Song of the Day 7/18: Johnny Clegg, “Scatterlings of Africa”

South African musician and anthropologist Johnny Clegg, who died Tuesday at age 66, had a brief window of exposure in the U.S. back in the ’80s, when apartheid came under increased pressure from most other industrialized countries. Clegg’s bands Juluka and Savuka, each formed by Clegg and a native African, broke the country’s laws simply by existing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIgWsiaXUkA

They couldn’t perform in public or have their music broadcast, but they built an international following that peaked shortly after Paul Simon released his “Graceland” album, which included several tracks written and performed with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. That brought more exposure for South African music in general, though Clegg’s was a mix of African and Western traditions that today sounds more than a little like Vampire Weekend.
It made enough of a splash that Savuka appeared on the Tonight Show in 1988 and again in 1990.

He faded back into the World Music section at Borders after that. A few people might remember his song Dela from “George of the Jungle,” though I’m not sure anyone actually saw that movie: