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LINER NOTESWILLIE GUMEDE DISCOGRAPHY Compiled by Siemon Allen 1941c Willie Gumede and his Concertina Band - Singer - GE 898 1771 - Abafana 1777 - Umqombothi 1941 Willie Gumede and his Concertina Band - Singer - GE 899 1773 - Magoane 1774 - Oa Loya 1942c Willie Gumede and his Concertina Band - Trek - DC 71 1946 - Springs Dance 1949 - Florida Dance 1942c Gumede’s Happy Concertina - Gallotone Singer - GE 1000 2120 - Ulala Kanjani 2121 - Egeheni 1945c Willie Gumede’s Concertina Band - Singer Gallotone - GE 935 ABC 749 - Johannesburg Vastrap ABC 751 - Crown Mines Vastrap 1945c Willie Gumede Concertina Band ABC 750 - Fordsburg Vastrap 1945c Willie Gumede Concertina Band ABC 754 - African Vastrap 1945c Willie Gumede and his Concertina Band - Trek - DC 53 ABC 755 - Heidelberg Dance ABC 756 - Orlando Dance 1945c Willie Gumede Concertina Band ABC 757 - Denver Ver Vastrap 1945 Gumede’s Swing Band - Singer Gallotone - GE 942 ABC 825 - Madala ABC 826 - Mkhize 1945 Gumede’s Swing Band (unpublished until Marabi Nights CD and cassette) a) Mabuza 1949c Willie Gumede and the Dark Town Darkies - Nyakaza - B 101 a) Ekofee b) Sa Vumelana Aawe 1949c Willie Gumede and the Dark Town Darkies - Nyakaza - B 102 a) Uyolobola b) Blumas 1949c Willie Gumede and the Dark Town Darkies - Nyakaza - B 103 a) Ukabide b) Temba 1949c Willie Gumede and the Dark Town Darkies - Nyakaza - B 104 a) Ibalazi b) Amabela 1949c Willie Gumede and the Dark Town Darkies - Nyakaza - B 105 a) Ubezele b) Marabi 1949c Willie Gumede and the Dark Town Darkies - Nyakaza - B 106 a) Isishimane b) Matanazana 1950-09 Willie’s Madcap Band - HMV - JP 110 0AS 351 - Unodrohwe 0AS 352 - Ukucattula 1951 Dark City Dance Band - Audion - BZ 1 with Willie Gumede and Solomon Sitole a) Spaza b) Opondo 1951 Dark City Dance Band - Audion - BZ 2 with Willie Gumede and Solomon Sitole a) Ulova b) Utando 1951 The Zululand Group - Audion - BZ 5 with Willie Gumede and Solomon Sitole 401 - Icala 403 - Ulele Nge Sisu 1951 The Pimville Group - Audion - BZ 11 with Willie Gumede and Solomon Sitole a) Section 17 b) Nomahuba 1951 The Free State Ramblers - Audion - BZ 14 with Michael Nkole and Willie Gumede 130 - Alida 131 - Materebe 1951 The Modernaires - Audion - BZ 15 with Michael Nkole and Willie Gumede 126 - Eveline 1951 Willie Gumede, Kay Kumalo and Co. - Bantu Batho - BB 522 N 1279 - Sambadi N 1280 - Noma Ngnama 1951 Gumede’s Concertina Band - Ulala Kanjani / Madala Zulu Music and Songs (Compilation 10” LP) - London - LPB 431 Zulu Music and Songs (Compilation 10” LP) - Decca - LF 1054 1951c Gumede’s Swing Band - Gallotone - GB 1289 ABC 10031 - Thando Rumba ABC 10032 - Isidakwa Rumba 1952-08c Willie Gumede with Guitar Acc. - Troubadour - BZ 62 AD 77 - Itombi Yami AD 78 - Ngi Ya Ziqenya |
THE MODERNAIRES
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TRACK LISTING
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NOTESMany thanks to Rob Allingham for allowing me to photograph parts of his incredible collection. Multi-instrumentalist, Willie “Ndubane” Gumede recorded a wide range of tracks in a career that must have spanned over three decades. It is possible that Gumede played banjo on a number of early Singer and Gallotone recordings in the 1930s including tracks by the Natal Champions, the No Fear No Harm Choir and most notably on Mbube the iconic tune by Solomon Linda’s Original Evening Birds. (Dlamini, Introduction to Mbaqanga, 2019 lecture). Gumede’s most notable output included numerous tunes with his concertina and swing bands who recorded under a range of names throughout the 1940s and into the early 1950s. According to Chris Ballantine, much of the material from this period showed the influence of “Coloured” and white Afrikaans music styles such as tikkie-draai and vastrap (Ballantine, Marabi Nights, 1983). Around late 1949, Gumede recorded at least twelves tracks with the Dark Town Darkies on the Nyakaza label. The Durban-based Shalimar Record Company, owned by I.M. Mather in partnership with I. Soosiwala, focussed primarily on recordings in Tami, Hindustani and Urdu, catering to the Indian-South African population in KwaZulu Natal. But the company also marketed recordings in isiZulu on their Nyakaza label. The label is first mentioned in a November 1949 advertisement in The Leader; and then Gumede’s tracks are listed in a February 1950 issue of Indian Views. (Malveen Jackson, Indian South African Popular Music, 1999). Gumede’s track’s do appear to be the label’s first output of Zulu recordings, but I have never seen any of these discs. The Flatinternational archive does have one disc by William Mseleku’s Bantu Metro Brothers on the Nyakaza label. According to Melveen Jackson, the K matrix number denoted that these were recorded by the Shalimer Record Company at Saville Street in Durban. “Jamal told me he remembered someone coming from Gallo in Johannesburg to do the recording in Saville Street. Sushila Rani said that she remembered Kathree from Kathree's Radio Service, which was located at 2 Saville Street, doing the sound recording.” In her research, Jackson then speculates that the K prefix may refer to Kathree. It is notable that some Gallotone recordings also carry this K matrix prefix and it is likely that they were recorded in Durban. In 1951 Gumede recorded a series of tracks with Solomon Sitole on the fledgling Audion label under a variety of names including the Dark City Dance Band, The Pimville Group and The Zululand Group. He also recorded with Michael Nkole as The Modernaires and the Free State Ramblers. International Transcriptions, the publishers of Audion, began advertising their first discs in the April 1951 issue of Zonk magazine. By the end of that year, the company had changed the name of the label to the very familiar Troubadour. According to Rob Allingham, Gumede worked on the record presses at Troubadour and was often featured as an instrumentalist on many of their recordings for example he played lead guitar on Dorothy Masuka’s Unamanga (AFC 651) recorded around 1961. (Allingham, Dorothy Masuka CD) According to Mary Thobei, Willie Gumede grew up in the Nkandla district of KwaZulu Natal, before moving up to Johannesburg and living in Alexandra Township. (Ballantine via Allingham, Marabi Nights). It is not clear when he was born or when he passed away. |
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