ALBUMSoothe My Soul Songs from our South African ChurchLadysmith Black Mambazo
Albums by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMSoothe My Soul Songs from our South African ChurchLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMWinter 2001 Live: Warm Music for a Cold Night!Ladysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMSongs From LindiweLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMSongs of Peace & Love for Kids & Parents Around the WorldLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMShaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary CelebrationLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMWalking in the Footsteps of Our FathersLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMMusic From Inala: A Zulu BalletLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMAlways With UsLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMSongs From A Zulu FarmLadysmith Black Mambazo
ALBUMKobuye KulungeLadysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo's Popular Music Videos
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo) [Live]
Paul Simon
Homeless (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo) [from The Concert in Hyde Park]
Paul Simon
I Know What I Know (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo) [from The Concert in Hyde Park]
Paul Simon
O Children Come (feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
Keith & Kristyn Getty
Halo sana (Buya Mama)
Unathi & Ladysmith Black Mambazo
I Shall Be There (feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
B*Witched
I Shall Be There (feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo) [Live from Top of the Pops, 1999]
B*Witched
I Shall Be There (feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo) [Live on Blue Peter, Christmas 1999]
B*Witched
Artist Playlists
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Essentials
Key songs from the voices of South Africa.
Artist Biography
Ladysmith Black Mambazo first burst to international attention when Paul Simon showcased their breathtaking, call-and-response choral music on his 1986 album, Graceland. But this South African all-male vocal group had been around for decades before Simon showed up, and they’ve remained a global-scale musical institution ever since. The concept for the ensemble literally came to founding member Joseph Shabalala in a dream: The singer from the KwaZulu-Natal region claimed that, in the early ’60s, he was visited multiple times in his slumber by an ensemble of robed children singing in perfect harmony. The dreams inspired him to write his own music based on the tender isicathamiya vocal style popular among Zulu miners, and he dubbed his new group Ladysmith Black Mambazo in tribute to his hometown (Ladysmith), the black ox, and the axe (“mambazo” in Zulu). The group have released dozens of albums and won numerous Grammys over the decades, and their richly layered, gospel-tinged compositions have translated well in collaborations with stars as varied as Dolly Parton and David Guetta. Shabalala retired from the group in 2014—six years before his passing—leaving his sons in charge, and today Ladysmith Black Mambazo continue to deliver a message of beautiful human harmony.