Margaret Singana

Margaret M’cingana changed her name to Singana when she began releasing music as a solo artist. Born in Queenstown she moved to Johannesburg to work but developed a music career in the mid-1960s, appearing in musicals and with various groups.

She rose to fame with her appearance in the musical Ipi Tombi and the release of her third single, the song “Mama Thembu’s wedding” (1973) from that show.

She released several albums and singles throughout the 1970s but a stroke in 1980 was a severe setback. She still managed to release two further new albums in the 1980s, and had lots of radio exposure with “We are growing” (1986), the theme song to a television series about King Shaka.

She died in April 2000, having suffered from a long illness.