Mokoena Vuyo
- Vuyo Mokoena
Vuyo grew up under the strict supervision of his religious grandmother, MaMokoena, as she was known to everybody. At his early age he was much involved in religious activities, such as the school's Student Christian Movement. That is where his interest towards gospel music developed. He says that though his peers forced him to play soccer he never had passion for that because he knew in his mind that his talent was on music. He imagined himself in the studios recording music also and performing in concerts for his fans.
While he was still at school he formed a Melodi gospel and Afro-pop- outfit group with his ten friends. All this time he was dreaming of becoming one of the country's leading male gospel singers. He was inspired by so many other musicians like Tsepo Tshola and the others. The reality of his talent became active in 1990 when he entered the Super Kurl Talent search. His talent impressed the judges and it happened that one of his judges was the queen of the gospel music, Rebecca Malope. He was voted the winner in the Best Male Vocalist category.
He worked with Rebecca until 2001. Vuyo and Rebecca were regarded as South African gospel's royal pair. He then left the group to join Sony. He left because he wanted to do something on his own; he wanted to grow in the music industry. He also worked with Pure Magic, the popular gospel group which is known for its popular song "Hlengiwe". He also worked with his musician friend Jabu Hlongwane. Both of them were the heart of the well travelled and multi award winning gospel group Joyous Celebration. They worked together on several projects including the best selling milestone album Icula Elisha which has the hit track "Ntate Nthuse"
Vuyo opened his own entertainment company that he owns with his wife of seven years, Tebogo Mokoena. He opened this company to leave lasting impression in the music industry even the day he decides to retire from music industry. Unfortunately for him his life was cut off with the sickness that he developed.
Vuyo was admitted to Johannesburg's Linksfield Hospital in March this year after he had some blackouts at his home. He was later diagnosed with leukaemia and he was discharged to recover at home. Unfortunately for Vuyo he never recovers, he passed away on Friday last week. He survived by his wife and four children.
According to Sowetan memorial service will be held tomorrow at the Grace Bible church in Pimville, Soweto, starting at 11am. A second memorial service will be held in the Duduza Multipurpose center, on Thursday also at 11am. His funeral will be held at the Springs Civic Center at 9am and the cortege will leave the Center at 1pm. Rest in peace Vuyo, you will be remembered!
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Buttler Jonathan
- Jonathan performing
Jonathan Butler is known as a singer, songwriter and a guitarist. His fans classify his music as R&B, jazz fusion or smooth jazz. He was born in October 1961 in Cape Town. He is the youngest of 12 children. He grew up in Athlone, a former coloured township in Cape Town.
He started his music career at a very young age by singing and playing acoustic guitar. He began touring at the age of seven when he joined a travelling stage show with the Golden City Dixies. He travelled with them for three years. When the Dixies took a year off from performing, he decided to establish a new group with his brother Paul. He later joined another band, Freedom. Bullet Records recognised him as a major talent and approached him to launch a solo career. His first hit record was a song called 'Please Stay' and it went to number two on the pop chart. That turned him into a local teenage idol.
His first single was the first one by a black artist to be played on the white radio stations. It was not easy for him to perform in many places because of the apartheid laws then prevalent in South Africa. Many of his songs were about the isolation of black people from white people in the country. He performed in many black townships which were ravaged by apartheid. He earned a Sarie Award, the South African equivalent to the Grammys.
Jonathan's fame grew too fast, but unfortunately for him it did not bring him what he wanted and needed from life. Instead he longed for love and someone to notice his loneliness. Nobody realised that he had a great need for love and acceptance. He soon turned to drugs for solace; he was a drug addict at age 15. In 1978 he found the inspiration and encouragement to begin expressing himself as a composer and songwriter when he joined Cape Town's best known jazz/rock outfit, Pacific Express.
Two albums were recorded with the Express, and somePacific Express. Two albums were recorded with the Express, and some Pacific Express songs were later released on the 1988 "7th Avenue" album. Apart from that he also received a breakthrough from God. He became a new man after one of his fans told him about Jesus. He is now a born again Christian.
In the early 1980s he moved to England where he remained for 17 years, after which he moved to California, USA. He maintained his trust and loyalty to his fans not only in South Africa but also in the U.S. and Europe. His international breakthrough came in 1987 with his Grammy nominated hit "Lies" and his version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", which he performed with Ruby Turner. In 2006, Butler was featured vocalist on the CD titled "Gospel Goes Classical," produced by University of Alabama at Birmingham music professor Henry Panion. This recording rose to 2 on the Billboard Gospel chart, and 3 on the Classical Crossover chart.
Although he has made his career and his life overseas, Jonathan Butler remains a son of South Africa. He endorses a charity called Acres of Love. "It's an organization that's founded by South Africans that now life in California. Basically Acres of Love adopts abandoned HIV babies in South Africa from as early as 18 months and up. We adopt these kids from around the world and we raise money to buy homes and each house has ten kids with medical staff, with volunteers and each child has its own medical anti HIV medicines that they take three times a day.
The stories are incredible about these young kids. These babies are abandoned and some are picked up in dumpsters, in bushes and they are just left for dead so these babes are part of Acres of Love. So we want to help these babies who have been abandoned by their mothers when the mothers find out they have AIDS. These kids just get left on doorsteps and in cars. When I met with Ryan Audagnotti and his wife Gerda the founders of Acres of Love we got really close and involved. We do a series of benefits that we hold ever year. My vision now is to bring it more into the mainstream through the music industry."
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