Lance James (18 July 1938 – 2 March 2020) was a South African country singer and radio broadcaster (

Springbok Radio Springbok Radio (spelled ''Springbokradio'' in Afrikaans, ) was a South African nationwide radio station that operated from 1950 to 1985. History SABC's decision in December 1945 to develop a commercial service was constrained by post-war financia ...

, 1954–1985). Some of his hits include Thank You, Vicki and Ahoy, Madagascar Ahoy !. During Huisgenoot's 2009 Skouspel he (along with nine other singers) was honored for their lifelong contribution to

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

and

South African music The music of South Africa exhibits a Culture of South Africa, culturally varied musical heritage in conjunction with the Ethnic groups in South Africa, multi-ethnic populace. Genres with the greatest international recognition being Mbube (genr ...

Early life

Lance James Liebenberg was born 1938 in Germiston on the East Rand of Johannesburg. He married Valerie Mary Wilson and they had two children Chanel Liebenberg and Dionne Liebenberg.

Career

He worked at the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

from 1954 until 1985. At the radio station, he was a presenter on two shows, ''Keep it Country'' on Sundays and ''Munt uit Musiek''. An autobiography, ''Dankie'' by Francois van Oudtshoorn was published in 2015. His final album came out in 2019, called ''Swan Song''.

Death

Suffering from heart problems and other aged health issues, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital in 2020. There he broke a hip and would later pass away from an infection after hip surgery, several weeks in hospital. He is survived by his two daughters Chanel and Dionne, three grandchildren Tyron, Declan and Lilly-Joy, son-in-law’s Glenn Floyd and Benjy Mudie, business partner Mara van der Burgh and partner Eunice Wait

Honours

In 2019, he was honoured for his life work by Federasie van Afrikaanse Kulturvereniginge. Other awards include a Beeld Award for contribution to Afrikaans music, a Solidarity Award, six Sarie Awards and several awards for "Best Album of the Year", and a Life Time Achievement Award. On 26 January 2020, Lance was also inaugurated as a living legend in the South African Legends Museum. He was one of only 20 legends from whom a bust was also made.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Lance Afrikaner people 20th-century South African male singers South African Christians South African gospel singers 1938 births 2020 deaths South African country singers Afrikaans-language singers of South Africa