this song was bound to go down in Afrikaans music folklore. It has been covered by Jakkie Louw and features in a number of medleys (Theuns Jordaan, Beeskraal) and will probably crop up many more times in the future.
Where to find it:
‘n Vis In Die Bos (2001) Gallo Records (GWVCD XX33)
Grootste Treffers Van Die Liedjieboer (2010) Select Musiek
Bekkie, bokkie, baby.
Is jy ook so lief vir my?
Daar’s ‘n deel van jou wat vry wil bly.
Ma’ die anner deel van jou wil net die heeltyd vry.
Waar kry jy jou luck vandaan?
Always oopoog op die stoep gestaan.
Bekkie, bokkie, baby.
Dis ‘n skande dat niks ooit, ook verander nie.
Pampoene op die dak.
Pampoene op die dak.
Calvin Klein en Gucchi op die gatsak.
Maar … Pampoene op die dak.
Bekkie, bokkie, baby.
As jou geblomde rokkie wip.
Kan jy my hart ma’ op jou hande dra.
Al gooi jou pa met klip.
Al sou jou antie met ‘n kierie slaan.
Al skree jou oompie op jou ma.
Bekkie, bokkie, baby en ek.
Ry ‘n wonderlike wolwielwa.
Pampoene op die dak.
Pampoene op die dak.
Calvin Klein en Gucchi op die gatsak.
Maar … Pampoene op die dak.
Daar’s paddas in die dam.
Kriekies in die vlei.
Doring in die hart moet mens uitgetrek kry - en dan … net tjoepstil bly.
Blou water lê agter my.
Die blou berge lê voorkant my.
Ek wonder of jy weet hoe vreet die liefde binne my?
Hoe kan ek, as my hart so skree net tjoepstil bly?
Pampoene op die dak.
Pampoene op die dak.
Calvin Klein en Gucchi op die gatsak.
Maar … Pampoene op die dak.
If you ever thought that an acapella group couldn’t rock, try get hold of Not The Midnight Mass’ CD ‘Mass Hysteria’ (not as easy as it may sound as it is out of print) and take a little listen to their cover version of Aerosmith’s ‘Janie’s Got A Gun’ (the cover of Led Zep’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ is another rocker on the CD).
Terence Reis takes the lead vocal on this version and gives a venomous performance while being underpinned by the rest of the groups’ vocal gymnastics do a brilliant job of emulating the original version’s blasting instrumentation.
Acapella is not a style that has been widely done by white South Africans, but Not The Midnight Mass are quite clearly the most successful group of that genre in the country (note, I did say White South African as we all know about the success of Ladysmith Black Mambazo who far outstrip the Midnight Mass in terms of sales) and given their great arrangements and expertise with which they pull off songs like ‘Janie’s Got A Gun’ it’s no surprise really.
