The Most Famous
MUSICIANS from South Africa
This page contains a list of the greatest South African Musicians. The pantheon dataset contains 3,175 Musicians, 9 of which were born in South Africa. This makes South Africa the birth place of the 36th most number of Musicians behind Georgia, and Latvia.
Top 9
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 60.86, 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 eponymous bands Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
2. Abdullah Ibrahim (b. 1934)
With an HPI of 59.08, Abdullah Ibrahim is the 2nd most famous South African Musician. His biography has been translated into 23 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. Hugh Masekela (1939 - 2018)
With an HPI of 57.13, Hugh Masekela is the 3rd most famous South African Musician. His biography has been translated into 39 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".
4. Trevor Rabin (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 54.94, Trevor Rabin is the 4th most famous South African Musician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Trevor Charles Rabin (; born (1954-01-13)13 January 1954) is a South African musician, songwriter and composer, known as a one-time member of both progressive rock band Yes and pop-rock band Rabbitt, as well as for releasing solo albums and composing numerous film scores including Con Air, Armageddon, Remember the Titans and National Treasure. Rabin is a multi-instrumentalist: best known as a guitarist and singer, he also plays piano, assorted keyboards, bass guitar, banjo and other instruments as well as being a seasoned producer, programmer and orchestral arranger, performing most of the instrumental parts on his own releases and recordings. 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 formed and fronted Rabbitt, which became one of the most popular and influential bands in South Africa. In 1978, Rabin left Rabbitt and moved to London to further his career, working both as a solo artist and as a producer for various other artists including Manfred Mann's Earth Band. After moving to Los Angeles in 1981, Rabin gained prominence as the guitarist in the reunited and relaunched Yes. His first album with the group - 1983's 90125 (developed mostly from his own demos) - remains their best-selling album, helped by the US number one single "Owner of a Lonely Heart"; it was followed by 1987's Big Generator. Rabin was part of the expanded Yes band for its multi-line-up Union album of 1991 and played on the accompanying eight-man tour. Yes reverted to the 90125 line-up for 1994's Talk, which was produced and predominantly written and performed by Rabin. He left the group in 1995 after the Talk tour, but reunited with a version of the band twenty-one years later to tour as Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman during 2016. In 2017, Rabin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes. Following his 1995 departure from Yes, Rabin changed career to become a prolific film composer, He 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. Rabin is also behind the theme song for the NBA on TNT and MLB on TBS. Having released his first solo album, Beginnings in 1977 after leaving Rabbitt, Rabin went on to release two further albums over the next few years - Face to Face (1979) and Wolf (1981). A fourth, Can't Look Away, followed in 1989 during a lull in Yes activity. Rabin would not release another solo album until 2012 (the almost all-instrumental Jacaranda) with a sixth (the song-based Rio) following eleven years later in 2023.
5. Lucky Dube (1910 - 1964)
With an HPI of 53.67, Lucky Dube is the 5th most famous South African Musician. His biography has been translated into 32 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.
6. Eddie Kramer (b. 1942)
With an HPI of 52.26, Eddie Kramer is the 6th most famous South African Musician. Her biography has been translated into 19 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, 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. Eddie also did some indie work with 24K, a band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
7. J. R. Rotem (b. 1975)
With an HPI of 45.74, J. R. Rotem is the 7th most famous South African Musician. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher.
8. Kevin Shirley (b. 1960)
With an HPI of 43.36, Kevin Shirley is the 8th most famous South African Musician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Kevin Shirley (born 1960), also known as The Caveman, is a South African music producer, engineer, audio mixer, and musician. He has produced music for many artists, including Silverchair, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, and Cold Chisel. As of 2023 he is a musician in Jimmy Barnes' supergroup, releasing a self-titled album in 2023.
9. Simphiwe Dana (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 29.12, Simphiwe Dana is the 9th most famous South African Musician. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Simphiwe Dana (born 23 January 1980) is a South African singer and songwriter who works mostly in her mother tongue, the Xhosa language. Dana is also known for her creative social commentary and activism through music as a political art form. Her career in music began in 2002, at the age of 22. Born in Butterworth and raised in Lusikisiki in Transkei, Dana signed a record deal with Gallo Records and released her debut studio album, Zandisile (2004), which became a commercially success, won Best Newcomer and Best Jazz Album.
People
Pantheon has 9 people classified as South African musicians born between 1910 and 1980. Of these 9, 7 (77.78%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living South African musicians include Manfred Mann, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Trevor Rabin. The most famous deceased South African musicians include Hugh Masekela, and Lucky Dube. As of April 2024, 1 new South African musicians have been added to Pantheon including Simphiwe Dana.
Living South African Musicians
Go to all Rankings
Manfred Mann
1940 - Present
HPI: 60.86
Abdullah Ibrahim
1934 - Present
HPI: 59.08
Trevor Rabin
1954 - Present
HPI: 54.94
Eddie Kramer
1942 - Present
HPI: 52.26
J. R. Rotem
1975 - Present
HPI: 45.74
Kevin Shirley
1960 - Present
HPI: 43.36
Simphiwe Dana
1980 - Present
HPI: 29.12
