One night I heard something...
Many years ago Dartmouth
College had a radio station. Run by students, it played music that one didn't usually hear in the Upper Valley. There was one
show that was a particular favorite of mine. This show aired for three hours every Thursday night. It was called Lajava. The DJ was a fellow called Pierre. Pierre played nothing but what is called "world music".
I tried never to miss the show and took to recording it on cassette tape every week. This was before the days of compact disks.
Before the Internet was a household word and telephones had buttons instead of a dial.
One night I heard something...
It was a song called "Scatterlings of Africa". Pierre didn't always announce the titles or artists of tunes he played, he sometimes forgot, and so it was that he did not announce who had done this tune, a tune I could not forget. I made it my business to find out. Thus I was introduced to someone whom I consider to be one of the great musical artists of all time: a man named Johnny Clegg, and the bands he fronted, Juluka and Savuka.
I suggest you give it a listen. If you like the song as much as I did, go out and buy the man's albums. I bought most of them and I've never regretted it. Although some of his music speaks of tough subjects: drought, unemployment, betrayal, and death, when you start your day listening to Johnny Clegg... well everything just seems to go a little better.
