SA jazz singer, Letta Mbulu is born in Soweto

Letta Mbulu was born in Soweto on 23 August 1942. As a teenager she joined the cast of the play King Kong and toured the US with other artists like Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. At the end of the tour Mbulu returned to South Africa, but did not stay long because of the apartheid government policies. She returned to the US where she quickly became part of the exiled artists’ circles that included her future husband Caiphus Semenya. Mbulu released several albums in the US and slowly made a name for herself as a singer, songwriter and actor. In 1992 Mbulu and her husband returned to South Africa. Soon after they worked together on the album Not yet uhuru, which introduced them to the South African audience. Mbulu was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the South African Music Awards in 2001.