Where are those 2,000 songs Kamaru said to have recorded?

Upon his death on October 3, the media reported Joseph Kamaru recorded 2,000 songs. “I’m not trying to demean his achievements, but where are the songs?” asks Mungai Githuku.

Dr Joyce Nyairo, a culture analyst, is one of the two Nation writers who reported Kamaru recorded 2,000 songs.

“If you can get hold of the programme that was printed for Kamaru's funeral, you will get a fairly comprehensive, but nonetheless incomplete catalogue,” she tells Githuku in an email.

But did he record 2,000 songs? The number is incredible. The peak of his music career was 1967-1985, a time when music production was complex and time-consuming.

RIVALS

It was unlike today when it’s easy to compose and record a song with little more than a computer and USB microphone.

Besides, the 2,000 figure makes Kamaru one of the most hardworking and prolific musicians in the world. James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul”, known as the hardest working musician, released only 71 albums in 47 years (An album normally has four to six singles).

Elvis Presley recorded 711 songs in 20 years, an amazing feat. Jim Reeves recorded 506 in 19 years and Michael Jackson 147 in 37 years.

The 2,000-figure also makes Kamaru more productive than his African contemporaries. DO Misiani produced just over 50 albums in three decades while Fadhili William recorded 32 songs in 46 years.

Congolese musician Kanda Bongo Man recorded 18 songs in 19 years.

HYPERBOLE

With 2,000 songs, Kamaru beats all. But is it possible this number — conveniently rounded — is hyperbolic, not supposed to be taken literally? Writers use hyperboles to press home a point or convey some emotional truth.

Examples: “Kenya has become a nation of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars," “Kenyatta was left in the hands of hyenas", “I walked 15 miles to school, barefoot”.

The distance may not have been 15 miles as nobody measured it. The point being made is that today’s children (of the rich) are privileged, may be even spoilt.

Are the 2,000 songs intended to be a hyperbole or a statement of fact? I’m at a loss. I can’t authoritatively say the 2,000 songs do not exist.

But I’ve done some library search and been able to find only 34 songs. Where are the others?

QUANTIFY

Tom Odhiambo, who teaches literature at the University of Nairobi, does not give me much hope I will ever find them.

If Kamaru recorded 2,000 songs, he asks, how comes he only sold half-a-million records? (Arts dominates our world, but we are unable to value it, Saturday Nation, November 3).

Caroline Nyanga muddies the waters by saying Kamaru himself did not know how many songs he had recorded. “He is not quite sure how many songs he has recorded but estimates there could be more than 1,000, some of them never released,” she writes (From darkness to light: The untold journey of musical legend Joseph Kamaru, October 4, [email protected]).

Nearly three years before he died, Kamaru appeared on Churchill Show. Daniel Ndambuki asked him how many songs he had recorded. “Over 2,000,” he said without hesitating.

EVENT

In the interview published on February 16, 2016, he also said he was the first Kenyan to perform at the Carnivore, Nairobi. The attendance was so big, he said, “pombe ilikwisha, nyama zilikwisha; mbuzi zilikuwa zinatafutwa usiku zichijwe.”

Ndambuki asked him when the performance took place. “1970,” he said. Ndambuki repeated the question as the interview went on.

“Early 70s,” Kamaru replied. Carnivore didn’t exist then; it opened its doors in September 1980, according to its official website.

It looks like the 2,000 songs claim is either apocryphal or hyperbolic. Either way, it’s misleading, though Kamaru was a prolific musician.

Hyperbole serves well writers who feel strongly about their subjects. But it’s not good for journalists because they are supposed to be purveyors of truth, not feelings.

Journalists shouldn’t report figures without checking their accuracy. It’s not an excuse they were given the figures.

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