South African musician best known for founding South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joseph Shabalala has passed away at the age of 78.
The music director died on Tuesday, February 11 in a hospital in Pretoria.
The South African Government has confirmed his death in a tweet, “We would like to extend our condolences on the passing of Joseph Shabalala who was the founder of the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo,” it shared.
In 1959 Joseph founded Ladysmith Black Mambazo which rose to global fame in 1986 with Paul Simon’s Graceland album. The group has gone on to win five Grammy awards.
The singer retired from active performance in 2014, but his sons have remained as performers with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.