Keeping Time: 1964-1974 The Photographs and Cape Town Jazz Recordings of Ian Bruce Huntley

Electric Jive is very happy to announce that a limited edition print run of 500 copies is now at the printers. The book is expected to be available towards the end of November.

This book celebrates the public emergence of an extraordinary visual and audio archive that was initiated by Ian Bruce Huntley in Cape Town fifty years ago.

Covering the period 1964-1974, the Ian Bruce Huntley archive opens a window to a little known era of South African music history, documenting an ‘underground’ jazz scene that persisted in creative defiance of all that grand apartheid threw at it. In addition to 120 historical images, 56 hours of live recordings from many of the photographed performances are indexed in this book and will become available for free download through Electric Jive.

This previously hidden archive documents accomplished South African jazz musicians pushing the creative envelope and entertaining appreciative audiences. In his accompanying essay Jonathan Eato argues that Ian Bruce Huntley’s photos and recordings document an extension of the Drum decade lineage right through to the 1970s.

Many of the musicians Huntley worked with have passed on, and a large number were never afforded the opportunity to record (whilst others remain woefully under-documented). Combined with the loss to exile of yet more key people in the history of jazz in South Africa and the general inaccessibility of records that do exist, this conflation of events and circumstances has left a big dent in our historical understanding and resources. For those students, musicians, scholars, and devotees of South African music who wish to engage with the achievements of a generation of South African jazz musicians the newly found accessibility of the Ian Huntley archive goes a small but invaluable way towards maintaining memory and articulating lost stories

Published by Chris Albertyn and Associates in partnership with Electric Jive, the book is edited by Chris Albertyn. In addition to a biographical sketch of Ian Huntley, the book offers a substantial essay by Jonathan Eato, a full discography of all the recordings, and an index. Electric Jive's Siemon Allen is responsible for the design and layout, while Cedric Nunn has painstakingly spent many, many hours restoring the professionally scanned digitized images. More details will be made available in the coming months.

The front cover image is of Psych Big T Ntsele playing at a 1971 open-air concert in New Brighton Township, Port Elizabeth.

New Sound Label LP & EP — Discography

Gallo, the leading record company in South Africa, introduced the New Sound label in 1958 as a marketing strategy to brand their more popular jive and kwela releases. It set those recordings apart from their own more “traditional” ones and became a visually catchy product that could rival the competition. The familiar vermillion and yellow label was a bright, modern shift away from the more conventional black, gold and silver label designs of the preceding decades.

Gallo’s traditional label for black music had changed very little from the days since its inception as the Singer label in 1930. The company employed a visual code for demarcating different styles of music that one could loosely interpret as being racially or culturally specific. (Certainly I recognize that one can never generalize about these things as there are always exceptions to every rule.) But generally black or “Bantu” music (as it was referred to then) was issued on a black label with gold or silver text. Afrikaans music was issued on a green label with gold or silver text. And within the green Afrikaans label system was a sub-category known as “Sunshine” and in many cases this demarcated music that was generally “coloured” (or mixed-race) in origin. This is not to say that this system was necessarily racially motivated, but rather it was a marketing strategy that supposedly allowed the consumer to easily identify the style of music they would more likely be more interested in.

Until 1951 most Gallo 78 rpms that were local in origin carried a GE prefix catalogue number even though there were differences in label colours. In 1951 the company changed the prefix for black music from GE to GB and the issues on the Sunshine label from GE to GS. Afrikaans recordings retained the GE prefix. Perhaps around 1953 Gallo introduced a new design feature within their black label series. A number of discs (but not all) carried a “Jive Jive” logo and must have been a marketing strategy to highlight more popular, commercial recordings such as those by the Manhattan Brothers, the Shanty City Seven, Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks.

Around 1956 Gallo streamlined the “Jive Jive” label to simply “Jive” and introduced for the first time colour, yellow, making the label black, white and yellow. The new label had a modern feel and was dedicated again to the more popular majuba (African jazz) and kwela material including tracks by the Jazz Maniacs, Skip Phalane, Lemmy ‘Special ‘Mabaso, the Solven Whistlers and so on.

