Johnny Clegg has passed away, I think he was perhaps South Africa’s most famed musician – an internationally known singer-songwriter, dancer, recording artist anthropologist, activist. Born on June 7, 1953, he died the other day July 16, 2019 at 66 years of age. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. One of the few performing and recording artists to defy segregation laws during the 1970s and 1980s in South Africa. Clegg performed with his bands Juluka and Savuka. He combined his music with the studies of anthropology and frequently mixed English and Zulu lyrics in the same song. Artists as diverse as Joan Baez and Jimmy Buffett covered his material.
I was supposed to interview Johnny Clegg in person when he was on tour and had an Atlanta date. Something came up and the interview was conducted by telephone. Clegg had just released an album entitled “Best Live & Unplugged at the Baxter Theatre Cape Town.” It’s a short, but information filled interview. Listen to this interview as we remember this great artist, Johnny Clegg.
