Malaika/Swahili - Lata Mangeshkar - Rare Recording Royal Albert Hall 1974 - My Father's Collection

At the 1983 concert in London with Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar crooned a song in Swahili (which she sang earlier for the first time at her LIVE concert in Nairobi in 1971). Though she can read and write only in Hindi, she sang 'Malaika' by transliteration of the East African language.

'Malaika' song is probably the most renowned love ballad to have come out of East Africa, if not the whole of Africa. It became a hit song not only in Africa but across the globe and has been redone by over seventy African and international artists like Miriam Makeba, Angélique Kidjo, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Boney M.

It is a sentimental song that narrates a sad story of a young man whose love for a young woman referred to as Malaika (Angel) is doomed because he is poor. For him to marry her, he is required to pay bride-price in order to get betrothed.

While the sentimental theme of the song is captivating enough, the story behind its creation and studio recording is shrouded in age-long controversy.

Despite the formal accreditation to Kenya's Fadhili William (1931-2001) as the composer and the first singer of it with the 'The Jambo Boys' band; while Tanzania's Adam Salim also claim to writing it in Nairobi, as a response to not being able to marry an Indian girl because of his poor status.

The Columbia East African Music Company recorded and officially released Fadhili's song in 1959. To date, no individual is authoritatively credited for 'composing' Malaika though it's copyright and royalties are attributed to Fadhili William.

Regardless of who actually wrote the song, the glory if it belongs to East Africa and that is what it will be remembered for generations to come.
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