South Africa said goodbye to arguably its first and most enduring pop star this week, Bernard 'Babsy' Mlangeni. Born in Soweto in 1943, he lost his sight at the age of three and was sent by his family to the Athlone School of the Blind in Bellville, Cape Town. Inspired by blind American artists such as Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, he formed a band called the All-Rounders with other blind artists, including guitarist Koloi Lebona. Both would remain central figures in the SA music industry for decades to come. The All-Rounders released throughout the 1960s and by the mid-70s Babsy embarked on a solo career.
A pioneer of the soul sound that predated the bubblegum disco scene of the 1980s, Mlangeni's vocal power as well as his ability of sing in various languages — Sotho, Zulu, Xhosa and English — saw him emerge as one of the country's top-selling artists, his fame and talent arguably rivalled only by Jacob 'Mpharanyana' Radebe (who died in 1979 as the age of just 31). Releasing primarily on EMI/CCP's Black Music imprint, with the help of Clive Calder, Mlangeni and Lebona later formed their own label, Black Artists Management (BAM). Mlangeni would go on to mentor another talented blind, multilingual vocalist in Steve Kekana, and would continue to perform and record into his old age. Over a career spanning more than six decades he released countless albums, far too few of which remain accessible on digital platforms. Below are some of them:
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| Spotlight on Babsy Mlangeni (Skyline/Black Music/CCP, 1975/76) |
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The Soul of Babsy Mlangeni (Black Music, 1976)
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| Babsy Mlangeni Sings Zulu Vocal Hits (Black Music, 1976) |
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| Babsy Mlangeni Sings Zulu Vocal Hits Vol. 2 (Black Music, 1977) |
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| Babsy Mlangeni Sings Zulu Hits Vol. 3 (Black Music, 1978) |
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Bayete! Makhosi (BAM Records, 1981) |
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Special Angel (CCP/Black Music, 1985) |
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Who's The Boss (Teal Trutone, 1988) |
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Shebeleza (featuring Linda) (Sounds of Soweto, 1991) |
RIP Bra Babsy© 2026 Afrosynth
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