Iconic musician Johnny Clegg dies

The beloved musician Johnny Clegg, also known as “The White Zulu”, has died this afternoon at the age of 66.

According to a media release by his manager of 30 years, Roddy Quin, Clegg died “with his family at home” this afternoon. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015.

“It’s extremely tough for [his family] and we ask for the media and the public to respect them and their privacy at this time,” said Quin.

Clegg, who was born on 7 June 1953, was not only a musician but also an anthropologist. He was an important figure in South African popular music history, with songs that mix Zulu with English lyrics and African with various Western music styles.

According to Wikipedia, Clegg was born in Bacup, Lancashire, to an English father and a Rhodesian mother. His parents divorced when he was still an infant and he moved with his mother to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). At the age of 6 he moved with his mother to South Africa.

At the age of 17, he met Sipho Mchunu, a Zulu migrant worker with whom he began performing music. The partnership, which they named Juluka, was profiled in the 1970s television documentary Beats of the Heart: Rhythm of Resistance.

As a young man, Clegg pursued an academic career for four years, lecturing at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the University of Natal, and writing several seminal scholarly papers on Zulu music and dance.

In 2017, two years after being diagnosed with cancer, the legendary musician said “living on a sentence” made him appreciate everything in his life more, including precious moments with his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Jenny and their two sons Jesse and Jaron.