Song:Soul Makossa
Album:Africadelic: The Very Best Of Manu Dibango
Sax player Manu Dibango scored a fluke top 40 hit in 1972 with Soul Makossa. It turned out to be very influential on funk and hip hop. Dibango was born Dec. 12, 1933 in Douala, French Cameroon. He started out as a founding member of the 50s group African Jazz. Then he moved to Europe in the mid-60s. He had his own band and released a few singles and he also played sessions in Paris. He didn't release an album until 1969. Then he signed with Fiesta Records who specialized in Africans living in France. The story goes that New York DJ David Mancuso found a copy of Soul Makossa at a West Indian record store in Brooklyn. He ran private parties at The Loft. Legendary DJ Frankie Crocker got his hands on a copy of Soul Makossa and played it on his popular show on WBLS in New York. Atlantic Records licensed the record from Fiesta. And then it broke nationally and reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Of course the song's influence was much greater than that. Among others, Kool and the Gang leader Robert "Kool" Bell has acknowledged Soul Makossa's influence. The song has been sampled on many hits including Michael Jackson's Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and Rihanna's Don't Stop The Music. And to think that Soul Makossa was a B side of a record celebrating the Cameroon soccer team. Dibango has rerecorded Soul Makossa a couple of times. But you can get the original on this Universal comp. At 83 years old, Dibango still records and tours. He released a new album earlier this year. He also was a Special Francophone Representative for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Here's Manu Dibango performing Soul Makossa from the 1976 concert film Salsa. This video is not on Youtube.
Manu Dibango - Soul makossa by madafonka2
No comments:
Post a Comment