Joseph Shabalala, founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, has passed away.

The founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and seen in “Moonwalker” has dies in South Africa at the age of 78. Despite Joseph being retired from the group which is still currently touring in the US, he was still the figure of the emblematic zulu music group.

Joseph’s cousin, Albert, present in the original formation of the group recalled the first meeting with Michael Jackson:

“Because we were around Los Angeles our tour manager told us that Michael Jackson’s manager called and Michael Jackson wants to meet Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I said ‘Really? Is this for real?’. He said yes and I remember that morning we were so excited waking up cooked breakfast, and then we went there to the studio to go record. When we got there he was already there. So he was sitting down with his family.”

“Then as soon as he saw us he stood up, he met us half way and he was wearing his gloves, so he took them off and then he put the gloves in his pocket and shook hands with us and gave Joseph, the leader of the group a hug. Michael Jackson is a person that doesn’t register in our hearts that he is a real person. He said ‘I am so glad that you made time to come here. I’m a big fan. I brought some of my family here. My mother and my sister and one of my brothers. I would like to do something with you’.”

After this meeting, Joseph and the rest of Ladysmith went back to their hotel. Joseph got to writing and created choreography from moves within their repertoire. Later that evening they attended the rehearsal and taping of Moonwalker and presented what they created to Michael. The song was titled “Lindelani” which means “get ready”. He loved it.

Albert spoke on the moment where Ladysmith shared the song and dance with Michael.

“Joseph said we want to sing you a song. We thought you might like this song and then he sang ‘Hello My Baby.’ And so we sang the whole song and did the dancing and everything. After that, he was smiling, looking down, and said, ‘So I hope you will be available tonight for rehearsal because I am doing a shoot for my project called Moonwalker’.”

Although written for Moonwalker, “Lindelani” would appear on their album Journey of Dreams released March 1988. The song expresses hope and joy and the magic of being in the moment. This is such a needed message then and now. A message of hope and faith and encouragement, which Albert explained at length when he spoke with us about the creation of this song.

“‘Lindelani’ means wait for those blessings that are coming from above. Yes, and then you say they are coming above like the rain, like raindrops. Why Joseph wrote those lyrics were because he was seeing what was happening to us. To have that kind of blessing to be able to meet with Michael Jackson and work with him.

So he said, when we talked about it, he said, ‘You know sometimes you can sit and you don’t know when your luck is gonna come, but just wait because everything is coming from above. So now is the time that our blessings are coming. So this is the time now’.

The song was about that. And then also when [Michael] talked about the moon he said the moon is above so everything is coming [from] above. Everything is coming to us. The song was written around the situation was happening at that time. The blessing I think is the only way that I can fit to describe what was happening.”

From the song to the choreography, everything was made to highlight this moment, meeting and working with Michael Jackson. Joseph used movements from Ladysmith’s then-current choreography and incorporated steps from Michael and his dancers to add a certain amount of presence and to capture the feel of the experience.

“Something that amazed us was the kind of dancing they were doing,” Albert said. “The crew that they had was so tight with the dancing and so clean. Something they did which is still amazing was when they were standing and leaning forward. I thought maybe it was something attached or some kind of invisible rope or something but no it was nothing. They just did that thing really and we just said, ‘Wow, amazing.’ And then after that, he said ‘I’m going to do the song.’”

“‘When I sing the song you can just join in and do what you want to do,’” Michael told the group. “Joseph had written something after they spoke a little bit. So Joseph has a piece that he had been writing. When we do the dancing there were little infuses in the dances we did for him during the day so it was making it easier for us to relate it to one another. We had rehearsed it [on our own] maybe three times and even in the rehearsal we shortened it.”

Although Ladysmith Black Mambazo met with Michael Jackson that day in 1987, they never met again. This was their first and last collaboration. “Just one day and then we never met him again. Just one moment in time. That morning and then that night and then everything was done,” Albert said.

Mambazo have won five Grammy Awards. Currently, the group consists of a new generation of members, a majority of them are sons of the founding members. Shabalala and a majority of the founding members were retired from performing and recording.

South Africa and the whole continent have lost an icon and a pioneer. but the moon is still dancing…

RIP Joseph Shabalala