In 1958 Gallo introduced the New Sound Label by again transforming the Jive label. This time substituting the black for vermillion and replacing “Jive” with “New Sound”. The result was a bright, catchy, branding tool for marketing an equivalent kind of music.

Like Jive before it, the label showcased some of Gallo’s most popular jive and kwela artists of the late 1950s and early 1960s including again Lemmy Mabaso, Spokes Mashiyane, Reggie Msomi, Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks, to name but a few. Significantly this label was introduced just as Gallo was signing Mashiyane away from Trutone and it also arrived as the popularity of kwela was peaking internationally. The timing in my opinion cannot be coincidental.

The label, like the music, was bright and easily identifiable. Early issues carried the name Gallotone in a modern san-serif font (the previous logos were all in cursive) but this too was dropped in favor of the clean simplicity of just “New Sound” next to the Gallo rooster logo.

At first the design was used only on 78 rpms, which at that time were chiefly marketed to black consumers. In 1959, some discs were issued as 45 rpms, and in 1960 the company began a series of LPs and EPs featuring some of their best artists. It is likely that these formats were to be marketed to white consumers. New Sounds of Africa, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 were the first two LPs issued and included primarily tracks by Spokes Mashiyane but also significant hits by Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks. Coincidentally these came out just as Makeba was becoming popular in the United States — she had left South Africa in August of 1959.

The label continued with a string of LP releases featuring Mashiyane, Mabaso and Msomi and then in 1962 issued the classic live recording of the 1962 Cold Castle National Jazz Festival. Generally Gallo issued jazz recordings on their Continental label, but this LP marked an important departure. This was soon followed by an even more significant classic in Jazz - The African Sound featuring Chris McGregor’s Castle Lager Big Band - one of the most collectable South African records.

New Sound maintained issues until around 1965 when it was replaced by Mavuthela's iconic Motella label under the stewardship of Rupert Bopape. Introduced in 1964 soon after Bopape joined Gallo, Motella became home to the leading South African musical styles of the late 1960s. Mavuthela followed up with other new labels including Gumba Gumba, CTC Star, Smanje Manje and so on.

Below is a provisional discography of LPs and EPs on Gallo's New Sound Label:

DISCOGRAPHY

SPOKES OF AFRICA

Spokes Mashiyane

(1959)

New Sound LP

NSL GALP 1049

ABC 17506/7

While this album was first issued in 1959 on the Gallotone label (GALP 1049), the later red New Sound label employed here suggests that it may be a reissue from around 1962 or 63.

NEW SOUNDS OF AFRICA VOL. 1

Spokes Mashiyane, Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks

(1960)

New Sound LP

NSL 1001

ABC 18959/60

NEW SOUNDS OF AFRICA VOL. 2

Spokes Mashiyane, Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks

(1960)

New Sound LP

NSL 1002

ABC 18961/2

LEMMY SPECIAL

Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso, Boymans

(1960)

New Sound EP

XEP 7026

ABC 19312/3

SPOKES MASHIYANE

Spokes Mashiyane and His Big Five, The Romantic Boys

(1960)

New Sound EP

XEP 7027

ABC 19314/5

BEST OF SPOKES AND REGGIE - NEW SOUND VOL. 3

Reggie Msomi, Spokes Mashiyane

(c1961)

New Sound

NSL 1005

TOP HITS OF THE BIG THREE - NEW SOUND Vol. 4

Spokes Mashiyane, Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso, Reggie Msomi
(c1961)

New Sound LP
NSL 1006
ABC 21462/3

TWISTING WITH REGGIE

Reggie Msomi

(1962)

New Sound LP

NSL 1007

ABC 22565/6

LEMMY HIT PARADE NO. 1

Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso

(1962)

New Sound LP

NSL 1008

ABC 22567/8

SPOKES HIT PARADE NO. 1

Spokes Mashiyane

(1962)

New Sound LP

NSL 1009

ABC 22569/70

1962 COLD CASTLE NATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Various Artists

(1962)

New Sound LP

NSL 1010

ABC 23189/90

JAZZ - THE AFRICAN SOUND

Chris McGregor and the Castle Lager Big Band

(1963)

New Sound LP

NSL 1011

ABC 23613/4

LEMMY SPECIAL HITS

Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso

(1963)

