South Africa Holiday: Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg (4 March 1932). Her mother was a Swazi sangoma and her father, who died when she was six, was Xhosa.

Her professional career began in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers, before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional melodies of South Africa.

In 1959, she performed in the musical King Kong alongside Hugh Masekela, her future husband. Though she was a successful recording artist, she was only receiving a few Rand for each recording session and no provisional royalties, and was keen to go to the United States.

Her break came when she starred in the anti-apartheid documentary Come Back, Africa (1960). When the Italian government invited her to the premier of the film at the Venice Film Festival, she decided privately not to return home. Her South African passport was revoked shortly afterwards.

Makeba then travelled to London where she met Harry Belafonte who assisted her in gaining entry and fame in the United States.

She released many of her most famous hits there including "Pata Pata", "The Click Song" ("Qongqothwane" in Xhosa), and "Malaika".

In 1963, after an impassioned testimony before the United Nations Committee Against Apartheid, her records were banned in South Africa and her South African citizenship and her right to return to the country were revoked.

In 1966, Makeba received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafonte for "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba". The album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid.

Her marriage to Trinidadian civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael in 1968 caused controversy in the United States, and her record deals and tours were cancelled.