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Critical Reflection on Johnny Clegg: 4. Cinematic Clegg

The final mixtape of our four-part series focusing on Johnny Clegg documents the use of Johnny Clegg’s music in films. In one of the chapters in the book, Johnny Clegg: Critical Reflections on his Life and Influence, Chris Letcher considers the use of Clegg’s music in films. In particular he focuses in detail on two examples: Savuka’s ‘Scatterlings Of Africa’ in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man (1988) and ‘Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World’ in John Hughes’ Career Opportunities (1991).

Letcher contends that, while the glossy, polished pop production techniques of the two songs undoubtedly facilitated broader exposure through the selection of these songs as part of film soundtracks, their positioning within the films may have simultaneously obscured the music’s deeper essence and resonance. Nevertheless, he concludes, ‘there is something pleasingly ungovernable about their presence on these soundtracks …’

For this mixtape we have put together a fairly comprehensive set of songs used in films which involve Johnny Clegg in some way or another, most often as a songwriter (individual or collaborative) and performer. The songs appear chronologically according to when first used in a film (on some occasions a particular song was used in more than one film).

The mixtape begins with several songs taken from the 1986 Jock Of The Bushveld soundtrack, starting with ‘Great Heart’ performed by Savuka. As Clegg noted, “This was a song I wrote for the first feature movie of a classic South African story – Jock of the Bushveld. It’s a story about a man and dog in the Eastern Transvaal and the many wonderful adventures they had in the early pioneering days of the late 1800s. It’s a song about the promise of the never ending African horizon, and the simple truths of love and companionship under and African sky.” Also included in the soundtrack are four Juluka songs: ‘African Litany’, ‘Unkosibomvu – The Red King’, ‘Gijim’beke’, and ‘Bull Man Free’. ‘Great Heart’ was also used in the 2000 film Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale.

Savuka’s ‘Third World Child’ was included in the1987 film, Saturday Night at the Palace, and adaption of Paul Slabalesky’s play. Savuka’s version of ‘Scatterlings of Africa’ was used in Rain Man (1988). A specially mixed version from the soundtrack is featured here. ‘Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World’, also by Savuka, was used in two films: Opportunity Knocks (1990) and Career Opportunities (1991).

Johnny Clegg and Hilton Rosenthal collaborated with Hans Zimmer when he worked on the music for The Power of One (1992). The song ‘The Power Of One’ was originally intended as the end-title theme. Johnny re-wrote the lyrics for his solo song ‘All Is Not Lost’ and Teddy Pendergrass sang it. Hilton Rosenthal noted that, “We delivered the recording with 2 hours to spare, only to hear a few hours later that [the director] had decided that a contemporary recording ‘did not work in the movie’. Anyway, the track was still used on the soundtrack album.” Also featured on the soundtrack were two pieces arranged and produced by Johnny Clegg: ‘Southland Concerto’ (which incorporates a section of Savuka’s ‘When The System Has Fallen’) and ‘Senzenini’.

‘Life Is A Magic Thing’ is a solo song by Johnny Clegg which he specifically wrote for the 1992 film, Ferngully: The Last Rain Forest, as was ‘Sacred Ground’ written for a 1995 version of Jock of the Bushveld. Savuka’s ‘Asimbonanga’ featured in Mandela (1996) and ‘Dela’, also by Savuka, featured in George Of The Jungle (1997) and the sequel, George Of The Jungle 2 (2003).
The lyrics and music for ‘Digga Tunnah Dance’ by Vinx & Lebo M were written by Johnny Clegg, Lebo M, Martin Erskine, and Tony Phillips. The song was used in The Lion King 3 (2006). Johnny Clegg’s ‘Manqoba’ was performed by Mandisa Dlanga and Johnny Clegg for Goodbye Bafana (2007), while Overtone and Yollandi Nortjie performed Savuka’s ‘The Crossing’ for inclusion in Invictus (2009). Johnny Clegg wrote ‘Golden Country’ for the USA animated version of Jock Of The bushveld (2011) and the mixtape ends with Juluka’s ‘Impi’ which was featured in the 2017 South African film Beyond The River.

