tell me about Brenda Fassie

(an obit)

this article is pretty good
http://www.music.org.za/Editorial.asp?ID=22

Brenda is an interesting character. supposed to be a nightmare to work with due to her drug problems - i.e. not show up for performances or show up and be too blitzed to get on stage but the same ppl telling you this would, in the same breath, talk about what an amazing person she and how much they loved her.

iirc, her attempts to stop using drugs was caused by waking up next to the corpse of her lover who had overdosed the night before. not a pleasant picture, and all this was played out in the tabloids. she was probably s. africa's first tabloid star.

6 years after its release, Vulindlela still packs dance floors in addis, she's hugely popular here (actually everywhere i've gone in east africa). not sure what it is that people connect to so much, (i like her a lot, but not to that level of adulation) but i'll think abt it.

don't know if there are any good comps out, will check and let you know if i have any recommendations.

Thanks, that's an interesting article. I've found a "Greatest Hits" collection which seems to span her career pretty well. Now I just have to find somewhere that actually sells it. Amazon has a link to one guy in Florida who supposedly has one copy.

just googled, if it is this comp http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info.php?id=CDBREN009 then Stern's Music in NYC should be able to send you a copy, their addy is on the about page.

The song "south africa" rocks hard and makes me very very happy. Her life story is also very interesting, as those links above will show you.