Hi Frederick ! Nothing can be complete with the Swahili ballad- Malaika (My Angel in English) without reference to the original writer of the song- Fadhili Williams and his subsequent duet with Mona Miller- both from the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.
Their version is also the only one with English lyrics. For non-Swahili speakers, some of the songs have linguistic distortions. While Makeba and Belafonte also have a duet version which was not on the list. When-ever I sing "Malaika" at various picnics/"sing alongs" in New York city and New Jersey, I use the first three verses of Fadhili and Mona Miller's and in the fourth stanza, I would sing one of the popular verses from Belafonte/Makeba in place of Fadhili's/ Mona Miller's second English verse. When I interviewed Mona Miller in Dar es Salaam in the mid-seventies during her only singing tour to Tanzania, she told me that she should be singing some of Makeba's popular South African songs in retribution for Makeba singing her songs without her or their permission.- referring also to Fadhili. Likewise, Fadhili in his obituary in the New York Times some years ago , the writer makes reference to the fact that Fadhili felt that he was given a raw deal by most of those who sang "Malaika" in that he did not receive any royalties and credit as the song writer. Cheers. Tony Barros (ex-Tanzania), Union, New Jersey. barr...@yahoo.com From: Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا Over the last month or so, my reading took me (on a virtual tour) to East Africa. Otherwise, have only been there once (to Uganda, Entebbe, Kampala and the lovely banks of Lake Victoria in 2005... great memories). So here's some YouTube sound to share with you. Please vote and tell which Malaika you like the best: