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Artist
Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds
12+ albums
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about
Solomon Popoli Linda (1909 – 8 October 1962), also known as Solomon Ntsele ("Linda" was his clan name), was a South African musician, singer and composer best known as the composer of the song "Mbube", which later became the popular music success "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and gave its name to the Mbube style of isicathamiya a cappella later popularized by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Linda's musical popularity grew with the Evening Birds, who presented "a very cool urban act that wears pinstriped suits, bowler hats and dandy two-tone shoes". The members of the group were Solomon Linda (soprano), Gilbert Madondo (alto), Boy Sibiya (tenor), with Gideon Mkhize, Samuel Mlangeni, and Owen Sikhakhane as basses. They were all Linda's friends from Pomeroy. The group evolved from performances at weddings to choir competitions. Solomon Popoli Linda was born near Pomeroy, on the labor reserve Msinga, Umzinyathi District Municipality in Ladysmith in Natal, where he was familiar with the traditions of amahubo and izingoma zomshado (wedding songs) music. He attended the Gordon Memorial mission school, where he learned about Western musical culture, hymns, and participated in choir contests. Influenced by the new syncopated music that had been introduced into South Africa from the US during the 1880s, he included it in the Zulu songs he and his friends sang at weddings and feasts. In 1931, Linda, like many other young African men at that time, left his homestead to find menial work in Johan
top songs
albums
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From Marabi to Disco
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African Jazz 'N jive
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Mbube - The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Music from South Africa)
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La Boîte Noire (1957)
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Golden Afrique, Vol. 3: Highlights of African Pop Music (1939-1988)
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African Jazz 'N' Jive
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The Lion Sleeps Tonight
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The History of Township Music
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Rough Guide To The Music Of South Africa
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Township Jazz 'N' Jive
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African Jazz 'N' Jive: An Authentic Selection Of South African Township Swing Classics From The '50s & '60s
The Rough Guide to the Music of South Africa