The Drive - Live (1975, RCL 1203)

You thought we had gone! But we're back, briefly for the first posting of 2017! By special request from a number of people, specifically for the track Africa Bossa, here is South African soul jazz funk band from the early seventies - The Drive. Whilst this is titled Drive Live it is in fact a studio recording with overdubbed crowd sounds. 

We have posted a number of other Drive LPs at electricjive before. You can check them out here.

Of interest to many will be the appearance of Bheki Mseleku on keys.

ENJOY! MF

A Tribute to Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli: The Drive (1977)

A special recording. Besides being comprised of some outstanding funk-fusion meets early disco numbers featuring Bheki Mseleku and the rest of this talented band, these are the last recordings with the core band intact, made only two weeks before Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli were killed in a car crash.

Plenty has been written on this blog and elsewhere on this fine band. If you use the "search" function in the right-hand column you will find links to much more info and earlier albums.

Before "The Drive", the Sithole brothers formed the brass core of the Heshoo Beshoo group. Luthuli played with Almon's Jazz 8. After The Drive, various members went on to form Sakhile, and also Spirits Rejoice. And of course, there is the stellar rise to international fame of Bheki Mseleku.

The liner notes tell us that The Drive were on the brink of an "overseas tour" breakthrough.

"Right at the peak of their dazzling career when plans were laid to take the group overseas to engagements that would pace the way for international success - a fatal car accident claimed the live of the two who had worked so hard to achieve this these goals. Bunny Luthuli was married only a few months before his death. Henry Sithole leaves a wife and four children."

"Join us in remembering these two outstanding musicians through their music in this recording - made only two short weeks before their tragic death."

Like a number of other Drive albums, there is no record of who the musicians were. When the band formed in 1971, Duke Makasi and Mike Makhalamele were early members. Kaya Mahlangu, Sipho Gumede and Jabu Nkosi also spent time as members. As far as I can make out though, from around 1975 through to 1977 the band was pretty stable member-wise. One album that does list and picture the band members is the 1975 album "Can You feel It?".  Based on this, my guess is as follows: The lead female vocalist featured is almost certainly Mavis Maseko.

Henry Sithole - Band leader: Alto Sax
Stanley Sithole - Tenor and baritone sax
David Sithole - Trumpet
Bunny Luthuli - Guitar
Bheki Mseleku - Synthesiser, hammond piano and electric organ
Nelson Magwaza - Drums, percussion and congas
Tony Sauli - bass

Orlando Stadium Soweto 19th Jan 1976 support acts - The Drive with Annalene Malebo, Lucky Mabaso Bunny Luthuli, Temba (?), Tony Soali, Nelson Magwaza, Lucky Mbatha, Mavis Maseku, the Sithole Brothers Stanley, Danny & Henry. Photo by David Marx 

Discography
Slow Drive to Soweto (c1971, AYL 1009)
The Sky's The Limit (1975, RCL 1201)
Can You Feel It (1975, RCL 1202)
Drive Live (1975, RCL 1203)
Coming To The End of This (1976, RCL 1208)
Zone 6 (1976, RCL 1215)
A Tribute to Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli (1977, RCL 1216)
Lets Cool it (1980, BL271)

Tracks:

1. Mama We (Henry Sithole) 6.07

2. Sala Ngoxolo (Henry Sithole) 2.57

3. Let's Have a Ball (Bunny Luthuli) 8.36

4. Thando's Mood (Bunny Luthuli) 16.24

Download link here.

Strange Things: Electric Jive Office Party 2015

Some strange things have afflicted us all this year - though we can't say they were wholly unexpected. South Africa faces some very serious challenges with corruption and leadership. It has been a year of  despair and at times feeling hopeless as we watch people of the world drift apart and resort to bombing and fighting each other. As if such behavior is ever going to solve anything! Time for healing, time for love!

As we approach the holidays I am hopeful that we can all find the time and motivation to step back, step aside, and find that happy musical space where thinking is suspended, time stands still, and your dancing feet switch into automatic pilot mode.

I invite you to groove to some timeless and rare funky disco soul produced during those tough times in South Africa. No matter the trauma on our door-steps, we took care to feed our souls and dance among those we loved, always feeling re-inspired!