New Sound EP

ESL 7121

ABC 23665/6

SPOKES' BIG FOUR

Spokes Mahiyane

(1963)

New Sound EP

XEP 7122

ABC 23667/8

NEW SOUNDS OF AFRICA VOL. 1

Spokes Mashiyane

(1963)

New Sound EP

ESL 7140

ABC 23845/6

NEW SOUNDS OF AFRICA VOL. 2

Spokes Mashiyane, Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks

(1963)

New Sound EP

ESL 7141

ABC 23849/50

NEW SOUNDS OF AFRICA VOL. 3

Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso

(1963)

New Sound EP

ESL 7142

ABC 23853/54

AFRICA BEAT JAZZ VOL. 1

Various Artists

(c1965)

New Sound LP

NSL 1018

ABC 25736/7

Many thanks to Geoff Bale for the images of this disc.

Siemon Allen's "Labels" curtain at the Slave Lodge (2013)

If you are traveling to Cape Town do check out my Labels curtain on view at the Slave Lodge until July 31, 2013. The artwork chronologically documents 110 years of South African music and audio history through images of record labels from the flatinternational archive.

Many thanks to Paul Tichmann (Curator of Social History at Iziko Museums), Lalou Meltzer (Director of Social History Collections at Iziko), Glen Fouten, Kenni Molopyane, Kendall Buster, Tony East, Claire van Blerk and Goodman Gallery for making the project possible.

Below is more information about the project:

SIEMON ALLEN’S LABELS (2011) at the IZIKO SLAVE LODGE MUSEUM
12 January – 31 July, 2013

The Slave Lodge, part of the Iziko Museums of South Africa, presents Siemon Allen’s Labels, a large-scale architectural installation. Displayed in the museum’s Music Room, the work features 5000 photographs of record labels inserted into a suspended clear plastic curtain. The installation has been configured to converse with part of the museum’s collection of historical artifacts, in this case two vintage grand pianos, two clocks and an antique gramophone.

Completed in 1679, the Slave Lodge is one of the oldest buildings in South Africa. Originally constructed to house the slaves of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the building and its function have gone through many transformations over the centuries to its current form as a museum of social and cultural history. The museum presents exhibitions that trace the long history of slavery in South Africa, as well as wide range of displays showcasing rare cultural artifacts.

When invited to present his Labels curtain in the museum Allen in collaboration with the museum curators chose to present the work in the museum’s music room. The intervention not only framed and therefore provided a new context for the artifacts in the room but also reexamined the nature of museum display.

For the past twelve years Allen has been exploring the image of South Africa through a series of collection projects. His studio practice has evolved out of an interest in how mass-produced items—newspapers, stamps, magazines, records—function as carriers of information and operate in the construction of national identity.

Records, Allen’s most recent collection project, is rooted in his extensive archive of South African audio consisting of over 2500 items including 650 rare shellac discs. The project has generated a series of varied works sourced from this ongoing audio collection including a number of site responsive installation works, a series of large-scale digital prints, and a searchable web-based database that can be viewed at www.flatinternational.org.

Labels functions as an historical record, a chronological discography of select labels from Allen’s archive. It is also a kind of visual memorial to South Africa’s rich musical past in that each label represents an individual recording, paying homage to that past visually by naming every artist in the archive. Some names and recordings are well known, but many more are now forgotten.

In time, as the collection grows, names and labels will be added to the curtain, but like an asymptote that never reaches its axis, the collection can never be complete. In as much as the archive can never contain all recordings, the curtain cannot represent all artists. The project is but a fragment of history and the curtain is an impossible attempt to capture that history. The curtain functions as both a tribute to decades of South African music and a memorial to those individuals named. Though Allen’s curtain is more celebratory than somber, like Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., the sheer accumulation of ‘the individual’ transforms the collective into the monumental.

Labels is a site-responsive installation that meanders through the space amongst the musical instruments and clocks, to form a number of intimate accessible enclosures. With this piece Allen revisits a theme that has been dominant in his work for many years: the idea of a “space within a space”. The exterior surface of the curtain wall reads as a clean, almost minimalist abstract grid, while the interior becomes a colorful complex pattern of disc shapes with text and markings. Up close one is able to digest the details on each individual label. From afar the textual information begins to go out of focus and recede, only to be replaced by a tapestry-like colour-field pattern

The labels are arranged chronologically with the earliest dating from 1901 at the opening. As one enters the structure and proceeds through the interior space the chronology moves forward in time to recent CD recordings. The visual effect produces in the viewer the experience of being completely enveloped by the labels.

