The Rise & Fall of Zamrock (Episode 49)

Under British control for decades, in 1911, Zambia was merged in
with other South African countries to form Northern Rhodesia. For
most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an
administration appointed from London with the advice of the British
South Africa Company. Zambia was rich with copper mines and
there was an economic boom that carried into the 50s and 60s. This
boom, combined with westerners moving into the country as
missionaries and expatriates, allowed for Zambians to hear a lot of
western music, including gospel, rock, and soul. There are 72
languages spoken in Zambia, so bands there would sing in English,
which most people understood as it was the 'official' language By
the 60s, as rock music was reaching more and more people, Zambian
rock bands were forming, playing mostly covers of Buddy Holly, Jimi
Hendrix, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, and others. A lot of the
music seemed to be hitting the country all at once, like an
injection of 15 years of rock and soul all at one time. These bands
became so popular that all white establishments started allowing
them to play. Independence came in 1964 with Kenneth Kaunda
becoming its first president. Kaunda eliminated all other
political parties by the early 70s and when elections were held in
1973, and for at least the next decade, he was the only
candidate. As far as authoritarians go, Kaunda was pretty
good, for a while. Zambia has one of the worst education systems of
all the former British colonies. In 1964, they had fewer than 100
native-born college graduates. Kaunda setup a university in Lusaka,
Zambia’s capital and instituted a policy of free notebooks, pens,
and pencils for all students, regardless of how much money their
parents made. Kaunda was also an outspoken critic of
Apartheid, which raised ire on most of Zambia’s border’s, where
white minorities were in control of countries like Angola and
Zimbabwe. Hostilities at the borders added to an economic burden
that was already out of control - these countries were Zambia’s
main trading partners. Kaunda instituted a nationalist ideology
called Zambian Humanism, which combined loyalty to Africa, and
Zambia in particular, a focus on African values, along with state
control. Part of this policy, enacted in 1970, required that 95% of
the music played on the radio had to be of Zambian
origin. Because of that policy, Zambian rock bands had to
change what they were doing. They had to start writing their own
songs. That was the birth of Zamrock, and that’s what we’re talking
about today. A lot of the research for this episode came from the
book "Welcome to Zamrock" which goes with two absolutely essential
Zamrock compilations, which have the same name. Both the book and
compilations were released on Now-Again Records which is an
incredible label. Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi:
iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google
Play  Twitter | Facebook | Spotify Learn
more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices