In 1985, Paul Simon went to South Africa to work with local artists and incorporate some mbaqanga music into his Graceland album, despite the ongoing United Nations boycott against the apartheid regime. At the time, the UN’s pressure on the government ...

For Simon, "Graceland" was a labor of hope. The album came after some tumultuous years in the early '80s, which included his divorce from Carrie Fisher and two consecutive commercial flops with "One Trick Pony" and "Heart and Bones." This probably felt ...

South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo make their Proms debut 40 years since the release of Paul Simon’s era-defining album Graceland, which brought the group to international attention

One of South Africa's top musicians — and an artist whose sound was known the world over, thanks to Paul Simon's album Graceland — has died. Guitarist, vocalist and composer Ray Chikapa Phiri was 70 years old. He had been battling lung cancer, and died ...