it's been ever present [ever] since,” Ray tells BBC Culture. Casablanca. Soweto Blues. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa and the people without even realising.” Pata Pata may not have been her own favourite anthem, but it somehow embodies her grace and strength, and that of the culture she kept with her. "Pata Pata" is a rhythmic dance that originated in South Africa and was introduced to the United States in the late 1960s. Standing up to and “speaking against apartheid and singing about life in Africa gave [her] legions of fans but also some enemies”[vii] (Barnett, 2007). ↵, [xx] Makeba, Miriam, and James Hall. Makeba, M. interview with Barnett, L., (2007). This version of the song, recorded with US R&B producer Jerry Ragovoy, featured a lighter, more directly poppy arrangement and a few additional English-language words (“Every Friday and Saturday night, it’s Pata Pata time!” exclaims Makeba), but it retained an unrestrained spark, with Xhosa-language lyrics about a flirtatious dance move (‘Pata’ translates as ‘light touch’): a burst of gloriously defiant revelry even in times of hardship and oppression. She originally wrote “Phatha Phatha” (the original spelling is Phatha which is a word in Zulu and Xhosa) in 1956 while she was still in South Africa. Makeba herself would express ambivalent feelings about the track; in her 1987 autobiography My Story, she described Pata Pata as “one of my most insignificant songs” – certainly, her catalogue features a wealth of grittier sentiments, not least Sophiatown Is Gone (a 50s jazzy lament about the apartheid destruction of a vibrant township) or Soweto Blues (a 1977 song about the 1976 Soweto uprising, written by her former husband, multi-instrumentalist Hugh Masekela). Available at https://www.youtube.com [Accessed October 16, 2016]. Later on she decided to revise the song and add some English lyrics to “bring the song into context for an international audience” [v] (Allingham, 2009). Makeba and Carmichael’s union signified the marriage of soul style and Black Power and evoked notions of revolutionary femininity and masculinity as well as of African diasporic unity.”, Makeba has been credited with introducing many black Americans to African culture (Credit: Alamy). The 1967 release of Pata Pata, however, proved an irrepressible mainstream breakthrough. this iconic artist's long career. Available at http://www.jstor.org/ [Accessed October 25, 2016], [i] Makeba, Miriam, and James Hall.

Makeba sang many political songs against the apartheid regime, and saw Pata Pata as lightweight in comparison (Credit: Alamy), Yet Makeba was also struck by Pata Pata’s pervasive impact, writing: “All of a sudden, people who never knew I have been in America since 1959 are asking me to be on their television shows and play at their concert halls in 1967. Her musical abilities had been recognised during her Prospect Township childhood, and by her 20s she was singing and acting professionally, appearing in US filmmaker Lionel Rogosin’s acclaimed anti-apartheid movie, Come Back, Africa (1959) among other things; her emergence as a prominent young activist voice led to South Africa’s white supremacist government banning her from returning home in 1960. Even though Makeba was far away from the rule of apartheid government, she continued to suffer because of it. And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called The Essential List. Criticised for breaking a cultural boycott of South Africa with his 1986 album Graceland, Paul Simon argued he was bringing the country’s music to global attention (Credit: Alamy), In a 2000 interview with BOMB magazine, Makeba still expressed some incredulity at Pata Pata’s massive success: “I don’t know why people like that song,” Makeba laughed. Pata Pata would be the last song that Makeba ever sang on stage; she suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after performing at a charity concert for anti-Camorra writer Roberto Saviano, on 9 November, 2008. 03 (1989): 300. http://www.jstor.org/. ILAM aims to promote knowledge of music making in Africa which takes into account theory of African music and the social, cultural, and artistic values of African music.

