On air: Lauren Laverne
Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba
Pipeline: Live Last refreshed: 11:56, 15 October 2026. This page auto-updates every minute.
About this artist
Solo artist from Johannesburg, South Africa, active since 1932, died 2008.
If you like Miriam Makeba, try Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Letta Mbulu, Brenda Fassie, Hugh Masekela and Angélique Kidjo.
More about this artist: WikipediaMusicBrainzAllMusicDiscogs
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Trivia about Pata Pata
- Makeba was frankly baffled by the runaway global success of the track, often calling it one of her silliest songs because the lyrics were simply about an informal township dance move rather than anything politically profound.
- After she married Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael in 1968, the US establishment panicked, abruptly cancelling her American concert dates and record contracts, which effectively forced her to pack up and move to Guinea.
- The tune took on a surreal second life in the 1980s when it was reworked into a French-language pop hit by Coumba Gawlo, which somehow spent weeks at the top of the European charts decades after the original release.
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Live
Most recent gig: Baia Verde, Castel Volturno on 9 November 2008
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