Daudi Kabaka the “King of the African Twist”
What you need to know:
- Kabaka enjoyed two phenomenal hits during that decade: Harambee Harambee and Helule Helule.
- He was named after Daudi Chwa II, the Baganda king who died that year.
- His earliest exposure to music was through the guitar sound of Congolese stars, Jean Bosco Mwenda and Losta Abelo, in 1950s.
He was the “King of the African Twist”.
In the 1960s, Kabaka popularised a sound that was based on the kwela beat from South Africa as his response to the global craze of the twist led by American star, Chubby Checker.
Kabaka enjoyed two phenomenal hits during that decade: Harambee Harambee and Helule Helule.
While the former, released in 1964, gained fame through its use as the signature tune for the news on the Voice of Kenya radio, Helule Helule was so successful as that it got the attention of a famous British pop band.
The Tremeloes from East London recorded a version of the song and took it to the top 20 in the UK charts in 1968.
The son of a worker with the then East African Railways and Harbours, Daudi Masika Kabaka was born near Kampala in 1939.
He was named after Daudi Chwa II, the Baganda king who died that year.
His earliest exposure to music was through the guitar sound of Congolese stars, Jean Bosco Mwenda and Losta Abelo, in 1950s while he was still in school.
He got his first guitar when he was just 14.
In 1959, he started working at Equator Sounds Studio and before long was a member of the label’s band along with Fadhili William, Zambians Nashil Pichen, Peter Tsotsi, and Ugandan Charles Sonko.
After a fallout with Equator owner Charles Worrod, Kabaka started his own production company, African Eagles Lupopo, in 1972.
He continued recording and performing in the 1980s and 1990s with his former colleagues from the Equator days and other bands like Maroon Commandos.
Daudi Kabaka died in November 2001.
