Music legend leaves behind epic legacy

A special provincial official funeral, as designated by the president for outstanding and distinguished individuals, to be bestowed on the late Ray Phiri next week.

July 14, 2017

Mireille de Villiers 1 minute read

MBOMBELA – Tributes for the late Raymond “Chikapa” Phiri have been streaming in since his death in Mediclinic Nelspruit on Wednesday morning.

Phiri died of lung cancer, barely a week after it became known that he had been hospitalised.

The musician is credited with putting South African music on the international map, but he always stayed true to his roots in Mpumalanga.

The provincial government announced on Wednesday that the legend will be receiving an official on July 22. A memorial service is also planned for next Thursday. Both will take place at Mbombela Stadium. The exact times are to be confirmed.

Phiri was born in 1947 in Nelspruit in what was formerly known as the Eastern Transvaal. He grew up with a passion for music and started playing the guitar at a very tender age, inspired by his late father, Kanyama Phiri. He learned to play a variety of instruments, including the piano and drums. Phiri got his first break in 1962 when he danced for the legendary Dark City Sisters when they performed in the Eastern Transvaal. He made enough money to realise his ambition, and travelled to Johannesburg.

He became a founding member of the 1970s soul-music group, the Cannibals. When this group disbanded, he founded Stimela (Steam Train), with whom he produced gold- and platinum-winning albums like Fire, passion and ecstasy and Look, listen and decide as well as the controversial People don’t talk so let’s talk.

It came as no surprise when one of their most memorable tracks, “Whispers in the deep”, was banned by the former South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Contrary to the desired effect, the ban in fact contributed to the group’s popularity. In “Singajindi Majita”, he urged. “Don’t dare give up,” a message that fit in comfortably with the political conditions of the time. The impact was more mobilisation of a people hungry for freedom, songs such as these providing courage and hope for the future.

It was the silent voices of the oppressed that Phiri expressed in his contribution to the attainment of a democratic South Africa.

Phiri was part of the eight-month-long Graceland Tour, a global trek headed by American singer Paul Simon.
The tour was to mobilise states in support of the struggle for liberation, for better living standards in oppressed African states and the promotion of cross-cultural dialogue.
Phiri later earned a Grammy Award. While successful, the tour was fraught with controversy, but it helped these South Africans make a name for themselves abroad.

Ray Phiri and Stimela joined other top South African artists such as Lucky Dube, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Yvonne Chaka Chaka for a tour to France, dubbed Frenchement Zoulou.