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Jesse sang Johnny Clegg & Juluka and Sipho Mchunu’s Inkunzi Ayihlabi Ngokumisa, as he wished his father a posthumous happy birthday.
Jesse Clegg and his father Johnny on stage together. Picture: jesseclegg/Instagram
A week before the rest of the country celebrates their dads on Father’s Day, singer-songwriter Jesse Clegg paid tribute to his father, singer Johnny Clegg, on what would’ve been his 72nd birthday.
Doing his rendition of Johnny Clegg & Juluka and Sipho Mchunu’s Inkunzi Ayihlabi Ngokumisa, Jesse wished his father a posthumous happy birthday.
Happy birthday Dad. A song for you.
— Jesse Clegg (@Jesse_Clegg) June 7, 2025
This is a beautiful old Juluka song that I’ve listened to since I was a child.
It’s always felt like a lullaby to me and brings me home – to you, to our family, to all we’ve lost and still hold close.
Rest easy Dad, we miss you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jVtxyQTBRN
“This is a beautiful old Juluka song that I’ve listened to since I was a child. It’s always felt like a lullaby to me and brings me home – to you, to our family, to all we’ve lost and still hold close. Rest easy Dad, we miss you,” wrote Jesse.
The ditty is part of Johnny Clegg & Juluka and Sipho Mchunu’s Universal Men album, which was released in 1979—about nine years before the now 36-year-old Jesse was born.
Clegg died at the age of 66 in 2019 after losing a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Clegg legacy alive and well
Jesse has previously spoken about how emotional he gets when performing his father’s songs, particularly Cruel Crazy Beautiful World, a song that Clegg wrote for him.
Earlier this year, Jesse was in New York, where he performed a tribute show to his father, featuring artists from around the world and South Africa, at the Gramercy Theatre.
“It was just so beautiful because I got to play Carnegie Hall in November last year and that was my show and then I got to come back three months later to play my dad’s songs… It just felt like there was this beautiful relay race happening between me and my dad in New York,” said Jesse, speaking on Kfm 94.5.
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Delicious memories
Last year, at the 11th edition of the DSTV Delicious Festival, Jesse performed his father’s classics such as Impi and Scatterlings of Africa.
Jessie, who does English pop music, fittingly sang his father’s ditties that are steeped in Maskandi guitar riffs and sounds, which was appreciated by the crowd.
This was part of the festival’s 30 Years of Creative Freedom tribute show, sponsored by the National Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture—a celebration of South Africa’s democracy.
Selema Writes, who is the nephew of Hugh Masekela, performed his uncle’s biggest songs. Selema, who is also a rapper, belted out his uncle’s classic Stimela and rapped on the song.
Before Selema took the stage, the band, particularly the horn section, poignantly performed Masekela’s Grazing In The Grass, which showcased Masekela’s unique style of playing the trumpet.
The children of late powerful singer, Sibongile Khumalo, Ayanda Khumalo and her brother Tshepo Mngoma, paid tribute to their mother with renditions of Thando’s Groove. Ayanda beautifully sang the song; you would’ve thought it was Sibongile herself belting it out.
The siblings also performed their mother’s Mayihlome.
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