Legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba is well known throughout the world as “Mama Africa.” Born in 1932 in Johannesburg, she first came to the public’s attention in 1953, when she was chosen to be the female voice of the Manhattan Brothers, South Africa’s leading vocal group of that time. Four years later, the release of “Pata Pata” brought her to the attention of a wider African audience.

She left the Manhattan Brothers in 1958 to record with her all-woman group, the Skylarks, then traveled across Southern Africa with Alf Herberts’ African Jazz and Variety, an 18-month tour that launched the careers of many African artists. She also made an appearance in a documentary film, Come Back Africa. These successes eventually led to invitations to perform in Europe and the United States, where she sang at President Kennedy’s birthday in 1959 and won a Grammy Award for the album An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba.

In 1963, she testified about apartheid before the United Nations, and as a result, the South African government revoked her citizenship and right of return. Thus began a long exile from her South African homeland. She stayed in the United States, but after marrying Stokely Carmichael, a Black Panther leader, many of her concerts were cancelled, and her recording contract with RCA was dropped. Makeba and Carmichael soon fled to Guinea on the West African Coast.

Makeba returned to world prominence when she performed with Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo on the Graceland tour in 1987 and 1988. Two years later, she joined Odetta and Nina Simone for the One Nation tour.

Following Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, Makeba finally returned to South Africa in December 1990. In April 1991, she performed her first concert in her homeland in thirty years. Makeba’s return was celebrated as though a queen was restoring her monarchy. The response was fitting as Makeba remains the most important female vocalist to emerge out of South Africa.

In 1995, Makeba formed a charity organization to raise funds to help protect the women of South Africa, and later that year, she performed at the Vatican. Homeland, Makeba’s first studio album in a decade, was released in 2000.

Fifty years after her debut with the Manhattan Brothers, Makeba continues to play an important role in the growth of African music. With the June 2004 release of Reflections (HUCD 3087), this latest recording in the acclaimed Heads Up Africa series is a reminder of Miriam Makeba’s extraordinary talent and versatility.