Memories are forever, but that is only if they are preserved. The same might be said of legacies. Perhaps recognising this reality, South African musician Moses Ngwenya, the only surviving member of the band Soul Brother had made it a point to document the band’s history in a new book by Sidney Maluleka.
In the book, Ngwenya took a walk through history, from the making of the band in 1976, through adversities, the death of members and even personal adversities. In all, a canvas was created of life in its beauties and ashes, in its unpredictability and poetry.
By Moses Ngwenya’s account, two years after the band’s founding in 1976, it lost its first member. In the intervening years, it had lost other band members as well. Determined to keep the band alive, he joined forces with David Masondo with whom he carried the band until Masondo’s death in 2015.
While the memoir is not the first of its kind in the music industry, it shows just how life can turn out and also bears a message for the younger generation of artists to preserve their legacies.
If you are not conversant with the Soul Brothers, you might want to check out one of their releases below.