So, enough venting and sermonising, let me share the Electric Jive Durban Office Party 2015 menu with you.

We kick off with the S.A. Supremes in 1973 chasing a funky rhythm guitar and organ-led groove, singing "Strange Things":  Oh, these strange things in my life, Why, they do go to me, Oh I need someone to save me, Oh, somebody come and help me. These Strange Things, they worry me so!".

We then slide off into 1977 for a beautiful funky and emergent disco anthem recorded by "The Drive", their last recording, just two weeks before Henry Sithole (that's him in Ian Huntley's picture above) and Bunny Luthuli (guitar) were taken from us in a car accident. Stretching out at over 16 minutes, the shimmering guitar, soothing brass, and rock-solid bass-lines of "Thando's Mood" will transport you to that  place where you slowly peel away those troubles, and decide it is OK just to let go, and go with the flow.

We slip back into 1976, with the wonderful collaboration between the members of the pop band "Rabbit" Trevor Rabin and Neil Cloud, along with Malcolm Watson, John Galanakis, Mike Makhalemele, Thomas Masemola and The Jo'Burg Strings. Written by Patrick Van Blerk and Trevor Rabin, "For you Only" is an extended 14-minute laid back disco-funk groove.

"Spirits Rejoice" hardly need an introduction, though not everyone knows they were the core of "Dr Rhythm", backing Paul Petersen's guitar upfront. Recorded in 1981, and written by keyboard player Mervyn Africa, "Hook It Up" offers up more than eight minutes of upbeat funky disco, with the likes of Duke Makasi blowing up a brass storm, underlined by Sipho Gumede on bass, and Gilbert Matthews on drums,

Rounding it all off for this Office Party is the full sixteen minute version of the 1978 hit by the "Nzimande All Stars", "Sporo Disco". Not yet featured on Electric Jive!

I wish all visitors to Electric Jive lots of love and peace over this holiday period - whenever, it finally gets to come your way.

My hands are a little too full to find the time to be able to put up two downloads - one with separated tracks, along with the tradtional mix-tape. So, please bare with with me and understand - I promise, in the New Year,  I will share the full albums that feature the tracks in the office party mix. Enjoy!

And just when you thought that was all! No wait, there is more! Thanks to an anonymous person with a big heart, there is now a site where you can hear South African and African music recordings that you did not know existed. Taken from master tapes and sound-desk recordings of live shows over the twenty five years, you can hear the likes of Tananas, Oliver Mtukudzi, Marcus Wyatt, Toumani Diabate, Gito Baloi, Kesivan Naidoo, and more to come. Phew! 

Slow Drive to Soweto (1974)

Following our focus on seventies soul, groove and fusion it would be remiss not to repost this classic from seminal seventies band The Drive, established in 1971 by Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli. 

From the original post at matsuli:
Now some people really don't like it when African musicians make "non-African" music. This cuts close to the debate on authenticity, tradition and modernity. It has political dimensions and can get people very worked up. Witness the recent conversations on the WorldService blog when the writer expressed his dislike for - amongst others - the emphasis placed on the western aspects of African music. I don't want to get involved too far in this debate but I would like to briefly illustrate how jazz, soul and fusion in South Africa came to represent a declaration of independence and freedom from the constrictions that the Apartheid government had made regarding cultural and political expression.  

In the 1960s Apartheid social engineering in South Africa resulted in the promotion by the government of indigenous cultural styles. Nine different radio services were created along language lines. This was in line with the government's political strategy of eradicating an urban black population. The aim was to ensure that the black workers required for mining and manufacture were temporary sojourners in the urban areas with traditional homes in the rural countryside (the so-called bantustans, or independent homelands in government parlance).

Within this context playing or at the very least making a passing reference to non-indigenous styles such as jazz, soul and rock was subversive and understood and read to be a declaration of freedom from the government straitjacket. But this political act decreased the avenues available for musicians to make money. Finding and playing to audiences without radio exposure was difficult. Added to this were more and more restrictions and licensing requirements that mean playing to urban audiences in the seventies was inherently problematic. Not many nightclubs existed in urban areas and promoter often took risky decisions to put on live shows.  


The Drive (L-R): Bunny Luthuli, Temba (?), Tony Soali, Nelson Magwaza, Lucky Mbatha, Mavis Maseku, Stanley Sithole, Danny Sithole & Henry Sithole.(Photo © David Marks, Orlando, Soweto)

The Drive, along with The Movers, were South Africa's premier soul jazz band and represented an articulate black urban vision of a future at odds with Apartheid's engineers. Despite the political statement inherent in playing jazz or soul the music had a mixed reception. If you listen to the LP being shared today some tracks work better than others and some are probably best left on the cutting floor. 

Slow Drive to Soweto (1974, AYL 1009)
1. Sweet Lips
2. Do It Again 
3. Let It Be Me 
4. Spinning Wheel feat Lucky Mbatha 
5. Yesterday feat. Lucky Mbatha 
6. Whats On Your Mind feat. Lucky Mbatha
7. Love and Peace
8. For Friends 
9. Howl 
10. Slow Drive to Soweto

DOWNLOAD: Mediafire

Love, Peace and Goodwill at the Office Party

Welcome to Electric Jive’s Durban Office Party mix-tape, featuring selections from an imagined 1970’s township 45rpm juke-box: anchored in soul, bumping into a little funk, dropping a slither of Shangaan roots, skirting with disco, and uncovering a gem - that blaxploitation classic “Shaft”, courtesy of “The Drive”, live at a seventies Soweto festival.

Every musician featured on this mix will have been part of the Johannesburg seventies township scene, shaping and being shaped by the multiple and intersecting musical influences available. Going on a count of recordings made, mbaqanga must surely qualify as the ”mainstream” at the time. However, there was also sufficient demand to justify the “black” labels making a mint from selling: soul, folk, reggae, country, psychedelia, rock, R&B, and traditional.

These jukebox selections showcase a small sample of the diversity of musical ‘sub-cultures’ that thrived within the same urban space and time.

The afro hair, clothing and sense of style evident in Ian Huntley’s photo (above) at Langa Stadium  in 1972, to me, oozes identity and confidence, but also a collective middle finger at the prescriptive and hostile apartheid system. Explorations in Black urban style and subculture were causing the system discomfort – black hippies, for example, must have really confused things for the average policeman.

Defiance does not always have to be hostile in its expression, witness the history of carnivals. Looking at the staggering number of recordings made in Johannesburg during the 70s we can see that the promotion of fun, love, peace and goodwill were also abundant.

So – in the spirit of love, peace and goodwill, herewith twenty five tracks from the juke-box.

We kick off with Black Funk, whose members have to be the same Pelican House Band that backed Dick Khoza in recording Chapita. West End Soul can only be the likes of Khaya Mahlangu and Ezra Ngcukana whose brass refrains sample Khoza’s Lilongwe, .. or, was that the other way around?

No matter what your ambivalence over the blaxploitation genre, you surely would be interested to hear The Drive giving Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” extraordinary African horns? It is about time we upped the ‘grateful’ volume towards David Marks for capturing this and many other important live performances in South Africa. He has recently donated his entire Hidden Years Music Archive Project to the University of Stellenbosch.

From here, the mix flows through soul,soul- bump, a little disco-soul, some northern-soul-type vocals exploring alienation in love, and in the city, a ballad honoring South African jazz greats, some uptempo roots music, and a dash of 1971 mbaqanga from Joseph Makwela.  Hopefully there is something for everyone this year-end! Thanks for dropping by at Electric Jive. 

Wishing you:

Love Peace and Goodwill 

Electric Jive Durban Office Party 2014

1. Black Funk: West End Soul. (1975) H. Lebona. 45rpm Black Music (BMB44).

2. The Drive: Shaft. Circa (1975). Recorded by Dave Marks at unidentified Soweto Festival.

3. Hardways: Mameshane Ijuba (undated). Dlamini. 45rpm Score (SCO 145).

4. Mavis and the Shasha Boys: Take A Walk (1972) Mavis Maseko, Rupert Bopape. 45rpm (SJM 101).

5. The Apaches: Apache Way. (1974). R. Mbele, D. Thekwane. 45rpm soul.soul (SSB 027).

6. The Soul Explosions: Groovy Night. (1977). Uncredited. Black Music (BMB2006).

7. The Soul Masters: Steam Up. (undated). H. Ways. 45rpm Star (STB 422).

8. The Big Time Boys: Super Bump. (undated) Smitta, Hardways. 45rpm Jet (Meritone) (JET345).

9. Mavis and the Shasha Boys: Give it Stick. (1972) R. Ngcaphalala. 45rpm (SJM .101).

10. Shumi: Gideon, Early & McKay. (1974). Holler/Arr: Masingi. 45rpm (BUA8803).

11. Walter Dhlamini: Lonely City (undated). Z. Ngoma, E. Mabaso. 45rpm Fire (RE104).

12. The Hurricanes: Rich Man’s Daughter. (1975) Jacob Macheli, Donald Mbowane. 45rpm (RPM7756).

13. Sam Evans: Social Whirl (1970) Sam Evans. 45rpm Parlophone (SPD3014).

14. The Tycoons: What is a Man? (1976) The Tycoons. 45rpm Black Music (BMB 63).
15. The Butterflies: Facial Appearance. (1978) arr. Joseph Makwela. 45rpm Ziya Duma (ZD1013).

16. Jeremiah and the Shamings: Undisemba Usondele. (1976). 45rpm (Ring261).

17. The Meritones: Soul Bump. (undated). Lerole, Masingi, Ntaba. 45rpm Lita Records (LA 46).

18. Irene And The Sweet Melodians: Mfana we disco. (1978). I. Mawela, R. Bopape. 45rpm Ziya Duma (ZD1019).

19. Samuel Mabunda: Vusiwana. (1979). S. Mabunda. 45rpm Fast Move (BFM163).

20. Samuel Mabunda: Vuhlevahleva. (1979). S. Mabunda. 45rpm Fast Move (BFM163).

21. Joseph Makwela Nabafana Bezishingishane: Shibetana. (1971) Joseph Makwela. 45rpm (SJM .65).

22. Dali’s Beauty Queens: U-Mama. (undated). Naftali Dali. 45rpm Ilizwe (WZ 1108).

23. The Creations: Midnight Lover (1976). Z. Ngoma, M. Dibango. 45rpm Gallo (PD 1270).

24. Soul Explosion: Soul Five. (undated) 45rpm Atlantic City (AYB1108).

25. The Drive: Love and Peace (1974). Off the album “Slow Drive To Soweto”.

Mix-tape Mediafire download 
Individual tracks download 

Bumping, Moving and Grooving into Zone One

This one goes out to all you lovers of the jazz fusion and bump sounds of the Movers, the Drive and the Mover's organist Sankie Chounyane. I've posted previously on theses groups at matsuli as well as here at electricjive. Siemon has a detailed discography of the Movers at flatinternational and I've detailed the Drive discography in an earlier post here at electricjive.

Various Artists - Zone One (1976, SoulSoul, SSL123)
1. Zone One - The Movers
2. Don't Touch - The Movers
3. Zone No 6 (Part 1) - The Drive
4. My Dreams (Part 1) - The Drive
5. Jacaranda No 15 (Part 1) - Sankie and the New Time Boys
6. N-U-10 - The Movers
7. Traffic Ticket - The Movers
8. Help Me - The Movers
9. Zone No 6 (Part 2) - The Drive
10. My Dreams (Part 2) - The Drive
11. Jacaranda No 15 (Part 2) - Sankie and the New Time Boys
12. Spy - The Movers

ENJOY!
MF / RS

The Drive - Coming to the End of This (1976)

A return to the jazz fusion sounds of the Drive. But it's a disturbing cover and title given that both Henry Sithole and Bunny Lithuli came to their end in a car crash under a year later in May 1977. And after that the Drive dissolved with remaining members moving on to Spirits Rejoice, Sakhile and elsewhere.

But there are three glorious tracks with the band at the height of their powers. The copy of the album being shared today was manufactured and distributed in Mozambique under a Teal imprint. The urbane tastes of Maputo and Beira residents clearly needed to be met!