Labels has is roots in two installations first shown at Bank Gallery in Durban in 2009. There Allen exhibited a large grid of digital prints sourced from labels of recordings by Miriam Makeba; and a transparent curtain wall displaying record covers inserted to show both front image and rear liner notes. For the South African Pavilion at the recent 54th Venice Biennale, Allen constructed a 14 metre tall curtain wall with 2500 labels, in response to the architectural particulars of the Torre di Porta Nuova. Displayed vertically in a space of enormous height with a vaulted ceiling and backlit by an arched window, Labels resembled a stained-glass window. This current version with the labels displayed in a horizontal format and configured to create an accessible interior space was first shown at Goodman Cape in 2011. The Goodman Gallery has kindly loaned this work to the Slave Lodge for this exhibition.

Kendall Buster, Kenni Molopyane and Glen Fouten all helped install the work

Siemon Allen and Paul Tichmann, Curator of Social History at Iziko Museums

Mabel Mafuya - Discography

In the mid 1950s, Mabel Mafuya was one of South Africa’s top-selling jive vocalists. At Troubadour, she was only second to Dorothy Masuka, and during that period the company dominated the African market with at times up to 75% of sales. Remarkably very little material by this legendary artist has been available. To my knowledge, only one track — Nomathemba — has been reissued on CD. Moreover after searching the web, it appears that only two other tracks come up: one in the SAMAP archive, and the other, a late-career track at Soul Safari.

While Mafuya was still a student at Orlando High School around late 1955 or early 1956 Cuthbert Matumba, producer and talent scout for Troubadour Records invited her to make some recordings at their studios. There she would soon rub shoulders with one of her idols, Dorothy Masuka, who would also became a mentor to her in those early days.

At Troubadour, Mafuya became one of the regular artists brought in to record not only her own compositions but also as a group and/or backing vocalist with a number of other artists including Dorothy Masuka, Dixie Kwankwa, Doris and Ruth Molifi, and Mary Thobei. The company had a roster of artists who rotated and recorded under a number of different pseudonyms and the groups Mafuya performed with included the Girl Friends, the Satchmo Serenaders, Starlight Serenaders, Starlight Boogies, the Starlight Singers, etc.

Mafuya's career really took off with the hits Nomathemba and Hula Hoop recorded with her group the Green Lanterns in 1956. Rob Allingham describes Nomathemba as her masterpiece in that the “song’s narrative of broken ties […] encapsulated the dislocating experience of rural-to-urban migrancy for many township residents.” (CD liner notes, History of Township Music)

The social references in Mafuya’s Nomathemba were typical of a number of her songs from this period. In fact, where other record companies shied away from political or social content, Troubadour openly embraced it. Matumba often encouraged critical or topical commentary in the recordings during this period, and despite visits by the Police "Special Branch," remarkably the owners of Troubadour did not temper the activity.

Troubadour was initially founded in 1951 by three and then later two Jewish businessmen, Morris Fagan and Israel Katz. Their approach was to focus on material that appealed to working class urban blacks, a market that was going through quite a renaissance in the 1950s. Still, the political environment in South Africa at this time was particularly turbulent. Sophiatown, one of the key centers of cultural production for a multi-racial community, had just been dismantled in February 1955 by the apartheid government, making way for a new white area soon to be called Triopf. The Treason Trial had begun after 156 people including Nelson Mandela were arrested in December of 1956. Nevertheless, music that carried a political message was able to get through to the public, either by record sales or less frequently by way of the rediffusion service, a cable based radio system available to blacks in some townships. This of course was the case until the Sharpeville massacre of March 1960, which resulted in a severe increase in censorship and self-censorship of political content.

Regina Brooks by Bob Gasani

Mafuya's 1956 tune Regina is a homage dedicated to Regina Brooks, a white woman who had been arrested under the immorality act for having a child with a black policeman. In 1955 Brooks became controversial after she asked to be re-classified as coloured (or mixed-race) in order that she could live in Orlando, Soweto (some sources have it as Dube) with her husband, Sergeant Richard Kumalo, and child. Drum photographer, Bob Gasani captures Brooks and her child, Thandi, in this 1955 image sourced from the Bailey Archives. Read more about the story at IOL.

Mafuya’s homage to individual heroes was also not unique in the case of Regina Brooks. After the suicide of Ezekiel ‘King Kong’ Dlamini on April 3rd, 1957, Mafuya and her Troubadour colleague Mary Thobei immortalised the boxing legend in their song King Kong Oshwile Ma. Unfortunately friends and family of the boxer interpreted the song as a mockery and subsequently both Thobei and Mafuya were badly beaten by his supporters one day at the Jeppe Railway Station — an assault severe enough to land Mafuya in Johannesburg General Hospital. (Molefe, Coplan) Before his suicide, Dlamini had been sentenced to prison for murdering his girlfriend and later became the subject of the famed musical King Kong in 1959.

Thobei in 1993 by Mike Mzileni

At Troubadour, topical issues of the day were reported upon, sang about, recorded and out in the public often within 24 hours of an event. The company had a pressing plant in the same building as their recording studio and this along with some key marketing skills by Matumba (for example he used a mobile-unit to test new recordings at railway stations and other public venues), made turnover rapid and the company unrivalled by its competitors. In many ways Troubadour operated like a news service or as Mary Thobei refers to it: “We had our own ‘Special Branch,’ a sort of bush telegraph, and as a result we knew in advance what would happen in our communities, be it social or political.” (Molefe) This is also most apparent at the beginning of some records, which open with the announcement: “News in Record…” or “This is the Troubadour Daily News…”

Azikhwelwa (We will not ride), a kwela tune by the Alexandra Casbahs, is attributed to Mafuya and Thobei and operates as a form of news item alerting people to the bus boycott of 1957 in Alexandra. Thobei opens the tune saying: “Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it was on Monday morning, the 7th of January, 1957 when everybody was shouting Azikhwelwa…” The bus boycott had been implemented by residents of Alexandra against the Public Utility Transport Corporation (more commonly known as PUTCO) over a rate hike of 4 to 5 pence. This spontaneous action lead to the formation of the Alexandra People’s Transport Action Committee (APTAC). Of course, during apartheid in South Africa, blacks were segregated into townships that were some distance from city centers and places of work and thus bus and train were, for many, primary modes of transport. Rate hikes would deeply affect every household’s bottom-line. With the boycott, residents chose other forms of transport to get to and from work, but most walked the 30km roundtrip journey. At its peak, 70,000 residents refused to ride the local buses and the action also spread to other townships including Newclaire and Mamelodi. The boycott lasted for at least three months and was only finally resolved on April 1st, 1957, when the 4 pence rate was restored. The protest drew the daily attention of the South African press and is generally recognized as one of the few successful political campaigns of the apartheid era. Read more about the campaign at Dan Mokoyane’s Blog here and more here.

Likewise the track Asikhathali (We never get tired) by Ruth Molifi and the Starlight Singers opens with this annoucement: “This is the Troubadour Daily News! Many People are going to meetings everyday in Sophiatown and Alexandra. Some shout Azikhwelwa and some shout Ziyakhwelwa. It would be too cold to walk in winter. This is the song the people sing when they go to meetings… Asikhathali…” As Rob Allingham reveals, the tune features sisters Ruth and Doris Molifi, Mabel Mafuya and Mary Thobei on vocals with Cuthbert Matumba as ‘groaner.’ Thobei has an additional monologue where she states: “We don’t care if we are arrested. But we want our freedom. So pray people of Africa. We want our freedom.” Marks Mvimbe while coughing in the tune also moans “We are suffering going to meetings.” (Allingham)

Asikhathali is a classic of the struggle and this 1957 track probably marks the first time that it was recorded. Do a search for the term on YouTube and you will find many later renditions of the song, some professional, some really informal. Notable versions can be viewed here and here.

