“The firelight has danced its last across your face my friend.
And though I love you I somehow know this is gonna be the end…”– Johnny Clegg, December African Rain
South Africa – and indeed the world – lost one of its great souls on July 16th, in the passing of musician Johnny Clegg, a man who to many was second only to Madiba as an icon of our country. After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, he passed away in his Johannesburg home yesterday afternoon.
There’s something almost paradoxical about the passing of someone like this, a man whose legacy and impact are eternal. How can he be gone when we can listen to him at anytime? When his words and music will never die? There’s an ironic yet almost appropriate beauty in Johnny’s own words from one of his most famous songs, Great Heart, a song we sing regularly in the glow of the campfire in the Londolozi bomas:
Guka ‘mzimba (body grow old)
Sala ‘nhliziyo (heart remain behind).
Guitars around the campfire. Johnny Clegg songs feature regularly.
We won’t write much here about the history of this great man; that you can read elsewhere. We simply want to pay tribute to him like everyone else and reflect on what a profound impact he has had, not just on our lives but on our country.
Tributes are pouring in from across the world, but it is Tony Jackman of The Daily Maverick that says it best:
Your music threads through our lives as much as your ideals do. Still do. Right until the end, you remained one of the most visible examples of how we can be and should be, all of us together in one big, colourful, gumboot-stomping country.
It’s sad for me that I barely remember my first Johnny Clegg experience. It’s not surprising actually as I didn’t yet possess the cranial capacity. My mum was pregnant with me when she and my dad attended the Juluka (Johnny Clegg’s first band) Good Hope Concerts in the early 80’s in Cape Town. My sister takes great delight in reminding me that she was physically there (aged 1!), sitting on my dad’s shoulders.
I had to wait 20 years before seeing him for the first time performing live, under the Paarl Monument. The sheer power of the man to cross cultural divides and bridge gaps was never better represented than on that night; the audience was a multicultural mix of white and black, all dancing and singing together in both English and isiZulu, under a monument that was once symbolic of the very regime Johnny Clegg protested against through the beautiful lyrics of his songs, but that now simply formed a stunning venue for a performance from a man that transcended all cultural divides
In a 1989 interview with the Sunday Times, Johnny Clegg denied that he was a political activist: “For me a political activist is someone who has committed himself to a particular ideology. I don’t belong to any political party. I stand for human rights.”
Johnny’s message was simple; it was about embracing the people, their language, their culture. It was about becoming a fuller and truer version of yourself in your own life, and seeing just how embraced and accepted you could be.
The flags of parliament are currently flying at half mast. South African radio stations have been playing nothing but his music and talking about his life story all day. The nation mourns together for a man who stood as a guiding light for millions, whose lasting legacy is for the country and the people he so loved, about how if we want to live in a world that truly values integrity, we need to choose to embody it in our own lives.
Despite the grief, despite the tears and the deep sense of loss to the world, the overwhelming emotion I know I am feeling – as I’m sure so many are too – is gratitude.
Gratitude for a man who in the words of his manager Roddy Quin, “left deep footprints in the heart of every person who considers him or herself an African. He showed us what it was to assimilate and embrace other cultures without losing your identity. In many of us he awakened awareness.”
Johnny provided the soundtrack for our national life. And the songs will forever make our hearts soar.
James, so sorry to hear about his passing
We are sorry for the loss of this iconic figure in African culture
A fitting tribute James. We were fortunate to attend a Johnny Clegg comcert a few years ago at the Botanical Garden in Nelspruit. I have got all his albums playing in the car when we go on a road trip. I get goosebumps everytime I watch a video on Youtube about some wildarea in Africa and the soundtrack is a Johnny Clegg song. Spirit of the Great Heart, Impi, Scatterlings of Africa. It will live in our hearts forever. It is Africa. Indeed a sad day for us.
A shining light went out too early here….but he is just beginning his second act eternally.
Wonderfully written JT, echoing what is in my heart and the heart of all South Africa. He was and will always be loved and we are indebted to him.
Such a beautiful tribute James. Very sad heart today. What a legend.
My first tape I ever recorded was Juluka, I went to 11 concerts. I have every album he’s ever recorded. I grew up listening to his music and was totally captivated by his dancing and the way he crossed the cultural divide. My children will grow up listening to his music.
A moving and very lovely tribute James. I have wept most of the day as the tributes pour in and his music washes over me.
Hambe Kahle Johnny Clegg. A shining light and an inspiration to us all.
What a beautiful tribute to a man who truly represented all that is good in Africa. I wasn’t familiar with him so went to You Tube and listened to Great Heart, watching the beautiful video. Now I understand- he will be missed but his legacy will live on in the hearts of those who loved him. ❤️
Beautiful tribute to a remarkable man. Thank you for this.
We mourn a very loving and great man. We defy anyone who has the smallest idea of rhythm not to jig or get up and DANCE to his music! The words of his songs fill our hearts and minds with the love of Africa. This is how Africa should be! Did Johnny C ever visit Londolozi? If he did, we are sure he must have really loved it and would have fitted right in …. What a wonderful and courageous person! Wendy M
Beautiful tribute James, to a man who can Rest In Peace with the work he did in spreading the universal messages to change the world and the courage he had to do so. We were blesssed with his presence. Thank you for posting this.
What a lovely tribute to Johnny Clegg James. I know that all of Africa feel the pain or losing such an icon. In his few short years on Earth he has certainly done a lot of good for the people of Africa. Yes, you can liken him to Madiba – these two had the same vision. May he rest in peace and my deepest sympathy to his family and friends. Thanks for sharing with us James.
With my family now scattered across the world, Scatterlings of Africa is our families anthem. So very Sad but also a blessing to have had such an amazing person in this cool crazy beautiful world! 🙂
A beautiful song called ‘I’ve been Looking’. was written by his son for him which they perform together – Simply Magic!!
Huge loss!
I was unfamiliar with his music until my first Londolozi visit in 2013.
Fitting tribute in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/arts/music/johnny-clegg-dead.html?searchResultPosition=2
Thanks for this wonderful tribute, James. And thanks also for introducing me to Johnny Clegg’s music: it was your rendition of “Great Heart” around the campfire at Londolozi some 7 years ago that led me to add his songs to my collection. And now, as you say, he will never really be gone.
Well said, James. Johnny Clegg was an inspiration to those far beyond the shores of your beautiful Africa. He is a symbol for what humans are capable of and should aspire to be. Our hearts are heavy, but we have all been blessed to have had him in our world! Thank You
Beautiful article James. You put this out so quickly after Johnny’s passing, that it got ‘lost in the noise’ of ordinary obits and bio articles. I’m glad my continued searching for ‘Johnny Clegg’ let this gold-nugget you wrote rise to the surface. I shared it over to the Scatterlings facebook page. Very well received! This Londolozi webiste is impressively nice. I look forward to exploring. I’ve been listening to Johnny non-stop since I heard the sad news of his passing. Your headline of “1953-Forever” completely encompasses my feelings. Thank you once again.
Sean, Boiling Springs PA, USA.
Thanks for the kind words Sean!
You can’t walk more than 50 metres through the Londolozi staff village without hearing Johnny playing out of someone’s room!
I’ve been lucky enough to have seen Johnny Clegg live 4 times. His music has had such an incredible impact on me since I was 5, whenever I listen to it I feel like it lights a fire inside me (awakens my African Dream).
Hamba Kahle Johnny, you will forever be my favourite musician