  1. Great Heart – Johnny Clegg
  2. African Litany – Juluka
  3. Unkosibomvu: The Red King – Juluka
  4. Gijim’beke – Juluka
  5. Bull Man Free – Juluka
  6. Third World Child – Savuka
  7. Scatterlings Of Africa – Savuka
  8. Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World – Savuka
  9. The Power Of One – Teddy Pendergrass
  10. Southland Concerto – Hans Zimmer
  11. Senzenini – Hans Zimmer
  12. Life Is A Magic Thing – Johnny Clegg
  13. Sacred Ground – Johnny Clegg
  14. Asimbonanga – Johnny Clegg & Savuka
  15. Dela – Savuka
  16. Digga Tunnah Dance – Vinx & Lebo M
  17. Manqoba – Mandisa Dlanga & Johnny Clegg
  18. The Crossing (Osiyeza) – Overtone And Yollandi Nortjie
  19. Golden Country – Johnny Clegg
  20. Impi – Juluka
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Critical Reflection on Johnny Clegg Mixtape 3: Covers and Collaborations


This is the third mixtape in our four-part series accompanying the book Johnny Clegg : Critical Reflections on His Music and Influence. This collection focuses especially on covers of Johnny Clegg songs, and on his collaborations with other musicians. The mix begins with Johnny Clegg’s first single release, “Sengikhumbula Emakhabe Leni” from 1976. While this doesn’t constitute a collaboration as a song, it was a collaborative release with a Sipho Mchunu song (“Baba Ungadlali Ngomama”) on the other side. This is followed by an early collaborative release with Sipho Mchunu, “Omama Basemhlabeni”, the B-side of their hit single “Woza Friday”, released in 1977. Also from 1977 is Paul Clingman’s “Sweet Rivers” which was written by Clingman and Clegg and features Clegg on backing vocals (and Sipho Mchunu on concertina). Roger Lucey’s “Thabane” is from his 1979 album, The Road Is Much Longer and features Clegg on the umrhubhe mouthbow. We also feature a ‘Taxi Jam’ by Johnny and Sipho, recorded and filmed in a taxi driving around central Johannesburg. You can watch the video on YouTube.

The mixtape then turns to a series of our favourite covers of Johnny Clegg songs (Juluka, Savuka, and solo) by a wide range of local and international artists: James Leigh, Afroblue, Jimmy Buffet, Lori Ruso, Sam Bush, Nano Stern, Soweto Gospel Choir, Not The Midnight Mass, Springbok Nude Girls, Velile, and Mapaputsi. “Fire In The House” by USA band Walk The Moon features Johnny and Jesse Clegg and was released as a single in September 2021. “Colour Of My Skin” was a collaboration with Angelique Kidjo taken from Johnny’s final album King Of Time (2017).

“Spirit Of The Great Heart” by Johnny Clegg and Friends features top South African musicians in a collaborative song in support of the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, an international development charity that has supported over 220 000 orphaned and vulnerable children across Southern Africa. You can also watch the video on YouTube. The mixtape ends with a collaborative song by many South African and a few international musicians (you can spot them in the video on YouTube). The song movingly covers Clegg’s song and was recorded in 2018. Proceeds from the song went to the ‘Friends of Johnny Clegg Fund’ for primary education.

  1. Sengikhumbula Emakhabe Leni – Johnathan Clegg
  2. Omama Basemhabeni – Jonathan & Sipho
  3. Sweet Rivers – Paul Clingman
  4. Thabane – Roger Lucey
  5. Thula ‘Mtanami (Taxi Jam) – Johnny Clegg & Sipho Mchunu
  6. Cruel Crazy Beautiful World – James Leigh
  7. Kilimanjaro – Afroblue
  8. Great Heart – Jimmy Buffet
  9. Rolling Ocean – Lori Ruso
  10. Dela – Shirley Kwan
  11. Spirit Is The Journey – Sam Bush
  12. Warsaw 1943 – Nano Stern
  13. Asimbonanga – Soweto Gospel Choir
  14. Impi – Not The Midnight Mass
  15. December African Rain – Springbok Nude Girls
  16. Jongosi – Velile
  17. Woza Friday – Mapaputsi
  18. Fire In The House – Walk The Moon
  19. Colour Of My Skin – Johnny Clegg & Angelique Kidjo
  20. Spirit Of The Great Heart – Johnny Clegg and Friends
  21. The Crossing – Friends of Johnny Clegg
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Johnny Clegg Critical Reflections: The International Scene


This is a bonus mixtape featuring many of the songs by international artists mentioned in the book Johnny Clegg: Critical Reflections on his Music and Influence in various contexts.