Other political classics by Mafuya include the tracks Cato Manor and Beer Halls, probably both recorded late in 1959 or very early in 1960. Cato Manor opens with a whistle that emulates the opening pitch of a radio broadcast and Mafuya announces “Zulu… Zulu… This is Durban Calling… This is Durban Calling…” (Similar to the opening broadcast of the day on radio.) “Women are fighting in Durban. They don’t want their men to drink in Beer Halls…” On the surface the song appears as a feminist critique, but rather it is a call to action against the government.

Cato Manor was the official name of an area that become home to a vibrant, informal settlement just outside Durban. To the local resident Cato Manor was known as Mkhumbane. Read more about the place and Todd Matshikiza’s 1960 musical of the same name here at Electric Jive.

The Durban City Council had long established a revenue system of selling alcohol to the black population exclusively through a series of beerhalls. The acquiring of alcohol from sources other than these official beerhalls was declared illegal for black South Africans and the residents of Cato Manor resented such control over what had been regarded as a tradition. Illegal brewing developed as a result, and in response the South African authorities regularly raided what were considered to be illicit businesses and made numerous arrests. Protests at such police action resulted and often led to violent clashes.

A nervous Durban City Council issued a proclamation in June 1958 to relocate inhabitants from Cato Manor to the more distant regions of Umlazi, Chatsworth and the newly developed township of Kwa Mashu. In 1959 the City Council declared Cato Manor a white zone under the Group Areas Act and in June began the process of forcibly moving residents.

At this time a response to the increased liquor raids in Cato Manor put into play a series of actions that soon spiraled into significant violence. It began on July 17, 1959 when a group of women gathered at the Cato Manor beerhall, threatening the men drinking there with sticks. This same group of women then proceeded to attack the central beerhall in Durban and a boycott of the beerhalls began. On July 18th, the following day, 3000 women gathered around the Cato Manor beerhall, and while clashing with police, set it on fire. It is significant to point out that these grievances were not over moral issues around the use of liquor, but rather the control of its production and sale. After more raids on January 23rd (some have it in early February) of 1960, an angry mob killed nine policemen at the Cato Manor Police Station.

In the song Beer Halls Mafuya announces in English: “They say do not buy potatoes! Do not eat fish and chips!” probably referring to the boycott of food items that were sold at beerhalls.

Although Troubadour was bringing in significant sales, Allingham points out, that the technical quality of the actual product was quite poor when compared to the other major competitors. Still the studio was able to maintain an edge by using some unorthodox policies. For example it was well known that musicians under contract with rival companies were welcome to record, under-the-table, with pseudonyms if they needed cash. Many took advantage of this grey approach including Kippie Moeketsi, Ntemi Piliso and others. Sadly, none of the recording ledgers have survived and very few songs can be accurately dated with the full personal. (Allingham) The company’s fall was as dramatic as its rise. After Matumba died in a car accident in May 1965, Troubadour began a rapid decline and by 1969 they were completely consumed by Gallo and ceased to exist.

Mafuya’s own singing career was severely affected after a botched thyroid operation in 1957. But still she was able to perform and towards the end of the decade formed a group with Thobei and Thandeka Mpambane known as the Chord Sisters. In 1958 the group was encouraged to join the King Kong crew and Mafuya played a small acting role in the classic 1959 play. After that success she was invited to travel with the cast to London and stayed there for a year. Mafuya eventually returned to South Africa and continued with her acting career. She would later perform in the hit TV sitcom Velaphi.

While her singing career turned out to be quite short, Mafuya was nevertheless prolific and the tracks listed below reveal just a small part of her excellent output during a turbulent but also dynamic time. Visit Electric Jive to listen to some of these tunes.

DISCOGRAPHY

MABEL MAFUYA AND ...
78 rpm
(tracks with no other information other than title)
• Troubadour, RSA
1) Hula Hoop
2) Phithi Phithi
3) Udomo Lwamaphoyisa (A Strong Police Force)

MABEL MAFUYA AND ...
78 rpm (1956)
(reviewed by Todd Matshikiza in Drum, February 1956)
• Troubadour, AFC 353, RSA
1) ...
2) ...

