Township Soul & Boogie Vol 13; Letta Mbulu -I’ll Never Be The Same (Mosadi) -Tamla Motown

see also hey sista, go sista, soul sista -Township Soul & Boogie

hey sista, go sista, soul sista -Township Soul & Boogie Vol 2

as part 13 in the series Township Soul & Boogie I proudly present one of Letta Mbulu’s rarest albums in existence. It may be one of those records that people sometimes refer to as a ‘holy grail’. “I’ll Never Be The Same (Mosadi)”  is without a doubt an ultra rare ‘lost’ Letta Mbulu LP, released only in South Africa on the Tamla Motown label in 1973.

Actually, this LP is a compilation of material that was previously released on several albums with  some new songs added, probably recorded between 1970-1973. Parts of this album consists of songs that Letta recorded frequently as part of musical aggregates put together by Hugh Masekela – most spectacularly as part of the anonymous collective known as Africa ‘68 (which was also later credited as “The Zulus”), where she took the lead on “Uyaz’ Gabisa,” “Noyana,” “Aredze” (which she’d earler performed on Letta Mbulu Sings) and “Kedumetse.”

All tracks on this LP beautifully showcase Mbulu’s gorgeous vocal capacities and the heritage of Zulu songs stand out as proud witnesses of Letta’s South African origins.

Born and raised in Soweto, South Africa on 23 August 1942,  she has been active as as singer since the 1960s. While still a teenager she toured with the musical King Kong, — but left for the United States in 1965 due to Apartheid.

In New York she connected with other South African exiles including Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa, and went on to work with Cannonball Adderley, David Axelrod and Harry Belafonte.

On screen, her singing can also be heard in Roots, The Color Purple (1985), and the 1973 film A Warm December,[ and she was a guest on a Season 6 episode of Soul Train. Mbulu also provided the Swahili chant in Michael Jackson’s single, “Liberian Girl”. Producer Quincy Jones has said of her: “Mbulu is the roots lady, projecting a sophistication and warmth which stirs hope for attaining pure love, beauty, and unity in the world.”

see her full biography presented by douglas payne
http://www.dougpayne.com/lmbio.htm

Letta Mbulu  ‎– I’ll Never Be The Same (Mosadi)
Tamla Motown ‎– TMC 5242

South Africa  1973

A1 I’ll Never Be The Same
A2 Kedumetse
A3 Now We May Begin
A4 Moya
A5 I Won’t Weep No More

B1 Because Of You
B2 Uyaz Gabisa
B3 You Touched Me
B4 Aredze
B5 We’ve Got To Learn To Love

source; Wikipedia

thanks to reader and collector Afrikola!