

Johnny Clegg

Johnny Clegg

Early life and careerClegg was born in Bacup, Lancashire, to an English father and a Rhodesian mother. Clegg's mother's family were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Poland, and Clegg had a "secular Jewish" upbringing. Already in his youth, Clegg, a white, English-speaking person who was raised in the U.K., Israel, Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe), Zambia, and South Africa, became interested in Zulu street music and took part in traditional Zulu dance competitions.As a young man, in the early stages of his musical career, he combined his music with the study of anthropology, a subject which he also taught for a while at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he was influenced, among others, by the work of David Webster, a social anthropologist who was assassinated in 1989.JulukaIn 1969, Clegg formed the first prominent racially mixed South African band, Juluka, with gardener and Zulu musician Sipho Mchunu. The name Juluka is based on the Zulu word for "sweat". Because it was illegal for racially mixed bands to perform in South Africa during the apartheid era, their first album Universal Men received no air play on the state owned SABC, but it became a word-of-mouth hit.Juluka's / Clegg's music was both implicitly and explicitly political; not only was the fact of the success of the band (which openly celebrated African culture in a bi-racial band) a thorn in the flesh of a political system based on racial separation, the band also produced some explicitly political songs. For example, the album "Work for All" (which includes a song with the same title) picked up on South African trade union slogans in the mid-80's. Even more explicit was the later Savuka album Third World Child in 1987, with songs like "Asimbonanga" ("We haven't seen him"), which called for the release of Nelson Mandela, and which called out the names of three representative martyrs of the South African liberation struggle - Steve Biko, Victoria Mxenge, and Neil Aggett.As a result, Clegg and other band members were arrested several times and concerts routinely broken up.Juluka were able to tour in Europe, and had two platinum and five gold albums, becoming an international success. Juluka was disbanded in 1986, when Mchunu was asked by his father to return home to look after the family cattle, although Mchunu made some solo recordings afterwards.SavukaClegg went on to form his second inter-racial band, Savuka, continuing to blend African music with European influences. Name Savuka is based on the Zulu word for "we have risen" or "we have awakened". The Savuka albums Shadow Man (which sold 250,000 copies within a week after its release went on to sell more than 1,000,000 copies in France alone), and "Cruel Crazy, Beautiful World" were dealing with more romantic topics, including "Cruel Crazy Beautiful World", where a father gives a message to his son, "Dela" where the essence of love is explored, and more politically focused songs, such as "Warsaw 1943" and "One (Hu)'man one vote" which go back to political messages. Third World Child and Shadow Man occupied first and second position respectively in France and became the most successful foreign band in France and Shadow Man topped the charts in Montréal, Québec, Canada. At the height of the band's success in 1988, Michael Jackson had to cancel his show in Lyon, France, as he attracted a smaller audience than Johnny Clegg and Savuka. A newspaper headline in France read "white man singing black music, out sells black man singing white music" Their last album Heat, Dust and Dreams was nominated for a Grammy Award for best album in the category of World Music.TouringBriefly reunited with Mchunu in the mid-1990s, Clegg reformed Juluka and toured throughout the world including a tour of the USA in 1996, on which King Sunny Ade was the opening act.Clegg and his band often make an international tour during May–August (South African winter). However, the tours are usually limited to France and surrounding countries. In June 2004, Johnny Clegg toured North America for the first time in over eight years, doing 22 concerts in one month. Even though they had no albums for sale in North America during those eight years, and no significant media coverage, they filled most of their venues.Clegg returned to North America with his band in July 2005, with dates booked throughout the U.S. and Canada. His new album One Life was remixed at Real World Studios in Bath, England, and released on October 30, 2006 in the UK.Clegg and Band toured Europe and North America in 2011 to a combined audience of 35,000. He has also announced that he will play in Western Sahara city of Dakhla, which has caused a campaign of rejection, as that concert is considered as a support for Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Clegg toured North America in 2012 and one venue in France to a combined audience of 70,000.In 2013 Clegg continues to tour with a stripped-down, storytelling version of his concerts. Johnny Clegg told Eyewitness News that he's developing a musical based on his life story and an autobiography is in the pipeline.In popular cultureHis song "Scatterlings of Africa" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1988 Oscar winning film, Rain Man. The track gave him his only entry in the UK Singles Chart to date, reaching #75 in May 1987.Savuka's song "Dela" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1997 film George of the Jungle and its 2003 sequel, while "Great Heart" was the title song for the 1992 film Jock of the Bushveld. "Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World" was featured in the 1990 film Opportunity Knocks and 1991 film Career Opportunities. "Great Heart" was also the end credits song for the 2000 Disney movie Whispers: An Elephant's Tale.Jimmy Buffett recorded "Great Heart" for his 1988 album Hot Water.In 2002 Clegg provided several songs and incidental background music for Jane Goodall's "Wild Chimpanzees" DVD. Included in the extras on the disc are rare scenes of Clegg in the recording studio.He co-wrote "Diggah Tunnah" with Lebo M. for Disney's 2004 direct-to-video animated film The Lion King 1½.RecognitionClegg was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters) by the French Government in 1991.In 2004, he was voted 23rd in the SABC3's Great South Africans.In 2007, Clegg received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of the Witwatersrand.In 2011, Clegg received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from City University of New York School of Law.In 2012, Clegg received the South African Presidential Ikhamanga award as part of the National Orders ceremony. This award is the highest honor a citizen can receive in South Africa. It was presented by President Jacob Zuma.In 2012, Clegg received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.In 2013, Clegg received an honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Personal lifeJohnny Clegg's son Jesse Clegg is also a recording artist. Displaying a style markedly different from that of his father, in 2008 he released his debut album called When I Wake Up. As a rock musician the younger Clegg has quickly built up a following, with the album being nominated for two South African Music Awards.


Radio stations playing it

No stations playing Johnny Clegg now


Hot tracks

Johnny Clegg - Utshani Obulele

Utshani Obulele


Giovanni Mirabassi - A Sim Bonanga

A Sim Bonanga