A South African Superstar Says Farewell

Well before Paul Simon's "Graceland" came along, a white musician from South Africa named Johnny Clegg was already breaking apartheid laws and celebrating Zulu culture. He co-founded two important, interracial bands, and became an essential voice in his country. But two years ago, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and he's on a farewell U.S. tour that he's calling "The Final Journey."

Johnny Clegg is 64 years old. He's in remission now, but he has a very aggressive form of cancer. "I've come out of my second chemo in February," he says. "In March, I just said to my management, you know, if there was a time to wrap up my affairs while I'm feeling pretty strong and good, it would be now."

For his current tour, he's playing a retrospective of a career that's spanned four decades. Clegg's life — and music — have moved in parallel to the currents of South Africa's history. His song "Asimbonanga," written in honor of Nelson Mandela, became an anthem for South Africa's freedom fighters.

Clegg was born in England, the child born of a brief relationship between an English man and a female jazz singer from Zimbabwe (which was called Southern Rhodesia at the time). Clegg spent his early childhood in Zimbabwe; when he was 7, his mother remarried to a South African crime reporter. Soon after,