Brenda and the Big Dudes was a South African recording group formed in 1983. The group's classic line up included
Brenda Fassie
Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of The Townships." Fas ...
(Vocals), Desmond Malotana (Keyboards), Dumisane Ngobeni (Keyboards), Job "Fats" Mlangeni (Drums), David Mabaso (Bass) and Rufus Klaas (Guitar). The group rose to fame after the release of their debut maxi-single ''
Weekend Special
"Weekend Special" is the debut single by the South African recording group Brenda and the Big Dudes taken from their debut studio album ''Weekend Special'' (1983). It was written by Melvyn Matthews, as was the B-side "Life Is Going On". "We ...
'' in 1983. The single became the best selling record in South Africa with sales of over 200,000 copies. The group was initially a backing band for another popular South African duo Blondie & Pappa until a young Brenda Fassie was brought in as a lead singer. The group would also gain international prominence after ''Weekend Special'' was remixed by Van Gibbs in 1986. This version entered the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart where it peaked at number 72 on April 12, 1986, and spent 8 weeks in the chart.
[{{Cite news, url=https://www.billboard.com, title=Billboard - Music Charts, News, Photos & Video, work=Billboard, access-date=2017-12-29]
Members
*
Brenda Fassie
Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of The Townships." Fas ...
– vocals
* Desmond Malotana – keyboards
* Dumisane Ngubeni – keyboards
* David Mabaso – bass
* Rufus Klaas – guitar
* Job "Fats" Mlangeni – drums
Discography
Studio albums
*''
Weekend Special
"Weekend Special" is the debut single by the South African recording group Brenda and the Big Dudes taken from their debut studio album ''Weekend Special'' (1983). It was written by Melvyn Matthews, as was the B-side "Life Is Going On". "We ...
'' (1983)
*''Let's Stick Together'' (1984)
*''Higher and Higher'' (1985)
*''No! No! Señor'' (1986)
Extended plays
*
Cool Spot
''Cool Spot'' is a 1993 platform game developed by Virgin Games for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy, Amiga, and MS-DOS. The title character is Spot, a mascot for the soft drink br ...
(1984)
*Touch Somebody (1985)
Singles
*Someone To Love (1984)
*Amalahle (1987)
See also
*
Afropop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...
*
Music of the African diaspora
Music of the African diaspora is a sound created, produced, or inspired by Black people, including African music traditions and African popular music as well as the music genres of the African diaspora, including some Caribbean music, Latin musi ...
*
Music of Africa
The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different Regions of Africa, regions and List of African countries, nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, Mbu ...
References
South African pop music groups
African popular music
1983 in music
1987 in music