MABEL MAFUYA AND THE GREEN LANTERNS
78 rpm (1956)
Mabel Mafuya (lead vocal), Zachariah Moloi, Edwin Jerry, Sipho (backing vocals), Michael Xaba (tenor sax), Alpheus Hlongwane, Pertos Majozi (guitars), Charlie Mafunda (bass), Wally Petsane (drums)
• Troubadour, AFC 354, RSA
• CD, Gallo African Classics, RSA (track 1 reissued on comp. From Marabi to Disco, 1994)
• CD, Wrasse, WRASS 029, UK (track 1 reissued on comp. History of Township Music, 2001)
• CD, Rhino (track 1 reissued on comp. From Marabi to Disco, 2010)
1) Nomathemba (Zachariah Moloi)
2) ...

MABEL MAFUYA AND HER GIRLFRIENDS
78 rpm (1956)
(Regina pays homage to Regina Brooks, a white woman who married a black policeman)
• Troubadour, AFC 364, MATA 1697/1700, RSA
1) Regina (Matumba)
2) Baba (Matumba)

MABEL MAFUYA AND THE SATCHMO SERENADERS
78 rpm (1956)
• Troubadour, AFC 387, MATA 1749/50, RSA
1) Tsili (Monamoeli, arr. Mafuya)
2) Satchmo Special (Monamoeli, arr. Mafuya)







DOROTHY MASUKA
78 rpm (1956)
Dorothy Masuka (lead vocal), Mabel Mafuya, Doris Molifi, Ruth Molifi, Mary Thobei (backing vocals), Alpheus Hlongwane, Petros Majozi, Jerry Mlotshwa (guitars), Charlie Mafunda (bass), Wally Petsane (drums)
• Troubadour, AFC 388, RSA
• CD, Gallo African Classics, RSA (track 1 reissued on comp. From Marabi to Disco, 1994)

• CD, Wrasse, WRASS 029, UK (track 1 reissued on comp. History of Township Music, 2001)

• CD, Rhino (track 1 reissued on comp. From Marabi to Disco, 2010)

1) Ufikizolo (Dorothy Masuka)
2) ...

DOROTHY MASUKA
78 rpm (1956)
Dorothy Masuka (lead vocals), Harriet Oliphant, Mabel Mafuya (vocals), Harriet Oliphant (spoken intro), Michael Xaba (alto sax), Aaron Lebono (piano), Alpheus Hlongwane, Petros Majozi (guitars), Marks Mvimbe (bass), Gabriel Motsepe (drums)
(recorded on September 3rd, 1956, it is likely that these two tracks are paired on the same disc)
• Troubadour, AFC ..., RSA
• CD, Gallo GMP, CDZAC 60, RSA (tracks reissued on Dorothy Masuka compilation CD)
1) Five Bells (Dorothy Masuka)
2) Baye Goli (Dorothy Masuka)

NICE TIME CROONERS
78 rpm (c1957)
Mabel Mafuya, Mary Thobei, Champ Maloi (vocals)
• Troubadour, AFC 412, RSA
1) Umajola (Ruth Molifi)
2) Thula

MABEL MAFUYA AND THE SATCHMO SERENADERS
78 rpm (1957)
• Troubadour, AFC 416, MATA 1777, RSA
1) Khumbula (Mafuya)
2) Woza Skanda Mayeza (Mafuya)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1957)
• Troubadour, AFC 417, MATA 1779/80, RSA
1) Bumba Lo Ntsimbi (Mafuya)
2) Ungibalele (Mafuya)

MABEL MAFUYA AND THE STARLIGHT BOOGIES
78 rpm (1957)
• Troubadour, AFC 427, MATA 1829/30, RSA
1) Heyta! (Mafuya)
2) Kehlela (Mafuya)

ALEXANDRA CASBAHS
78 rpm (1957)
(recorded after the bus strike of January 7th, 1957)
• Troubadour, AFC 429, MATA 1835/6, RSA
1) Azikhwelwa (Mafuya, Thobei)
2) Alexandra Special (Mafuya, Thobei)

MABEL MAFUYA AND THE STARLIGHT SERENADERS
78 rpm (1957)
• Troubadour, AFC 434, MATA 1831/2, RSA
1) Charlie (Mafuya)
2) Chomie (Mafuya)

