Soweto Blues

"Soweto Blues"
Song by Miriam Makeba
from the album You Told Your Mama Not to Worry
Released1977
GenreProtest song
Length5:24
LabelCasablanca
Songwriter(s)Hugh Masekela
Producer(s)

"Soweto Blues" is a protest song written by Hugh Masekela and performed by Miriam Makeba.[1] The song is about the Soweto uprising that occurred in 1976, following the decision by the apartheid government of South Africa to make Afrikaans a medium of instruction at school. The uprising was forcefully put down by the police, leading to the death of between 176 and 700 people. The song was released in 1977 as part of Masekela's album You Told Your Mama Not to Worry.[2][3] The song became a staple at Makeba's live concerts, and is considered a notable example of music in the movement against apartheid.[4]

  1. ^ Plasketes, George (2009). B-sides, Undercurrents and Overtones: Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. p. 112. ISBN 978-0754665618.
  2. ^ Hess, J. (2019). Music Education for Social Change: Constructing an Activist Music Education. Taylor & Francis. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-429-83839-2. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  3. ^ Lusk, Jon (11 November 2008). "Miriam Makeba: Singer banned from her native South Africa for fighting apartheid". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cheyney 1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).