For detailed context and background please visit these earlier posts at matsuli and here at electricjive where a detailed discography is available.

The Drive - Coming to the End of This (RCL1208, 1976)
1. To the End
2. Ama Swazi
3. T.J. Bump
All compositions by Henry Sithole. Produced by David Thekwane




MF

Can You Feel It?

So often mentioned as South Africa's greatest soul jazz band The Drive have never had a proper re-issue or taken their proper place in the ongoing unfolding and retelling of South Africa's musical past and future. Maybe our efforts here at Electric Jive can tip the balance in favour of The Drive. Certainly we can feel it!

The Drive (L-R): Bunny Luthuli, Temba (?), Tony Soali, Nelson Magwaza, Lucky Mbatha, Mavis Maseku, Stanley Sithole, Danny Sithole & Henry Sithole.(Photo © David Marks, Orlando, Soweto)

The band was started by Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli in 1971. As Matt over at Matsuli put it a few years back "The Drive represented an articulate black urban vision of a future at odds with Apartheid's engineers." Over the course of their six years of existence they travelled the length and breadth of Southern Africa playing festivals and what venues were still available. Their recorded output is to the best of our knowledge a total of eight LPs. There was a poorly remastered attempt at a reissue on a budget around ten years ago but it sunk into the budget racks.

Discography* (Updated July 2011)
- Slow Drive to Soweto (c1971, AYL 1009)

- The Sky's The Limit (1975, RCL 1201)
- Can You Feel It (1975, RCL 1202)
- Drive Live (1975, RCL 1203)

- Coming To The End of This (1976, RCL 1208)
- Zone 6 (1976, RCL 1215)

- A Tribute to Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthuli (1977, RCL 1216, recorded just two weeks prior to Henry and Bunny's fatal traffic accident)
- Lets Cool it (1980, BL271)

The Drive are probably best known for their track Way Back Fifties which appears unabridged on the LP we are sharing today. Enjoy the ride!

The Drive - Can You Feel It (1975, RCL 1202)
Way Back Fifties
Together
Can You Feel It
Produced by David Thekwane

MF (new link as of 30 Dec 2014)

The Best Laid Plans of Saul Malapane

An absolutely incredible album from Saul Malapane and I suspect members of the seminal mid 70s jazz group The Drive (more from them soon!). Just three long tracks that Saul was asked to compose by John Higgins, the producer and director of the 1975 stage production of Of Mice and Men.

Saul Malapane was born in Warmbaths in 1943 and moved to Johannesburg in 1965 to earn a living. He worked as a gardener and did occasional house painting for extra income. One employer gave him a guitar as a Christmas present and encouraged him to take up music. He took some lessons with Gilbert Stroud and joined the group The Drive, who used Stroud's premises to practice.

The stage show in Johannesburg caused a stir in the newspapers and internationally as the black actor Ken Gampu had to be given permission by the department of Bantu Administration to appear on stage with white actors. "For the first time, the black man was on an equal footing with the white man," he told an interviewer. "And you know, the heavens didn't fall."

Saul was also responsible for the killer track Here We Come on Rough Trade's Soweto LP

RS/MF

Joburg Love Trip Mix

Joburg Love Trip :: An Exclusive ElectricJive Mix
01 Bump Jive No 6 - Pts 1 & 2 - The Movers
02 The Webb - Makhona Zonke Band
03 Musikana - Harari
04 Somewhere There - Makhona Zonke Band
05 Johannesburg Love Trip - Thembi
06 Spinning Wheel with Lucky Mbatha vocals - The Drive
07 Sugar Pie - Spirits Rejoice
08 Loving Style - Mavis Maseko and the Movers
09 Lets Live Together - Mpharanyana
10 Joy - Spirits Rejoice
11 Please Tell Me Why - The Movers
12 Darling Darling - The Savers
13 Mary - Soul Brothers
14 Gimme Your Love - Margaret Singana
This one is specially dedicated to Duncan Brooker, Quinton Scott and Francis Gooding at Strut Records as a thank you for the brilliant Next Stop Soweto compilation series. Its about time!
RS/MF