Hi Tony,
What a wonderful and beautifully-sketched write-up. A few words, if I may..... Fadhili Williams did indeed compose the lyrics to "Malaika", but in all probability, was not the creator of that delightful melody. A few years ago, whilst researching early folk-music of East Africa with Philip Mundey (through a Ford Foundation grant to Kenya Consrvatoire) with particular emphasis on the Wahadzabe, we established that "Malaika" was indeed a well-known traditional Tanzanian folk-melody. I did eventually transcribe the tune down into sheet-music notation, including a piano arrangement. As to your comment re. no other Swahili song receiving international recognition, could I mention "Jambo Bwana" by Teddy Kalanda Harrison (of "Them Mushrooms", now renamed "Uyoga"), a personal friend, we performed adjacent gigs at the Nairobi Intercontinental in 1991-92. "Jambo Bwana", recorded in 1980, and still very popular, went platinum, was widely recorded by Jimmy Cliff, and its iconic slogan 'Hakuna Matata' became a byword for the box-office movie hit "The Lion King". Both songs remain extremely popular in the Goan diaspora (a staple of all good Goan dance bands), and I have included both (complete sheet-music, lyrics, chords, translations), in my July-release songbook omnibus "Greatest Konkani Song Hits - Vol. 1". Here's an evocative sample: http://2008goanconvention.com/inviter.php Thank you again Tony, for an unsurpassed slice of nostalgia. Francis. Toronto. ________ From: Tony Barros Subject: [Goanet] Malaika (My Angel ) on YouTube Hi Ruby ! Thanx for sending us on "memory lane: with the latest version of the popular Swahili ballad - "Malaika" (My Angel) on YouTube. It was delightful to hear this great song written by Fadhili Williams - the wellknown song-writer and singer from the coastal city of Mombasa in Kenya, East Africa.......... I have heard several versions of "Malaika" and have at least five on several of my CDs; In the early seventies, I purchased an extended Play (EP)45 rpm gramophone record of the original version by Fadhili and another Mombasa singer - Mona Miller. (unfortunately, a friend borrowedthe record and never returned it).I have tried in vain to secure this version as it is the only one with English lyrics..... As a journalist in Tanzania, I interviewed Mona Miller when she had a two-week stint at one of the nite-clubs in Tanzania's capital- Dar es Salaam. Two years later, when visiting Zambia with my fellow Tanzanian journalists as a guest of the country's first President Kenneth Kaunda, I was honored to sing "Malaika" at Lusaka's Inter-continental Hotel with Zimbabwe's Dorothy Masuka who popularised the song throughout Africa with her version which I consider to be the sweetest....... Other well known versions are sung by the British Black pop group - "Boney M" , and the South African Black singer - Miriam Makeba in a solo and in a duet with the Black American singer, actor and civil rights activist- Harry Belafonte. She added a verse which has since been sung in all other versions. It seems that Fadhili and Mona Miller never got the recognition they deserved; part of the problem was probably because they did not institute the royalties to rights if the song was recorded by another artiste..... And when Fadhili passed away a couple of years ago, he commented that several people made "big bucks" at his expense. Many people believe that he never dreamt that "Malaika" would attain international heights. Sad to say, but other singers have not come up with any other great Swahili song to hit the international charts. I suppose time will only tell...... rgds. Tony Barros. Union Township, New Jersey, USA. ------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Try Chicktionary, a game that tests how many words you can form from the letters given. Find this and more puzzles at Live Search Games! http://g.msn.ca/ca55/207
