What was Johnny Clegg’s Web Price?
Johnny Clegg was a British-born musician and anthropologist from South Africa who had a web price of $5 million on the time of his demise in 2019. Johnny Clegg turned internationally recognized for mixing Western rock with conventional Zulu music. Nicknamed “The White Zulu,” he broke limitations throughout apartheid by forming multiracial bands and performing music that defied the strict segregation legal guidelines of the time. Clegg first rose to prominence within the Seventies with the band Juluka, which he co-founded with Sipho Mchunu. Their mixture of English lyrics, Zulu traditions, and socially acutely aware messages made them each controversial in South Africa and celebrated overseas. After Juluka disbanded, Clegg went on to steer the group Savuka, which achieved world success within the Eighties with hits like “Scatterlings of Africa” and “Asimbonanga,” the latter a tribute to Nelson Mandela. Past his music, Clegg was admired for his braveness and activism, usually performing beneath risk of arrest. Over a profession spanning 4 a long time, he offered hundreds of thousands of information, toured internationally, and influenced generations of artists. Clegg’s work stands as a cultural bridge that introduced South African music to the world stage whereas additionally enjoying a task within the struggle towards apartheid.
Early Life
Jonathan Clegg was born on June 7, 1953, in Bacup, Lancashire, England. His mom was a cabaret and jazz singer from Zimbabwe, and after his dad and mom separated, she moved with him to South Africa when he was a baby. Clegg grew up in Johannesburg, the place he was uncovered to each Western music and African traditions. As an adolescent, he started enjoying guitar and have become fascinated by Zulu road music and dance. He was drawn into the tradition, studying maskandi guitar kinds and the energetic Zulu dance referred to as indlamu.
By the point he was a younger man, Clegg had absolutely immersed himself in South African township life, despite the fact that it was unlawful beneath apartheid for white and Black South Africans to socialize. His early experiences of cross-cultural change formed not solely his music but in addition his lifelong dedication to breaking down racial limitations.
Juluka
In 1969, Clegg met Sipho Mchunu, a Zulu migrant employee and guitarist. The 2 shaped a friendship and started making music collectively, mixing English folk-rock with Zulu rhythms and lyrics. Their collaboration led to the formation of Juluka within the late Seventies, one in every of South Africa’s first multiracial bands. As a result of apartheid legal guidelines made their performances unlawful, Juluka usually confronted police harassment, live performance bans, and threats of imprisonment. Regardless of these obstacles, the band constructed a loyal following, each inside South Africa and internationally.
Juluka launched albums resembling “Common Males” (1979) and “African Litany” (1981), which contained the early model of “Scatterlings of Africa.” Their music challenged the established order and launched world audiences to South African sounds, making them pioneers of what would later be referred to as “world music.”

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Savuka and Worldwide Success
After Juluka disbanded within the mid-Eighties, Clegg shaped a brand new group, Savuka. The identify meant “we have now risen” in Zulu. With Savuka, Clegg broadened his sound to incorporate extra pop and rock parts whereas sustaining sturdy African roots. Their 1987 album “Third World Youngster” turned a world hit, that includes the one “Asimbonanga,” a strong anthem calling for Nelson Mandela’s launch from jail.
“Asimbonanga” gained world consideration and have become an emblem of the anti-apartheid motion. Savuka went on to attain worldwide success, touring extensively throughout Europe, North America, and Australia. The band offered hundreds of thousands of albums, and Clegg turned one of the crucial distinguished African artists on the worldwide stage.
Later Profession
Within the Nineties and 2000s, Clegg continued to launch solo work and carry out all over the world. His music maintained its cross-cultural basis, mixing languages, devices, and rhythms to mirror the range of South Africa. He additionally labored as an anthropologist and lecturer, instructing about Zulu tradition and music.
Even after being identified with pancreatic most cancers in 2015, Clegg continued to carry out, embarking on a farewell tour that celebrated his decades-long profession. He obtained quite a few honors, together with the Order of Ikhamanga from the South African authorities and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.
Legacy
Johnny Clegg handed away on July 16, 2019, on the age of 66. His demise was extensively mourned in South Africa and all over the world. Typically referred to as “The White Zulu,” he left behind a legacy of music that defied racial divisions and launched South African tradition to hundreds of thousands. His songs stay enduring symbols of hope, unity, and resistance. Greater than a musician, he was a cultural ambassador whose artwork carried deep political and social affect.
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