MUSICIANS from South Africa

Top 8

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South African Musicians of all time. This list of famous South African Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Manfred Mann (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 54.05, Manfred Mann is the most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Manfred Sepse Lubowitz (born 21 October 1940), known professionally as Manfred Mann, is a South African-born musician, residing in the UK since 1961. He is best known as a founding member of the bands Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

2. Abdullah Ibrahim (b. 1934)

With an HPI of 52.13, Abdullah Ibrahim is the 2nd most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel of the AME Church and Ragas, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Ibrahim is considered the leading figure in the subgenre of Cape jazz. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. He is known especially for "Mannenberg", a jazz piece that became a notable anti-apartheid anthem. During the apartheid era in the 1960s, Ibrahim moved to New York City and, apart from a brief return to South Africa in the 1970s, remained in exile until the early 1990s. Over the decades, he has toured the world extensively, appearing at major venues either as a solo artist or playing with other renowned musicians, including Max Roach, Carlos Ward and Randy Weston, as well as collaborating with classical orchestras in Europe. With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, Ibrahim is father to two children, including the New York underground rapper Jean Grae.

3. Trevor Rabin (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 48.52, Trevor Rabin is the 3rd most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Trevor Charles Rabin (; born (1954-01-13)13 January 1954) is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a variety of artists. In 1972, he joined the rock band Rabbitt, which enjoyed considerable success in South Africa, and released his first solo album, Beginnings. In 1978, Rabin moved to London to further his career, working as a solo artist and a producer for various artists including Manfred Mann's Earth Band. After moving to Los Angeles in 1981, Rabin gained prominence as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes from 1983 to 1995. His first album with the group, 1983's 90125, which was developed mostly from his own demos, remains their best-selling album, helped by the US number one single "Owner of a Lonely Heart". After Big Generator (1987) and Union (1991), Rabin produced Talk (1994) and left the group after its tour. During his time in Yes, Rabin acquired American citizenship. Rabin became a prolific film composer and has since scored over forty feature films, most notably his frequent collaborations with producer Jerry Bruckheimer. He has won numerous awards, including eleven BMI Awards. He took a short break from scoring to record his fifth solo album, Jacaranda (2012), and in 2016 to tour and record with Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman. In 2017, Rabin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes. Rabin is also behind the theme song for the NBA on TNT and MLB on TBS.

4. Hugh Masekela (1939 - 2018)

With an HPI of 47.90, Hugh Masekela is the 4th most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".

5. Eddie Kramer (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 44.67, Eddie Kramer is the 5th most famous South African Musician.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Kinks, Kiss, John Mellencamp, GRODD and Carlos Santana, as well as records for other well-known artists in various genres. Kramer's film soundtrack credits include Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight, Festival Express, Jimi Plays Monterey, Jimi Plays Berkeley, Live at the Fillmore East, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, The Pursuit of Happiness, Rainbow Bridge, The Song Remains the Same, and Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More. Kramer was interviewed extensively in Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train a Comin', a two-hour American Masters documentary which debuted in November 2013. He is also a photographer who has exhibited a number of his intimate images of performers, particularly Hendrix, with whom he worked on Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, Electric Ladyland, Band of Gypsys, and The Cry of Love, as well as the posthumous Valleys of Neptune, People, Hell and Angels, Miami Pop Festival, and other releases produced through Experience Hendrix, the organization formed by Hendrix's heirs.

6. Lucky Dube (1910 - 1964)

With an HPI of 43.99, Lucky Dube is the 6th most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced duu-beh; 3 August 1964 – 18 October 2007) was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube discussed issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general to a global audience. He recorded 22 albums in a 25-year period and was Africa's best-selling reggae artist of all time. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.

7. Kevin Shirley (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 33.62, Kevin Shirley is the 7th most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Kevin Shirley, also known as The Caveman, is a South African music producer, engineer and audio mixer for many artists, including Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, Silverchair, Journey, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Dream Theater, Jimmy Barnes, Cold Chisel, Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Springbok Nude Girls, All Night Radio, Steve Louw & Big Sky, HIM, Mr. Big, and Europe.

8. J. R. Rotem (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 27.14, J. R. Rotem is the 8th most famous South African Musician.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Jonathan Reuven "J. R." Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher.