#26. Miriam Makeba - Miriam Makeba (1960)

Miriam Makeba was a South African folk singer who always stood up for what she believed in. In 1959, she appeared in the anti-apartheid documentary Come Back, Africa by independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. He arranged a visa for her to leave South Africa to attend the film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

She then traveled to London, where she met Harry Belafonte. He helped her gain entry to and fame in America. Makeba was an instant success in New York nightclubs, and so RCA snatched her up. They were hoping to repeat the success of her mentor, Belafonte.

Tragedy struck when Makeba learned of the passing of her mother in South Africa. She learned that her passport had been revoked after trying to return home for her funeral. A few years later, she testified before the United Nations against apartheid and as a result, her South African citizenship and right to return to her country had been revoked.

Her debut album on RCA was a mixture of traditional South African folk songs, calypso-inspired numbers and more familiar material like "House of the Rising Sun." I preferred the traditional African folk numbers performed in her native language (Xhosa) over the bouncy calypso music. There's a moment when she introduces "The Click Song" and she says that "the English call it 'The Click Song' because they can not say 'Qongqothwane'). I love the honesty here and it's actually quite funny to hear the true pronunciation (and, no, i can't say it either). Despite the critical success of her debut, it may have been a bit too exotic to be a commercial success and RCA declined to renew her contract. 

She went on to become the most influential female singer to come out of South Africa. Not only in her artistry, but also in her humanitarianism. Makeba was awarded several peace prizes in her fight against apartheid, and eventually returned to her native country in the '90s at the urging of Nelson Mandela.

In addition to that, she even made an appearance as herself in the final season of The Cosby Show.

Favorite Tracks: "The Click Song," "Surilam" and "The Retreat Song"