Simba Wanyika was a Kenyan based band created in 1971 by

Tanzanian Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

brothers

Wilson Kinyonga Wilson Peter Kinyonga (1947? – August, 1995) was an influential musician in Kenya. Born in Tanzania, Wilson Kinyonga and his brother George Kinyonga founded the rumba band Simba Wanyika which would later spawn Les Wanyika, Super Wanyika Sta ...

and

George Kinyonga George Peter Kinyonga (? – December 24, 1992) was an influential musician in Kenya. Born in Tanzania, Peter Kinyonga and his elder brother Wilson Kinyonga founded the rumba band Simba Wanyika which would later spawn Les Wanyika, Super Wany ...

, and disbanded in 1994. Simba Wanyika and its two offshoots,

Les Wanyika Les Wanyika is a prominent band with Tanzanian and Kenyan members based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed in 1978 when drummer Rashid Juma, guitarist Omar Shabani, bassist Tommy Malanga, saxophonist Sijali Salum Zuwa and Phoney Mkwanyule left the ...

and Super Wanyika Stars, became some of the most popular bands in Kenya. Their guitar-driven sound, inspired by the

Soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

guitarist

Dr. Nico Doctor is an Academic degree, academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an Agent noun, agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europ ...

, combined highly melodic

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...

with lyrics sung in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

. ''Simba wa nyika'' means "Lions of the Savannah" in Swahili. Wilson Kinyonga and George Kinyonga began as musicians in their hometown

Tanga Tanga may refer to: Places Burkina Faso * , a town in eastern Burkina Faso * Tanga, Sidéradougou, a village in western Burkina Faso * Tanga-Pela, a village in northern-central Burkina Faso Other places * Tanga, Tanzania, a city and port on the ...

in Tanzania when they joined

Jamhuri Jazz Band Jamhuri Jazz Band was a dance band founded as the Nyamwezi Jazz Band in late the 1950s in Tanga, Tanzania when the country was known as Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory w ...

in 1966. They moved to

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern b ...

in 1970 and formed Arusha Jazz with their other brother, William Kinyonga. During this period, musicians could travel freely between Kenya and Tanzania, and Kenyan popular music became heavily influenced by Tanzanian rumba musicians. In 1971 the Kinyonga brothers moved to Kenya and created Simba Wanyika. The band played at nightclubs and bars in the Nairobi area, and developed an enthusiastic following, and by the mid 1970s, they were well known throughout Kenya, thanks to hits like "Mwongele" and "Wana Wanyika". They had a harder sound than most rumba bands and were almost unchallenged in that area in Kenya due to the closing of the Tanzanian border in 1977. The restrictions enforced on the Kenya-Tanzania border consequently led to the divergence of Kenyan popular music towards the emerging

benga music Benga is a genre of Kenyan popular music. It evolved between the late 1940s and late 1960s, in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi. In the 1940s, the African Broadcasting Service in Nairobi aired a steady stream of soukous, South African kwela, ...

. Simba Wanyika continued playing rumba, and was still quite popular when the band split in the late 1970s when rhythm guitarist Omar Shabani (commonly referred to as Professor Omar Shabani) took many of the band's musicians and forming

. In 1980, George Kinyonga also quit Simba Wanyika, taking more musicians with him to form

Orchestra Jobiso An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

. He eventually rejoined Simba Wanyika while still working with Jobiso on side projects. Simba Wanyika later changed their name to "Simba Wanyika Original" to prevent confusion with Les Wanyika and its splinter group, Super Wanyika Stars. Simba Wanyika regained its popularity in the mid 1980s, releasing many hits and touring Europe in 1989. They disbanded in 1994, but several offshoots of the band still continue to play.

Discography

;Contributing artist * ''

The Rough Guide to the Music of Kenya and Tanzania ''The Rough Guide to the Music of Kenya and Tanzania'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1996. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, it focuses on the music of Kenya and Tanzania, two countries which share ...

'' (1996,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" compet ...

) ;Compilations * '' Kenya Special : Volume Two Selected East African recordings from the 1970s & 80s'' (2016, Soundway)

External links

Discography of THE "WANYIKA" GROUPSSimba Wanyika: Afropop Band
* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1971 Soukous groups Tanzanian musical groups Kenyan musical groups 1971 establishments in Kenya

Discography

See also

External links