August Machona Musarurwa (usually identified as "August Msarurgwa" on record labels) was a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an musician, best known for having composed the 1950s hit tune "

Skokiaan "Skokiaan" is a Popular music, popular Melody, tune originally written by Zimbabwean musician August Msarurgwa, August Musarurwa in the "Tsaba-tsaba" big band-style that succeeded Marabi. "Skokiaan" ("Chikokiyana" in Shona language, Shona)

" (also known as "Skokiyana", "Skokian").

Biography

Early life and study

August Musarurwa was born and raised in the Zvimba district of

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northeastern Zimbabwe. It is home to nearly half of the population of Zimbabwe. The majority of the Mashonaland people are from the Shona tribe while the Zezuru and Korekore dialects are most common. Harare is the larg ...

, a region in the north of nowadays

, then a British colony in the south of Africa called

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. He attended "Marshall Hartley Primary School" before moving to find work to the capital city, Salisbury, the modern

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

First jobs and employment as a local policeman

After working as a clerk for a tobacco company, he joined the

British South African Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' British ...

as a 22-year-old. The BSAP employed Musarurwa as an interpreter, but later he was transferred to the police band.

Transfer to the African Dance Band

He left the BSAP to work for the

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

Cold Storage Commission The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is a government ministry responsible for agriculture in Zimbabwe, including the management of agricultural land use, but not land reform. Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka is the incumbent Minister of Lands, Agriculture ...

, living in the company's compound. As leader of the "African Dance Band of the Cold Storage Commission of Southern Rhodesia", Musarurwa recorded Skokiaan as an instrumental in 1947. A second version of the tune was released in the United States by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in 1954 under the name of the "Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band", as Musarurwa's band was then called.

Meeting with Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

met Musarurwa in November 1960 during his African tour. According to his daughter, Armstrong gave Musarurwa a jacket and invited him to visit the United States. The visit was cancelled due to the death in 1962 of Tandiwe, Musarurwa's spouse.

Death

August Musarurwa died in 1968 and is buried in his family cemetery in his village near Zvimba. The inscription on his grave reads ''Here lies August Machona Musarurwa, great singer and music composer, renowned the world over''.

References

Zimbabwean musicians British South Africa Police officers Rhodesian musicians Rhodesian composers 1968 deaths Year of birth missing {{zimbabwe-bio-stub