By bringing together our private and public sector members, PATA facilitates meaningful partnerships to enhance the value, quality and sustainable growth of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. New York: New American Library, 1988, 113. I think she understood the power of music, and used that power.”, Miriam Makeba was exiled from South Africa in 1960, and Nelson Mandela persuaded her to return when he was released in 1990 (Credit: Alamy). ↵, [ii] Feldstein, Ruth. What is wrong with that – especially given that when Miriam recorded the hit version she was pretty much a lone voice speaking out against apartheid and crucially making the world aware of the inhumanity of it? That's when it hurts”[viii] (Bordowitz, 2004). Makeba had released many songs before Pata Pata, but for global audiences it has endured as an instant gateway, both to the rich versatility of her sound, and an expansive world perspective. Pata Pata is the name of the dance we do down Johannesburg way And everybody starts to move as soon as Pata Pata starts to play. © 2009 International Library of African Music For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions 90-95. The year of the clip is 1967, and Makeba’s song is Pata Pata: an international smash hit by a black female talent exiled from her own country under apartheid rule. Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press, 2004, 248. She spends the next year touring, performing, and appearing on talk shows. To access this article, please, Access everything in the JPASS collection, Download up to 10 article PDFs to save and keep, Download up to 120 article PDFs to save and keep. ↵, [xiv] Hamm, Charles. Makeba: My Story. ↵, [x] Masekela, Hugh. Arwa Haider looks at how Pata Pata endured over the last 60 years – and what it meant during the apartheid era. In 1959 she left the group to join an all-female group called the Skylarks. ↵, This article forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project, Biography of Miriam Makeba by Narcy Negrete, Southern Methodist University partnership project, Southern Methodist University Partnership Project - 2016 submissions, South African History Online and Southern Methodist University Partnership Project. In his essay, From Noma Kumnyama To Pata Pata (2009), music historian Rob Allingham describes the track as “quite probably the best-known song of African origin in the world”, and argues that it can be traced to even earlier sources, including a 1940s Zulu-language vocal group. She used her elevated position to address the United Nations and bring forth the issues occurring in South Africa. She took a different approach to combat the apartheid government in South Africa. She was young, beautiful and dangerously smart. Music has a power of its own. The direct English translation of Pata Pata is ‘touch touch’, and it started out as a style of dance that was particularly popular in Johannesburg townships in the mid-1950s. Her music career was put on pause when she discovered she was pregnant; she married her unborn child’s father, Gooli. Popular Music 9, no. Makeba: My Story. The goal was to tighten the strains on the South African to force them to make the desired changes. During the 1950s, Pata Pata was a popular dance in the shebeens of Johannesburg’s townships: in one version, men and women would pat each other (Credit: Alamy). - A call to action around the globe - The making of an iconic song. New York: New American Library, 1988, 68. Miriam Makeba was a South African singer, daughter, mother, and an antiapartheid activist. It is slightly surreal to consider the sheer range of cover versions that Pata Pata has inspired, from the Nuyorican big band blast of Tito Puente (1969) to a 1980 reworking of the tune by French yeye singer Sylvie Vartan and a recent version created for the soundtrack to a dancing videogame. Makeba addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the second time in 1976 during the International Year Against Apartheid. It first appeared … Makeba had previously recorded a version of the song, the sweetly swinging Phatha Phatha, with her Johannesburg girl group The Skylarks in 1959. ↵, [viii] Bordowitz, Hank. Even though Makeba had never spoken out against the South African government, she had been exiled from her home country because the apartheid saw her success as a threat; she could possibly lash out which made her dangerous. Pata Pata is a song written by Miriam Makeba and Jerry Ragovoy, and originally performed by the latter. During the 1950s, Pata Pata was a popular dance in the shebeens of Johannesburg’s townships: in one version, men and women would pat each other (Credit: Alamy)

If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. Makeba had previously recorded a version of the song, the sweetly swinging Phatha Phatha, with her Johannesburg girl group The Skylarks in 1959. "Pata Pata" is an Afro-pop dance song popularized internationally by South African singer Miriam Makeba. Makeba attended the Kimerton Training Institute in Pretoria. The song uncovered the many truths of the Soweto Uprising that led to a massacre. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing and London. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. - A call to action around the globe - The making of an iconic song. 137–138. ↵, [xviii] Makeba, Miriam and Lisa Miller. Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. On You Told Your Mama Not To Worry. Noise of the World: Non-Western Artists in Their Own World, Soft Skull Press, 20 January. In the US, Makeba successfully collaborated with calypso star Harry Belafonte; they sang together at JFK’s Madison Square Garden birthday party in 1962, and won a Grammy for their album, An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965).

299–304.

I think she understood the power of music, and used that power.”, Miriam Makeba was exiled from South Africa in 1960, and Nelson Mandela persuaded her to return when he was released in 1990 (Credit: Alamy). Casablanca Records. Her most popular recording of "Pata Pata" was recorded and released in the United States in 1967. Henceforth, Hamm identifies the “reception of Graceland in South Africa itself [as] a first suggestion that the venture had nothing to do with the on-going struggle for liberation in that country”[xii] (Hamm,1989). Nobody will know the pain of exile until you are in exile.

New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2007, 126. Miriam Makeba, music, Pata Pata, Soweto Blues, Graceland tour, United Nations Assembly. Makeba: My Story. It is slightly surreal to consider the sheer range of cover versions that Pata Pata has inspired, from the Nuyorican big band blast of Tito Puente (1969) to a 1980 reworking of the tune by French yeye singer Sylvie Vartan and a recent version created for the soundtrack to a dancing videogame. She described the song as “insignificant” because there was no real message in the song.

Introduction.

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