Miriam Makeba - Country Girl (Pläne, 1981)

Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932 and was the first African singer to make African music popular in the US and Europe. She campaigned against apartheid in South Africa and the government revoked her citizenship and right to return home. Her mother, a Swazi sangoma (traditional healer-herbalist) was arrested for selling umqombothi, an African homemade beer brewed from malt and cornmeal when Miriam was an infant so she spent the first six months of her life in jail. Her mother died during her exile. Her father died when she was six years old. She finally returned home after the end of apartheid and she died on tour in Italy in 2008 after a concert organized to support a writer-dissident.

Miriam became known as "Mama Africa" and was probably best known as a singer for her song, "Pata Pata." She has toured with singers such as Paul Simon, Nina Simone, Hugh Masekela and Dizzy Gillepsie. The ban on her records was lifted in South Africa in 1988 and she returned to her homeland in December 1990. Four years later she started a charity project to raise funds to protect women in South Africa. Her first concert in South Africa (1991) was a huge success and this was a prelude for a world-wide tour which included the USA and Europe.

She has released over fifty albums over the years, and her powerful and distinctive voice retains the clarity and range that enable it to be both forceful as a protest march and as poignant as an African lullaby. She keeps on singing, with her granddaughter Zenzi Lee in her background choir and a great-grandson in her entourage. She released a critically acclaimed comeback album, “Homeland,” released in 2000, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2001. She appeared in the movie of 2002 by Lee Hirsch, the opulent and exciting documentary “Amandla!” about the powerful part of music in the struggle against Apartheid. In 2004, at the South African Music Awards 10, her album “Reflections,” won two awards: Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Adult Contemporary Album. She is on an international tour in 2007 with her eight member band, and performed for a free concert in May in London’s Trafalgar Square.  Miriam is Mama Africa, a lady with a special touch. She has weathered many storms in her life, including several car accidents, a plane crash and even cancer. She remains as active in her latter years as she did as a young girl with stars in her eyes.Her exceptional personal and artistic profile is part of the history of this century, all adding to the dramatic elements of an extraordinary life, making Miriam Makeba a living legend.

"Country Girl" was originally released in France on the "Disques Espérance" label and re-released in Germany on "Pläne" in 1981.


Tracklist:

A1		Country Girl	5:20
A2		Tailor Man	4:30
A3		Xica Da Silva	5:30
A4		Witch Doctor (Isangoma)	4:00
B1		The Lion Cries (Mbube)	5:00
B2		Meet Me At The River	5:40
B3		Goodbye Poverty	5:30
B4		Click Song	3:35

Miriam Makeba - Country Girl (Pläne, 1981)
(256 kbps, cover art included)