Many of these songs and/or artists will of course be familiar to people who were listening to music in the 1960s-1990s, but perhaps not all are, and some younger readers may be discovering them for the first time, so whether you’re memory is being refreshed or you’re discovering something new, there is now no need to read the book and wonder what Jethro Tull, or Fine Young Cannibals (for example) sound like. Perhaps you’ve never heard Annie Lennox sing ‘Strange Fruit’ or Harry Belafonte’s recording with South African artists.

Hopefully, this bonus mixtape will add some international colour to the musical landscape Johnny Clegg found himself traversing both artistically and commercially with his bands, Juluka and Savuka. and as a solo artist.

Many of the songs and artists included will have been for reasons you can guess, while others may have been mentioned for more obscure reasons – but you’ll have to read the book to find out why!

1. Paul Simon – Album Graceland
2. Malcolm McLaren – Double Dutch
3. Peter Gabriel – Biko
4. The Special A.K.A. – Free Nelson Mandela
5. Artists United Against Apartheid – Sun City
6. Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy
7. Harry Belafonte – Paradise in Gazankulu
8. Queen – We Will Rock You
9. Annie Lennox – Strange Fruit
10. The Beatles – Michelle
11. Toto – Africa
12. Bruce Springsteen – Factory
13. The Belle Stars – Iko Iko
14. Jethro Tull – Living in the Past
15. Chris de Burgh – Don’t Pay the Ferryman
16. The Police – Walking on the Moon
17. Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down Again
18. Pet Shop Boys – It’s a Sin
19. USA for Africa – We Are the World
20. Jean-Michel Jarre – Dulcie September

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Johnny Clegg Critical Reflections Part One: His music


This mixtape is the first in a series of four which celebrates the publication of the book Johnny Clegg: Critical Reflections on His Music and Influence (Wits University Press, October 2025). It is edited by Michael Drewett and Lucilla Spini and includes authors from a cross-spread of disciplines and with a variety of musical interests (Marguerite Coetzee, Michael Drewett, Andrew J Friedland, Andrew Grant Innes, Nicol Hammond, Brett Houston-Lock, Lizabé Lambrechts, Chris Letcher, Sipho Mchunu, Caleb Mutch, Pakama Ncume, Richard Pithouse, Lucilla Spini, and Martina Viljoen).

In contrast to a traditional biography, the book does not follow a linear narrative approach. Instead, each author hones in on specific aspects of Johnny Clegg’s life and work that intrigue them, resulting in a collection of thematic explorations. These chapters offer insights into various dimensions of Johnny Clegg’s life and music, with certain songs and events emerging as particularly pivotal, recurring across different chapters.

Importantly, the volume does not aim to cover every significant facet of Johnny Clegg’s life and career. Rather, it serves as a continuation of discussions and analyses spread across journals, books, newspapers, and magazines over several decades; and as a book project, it constitutes an initial foray into understanding the complexities of his music and legacy.

This mixtape features Johnny Clegg’s music in four different stages of his career: as Jonathan & Sipho, with Juluka, as a solo artist (both before and after the demise of Savuka) and with Savuka. These twelve songs are all mentioned in the book, some more than others, some specifically analysed, and they provide an enjoyable and interesting overview of Johnny Clegg’s career. The Jonathan & Sipho material is from 1977 and 1978, the Juluka songs are from the 1979 to 1983 period, Johnny Clegg’s Third World Child solo album was released in 1985 (the title track is included here), the Savuka songs come from 1987 and 1988, and the final two solo songs (Into The Picture and Faut Pas Baisser Les Bras) were released in 2002 and 2006 respectively.
In the next three mixtapes in this series there will be a wider selection of Johnny Clegg’s music featured, including songs not referred to in the book, and covers and collaborations beyond those with Sipho Mchunu, Juluka, and Savuka. There will also be some songs by other artists referred to in the book. Keep a look out for these, as they will add to your experience of the book (presuming, hopefully, that you will buy a copy and read it!).

  1. Woza Friday – Jonathan & Sipho
  2. Ngasala Obala – Jonathan & Sipho
  3. Asimbonanga (Live) – Jonathan & Sipho
  4. Universal Men – Juluka
  5. Siyayilanda – Juluka
  6. Work For All – Juluka
  7. Third World Child – Johnny Clegg
  8. Scatterlings of Africa – Savuka
  9. Asimbonanga – Savuka
  10. I Call Your Name – Savuka
  11. Into The Picture – Johnny Clegg
  12. Faut Pas Baisser Les Bras – Johnny Clegg