RUTH MOLIFI AND THE STARLIGHT SINGERS
78 rpm (1957)
Ruth Molifi, Doris Molifi, Mabel Mafuya, Mary Thobei (vocals), Cuthbert Matumba ('groaning'), Marks Mvimbe (coughing)
• Troubadour, AFC 440, MATA 1853/4, RSA
1) Asikhathali (Molifi)
2) Mfana (Mafuya)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1957)
• Troubadour, AFC 465, MATA 1883?, RSA
1) Tumbi (Ruth Molifi)
2) Moshanyana







MABEL MAFUYA AND MARY THOBEI...
78 rpm (1957)
Mabel Mafuya, Mary Thobei (vocals)
(recorded after boxer, Ezekiel 'King Kong' Dlamini death on April 3rd, 1957)
• Troubadour, AFC ..., RSA
1) King Kong Oshwile, Ma
2) ...

BON ACCORD HITTERS
78 rpm (c1957)
(Mafuya does a spoken introduction with Cuthbert Matumba in tsotsitaal on track 2)
• HIT, HIT 38, NL 171/2, RSA
1) Pretoria Special
2) American Moguws





DOROTHY MASUKA
78 rpm (1957)
Dorothy Masuka, Mabel Mafuya, Mary Thobei (vocals), Alpheus Hlongwane, Petros Majozi (guitars), Charlie Mafunda (bass), Wally Petsane (drums)
(it is likely that these two tracks are paired on the same disc)
• Troubadour, AFC ..., RSA
• CD, Gallo GMP, CDZAC 60, RSA (tracks reissued on Dorothy Masuka compilation CD)
1) Mama La Wena
2) Ndi Yagula

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (c)
• Troubadour, AFC 497, MATA 1956, RSA
1) Pasi (Mafuya, Ongango)
2) ...







DOROTHY MASUKA
78 rpm (1958)
Dorothy Masuka, Lindi Khumalo, Dixie Kwankwa, Mabel Mafuya, Orienta Mnkahla (vocals), Jerry Mlotshwa (lead guitar), Petros Majozi (rhythm guitar), Ntemi Piliso (bass), Wally Petsane (drums)
(recorder cNovember 1958)
• Troubadour, AFC ..., MATA 2125/6, RSA
• CD, Gallo GMP, CDZAC 60, RSA (tracks reissued on Dorothy Masuka compilation CD)
1) Mali E Shebeen
2) Ei Yow (Phata Phata)

DIXIE KWANKWA
78 rpm (c1959)
(Mafuya does opening speech on track 1, and possibly backing vocals on both)
• Troubadour, AFC 514, RSA
1) Kudala
2) Wangishiya

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1959)
• Troubadour, AFC 534, MATA 2035/6, RSA
1) Silindele Christmas (Ngubane)
2) Sisaphila (Ngubane)

KING KONG CAST
King Kong (1959)
(Mafuya performs with Mary Thobei and Thandeka Mpambane as the Chord Sisters)
• LP, Gallotone, GALP 1040, RSA
• CD, Gallo African Classics, CDZAC 51, RSA (reissued 1996)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1960)
• Troubadour, AFC 567, MATA 2111/2, RSA
1) Cato Manor (Ngubane)
2) Beer Halls (Ngubane)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1960)
• Troubadour, AFC 579, MATA 2114, RSA
1) Sibarie (Ngubane)
2) Umtata (Ngubane)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1960)
• Troubadour, AFC 584, MATA 2131/2, RSA
1) Happy Xmas - Happy New Year (Ngubane)
2) Jabulani Xmas (Ngubane)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (c1960)
• Troubadour, AFC 608, MATA 2153/4, RSA
1) Ngi Yeka (Ngubane)
2) Itlalo Ya Lizwe (Ngubane)

MABEL MAFUYA
78 rpm (1962)
• Troubadour, AFC 722, matrix 62170, RSA
1) Use Mcane (Mafuya)
2) Ngubo Ye Silika







MABEL MAFUYA / MAPHELA
78 rpm (1962)
• Troubadour, AFC 733, matrix 62199/200, RSA
1) Udali (Mafuya)
2) Sabela (Maphela)
* sourced from SAMAP

MABEL MAFUYA & THE STAR QUEENS
45 rpm (1968)
• Envee, NV 3535, matrix 16853, RSA
1) iMini (Mafuya)
2) ...
* sourced from Soul Safari