DOLLY RADEBE, queen of African jazz, blues & mbaqanga

129pp., illus., paperback, Xarra Books, Midrand, 2023

ISBN: 9781776453290

Dolly Rathebe (1928-2004) grew up in Sophiatown. Spotted by a talent scout in 1948 she rose to fame as a nightclub singer and actress, and appeared on the cover of Drum Magazine. She toured with various South African bands, including the Manhattan Stars and the Harlem Swingsters, was the star attraction on Alf Herbert’s African Jazz and Variety Show, toured with the South African production of King Kong, and with the Afro-jazz group, the Elite Swingsters. After Sophiatown was destroyed by the apartheid government she found it more difficult to perform and lived in Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town before settling in Mobopane near Pretoria in 1971, only occasionally appearing on stage. Her last recording was with the re-united Elite Swingsters in 1991.

"... a thoroughly researched, articulately written, heartfelt celebration and commemoration of the life, times, and legacy of a cultural icon and musical pioneer." Nomsa Mwamuka, author of Makeba: The Miriam Makeba story

"Dr Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang weaves together vignettes of Rathebe's extraordinary life and loves with a blend of sensitivity and scholarly erudition. Written in accessible lyrical prose, the narrative pulses with the jazzy rhythms of Sophiatown in the 1950s." Dr Siphiwo Mahala, author of Can Themba: The making and breaking of the intellectual tsotsi

Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang is a research fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria. She is the recipient of the 2022 South African Literary Chairperson's Award for her body of work which includes the novel, The Daughters of Nandi, and seven books for young readers.