For other meanings of Stuka, see Stuka (disambiguation).

The Orchestre Stukas (also referred to as the Stukas Boys, the Stukas or the Stukas of Zaire) was a congolese

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

 soukous

Soukous

Soukous is a dance music genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa...

 band of the 1970s

1970s

File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

. It was based in Kinshasa

Kinshasa

Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....

, Zaire

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

 (now DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

). At the apex of their popularity, the Stukas were led by singer and showman Gaby Lita Bembo.

History

The Stukas were founded by Alida Domingo in 1968. Since the band's early years, when the Stukas mostly played James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 cover

Cover

- Science and technology :* A covering, usually one that completely closes the object** Lid** Mechanical seal* The outside of an object, not necessarily enclosing the object** Album cover** Book cover, or magazine cover** CD and DVD packaging...

s, two members of its personnel emerged as the most talented: singer Gaby Lita Bembo (who reportedly "set the audience on fire" with his on stage dancing) and guitarist Samunga Tediangaye, nicknamed "the professor". Also acclaimed guitarist Dodoly

Dodoly

Matou Dodoly or simply Dodoly is a Congo DR soukous guitarist. He is best known for his high speed solos, for which he has been nicknamed la machine a coudre ....

 (nicknamed "the sewing machine

Sewing machine

A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...

" for his high speed solos) began his career in Stukas before his successful experience in Bozi Boziana

Bozi Boziana

Mbenzu Ngamboni Boskill, better known as Bozi Boziana, is congolese guitarist and singer. He has been in several major soukous bands, including Bamboula de Papa Noel, Minzoto Sangela, Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi Lokole, Yoka Lokole, Langa Langa Stars and Choc Stars, and founded his own band, Orchestre...

's Anti Choc.

While great soukous bands such as Zaïko Langa Langa

Zaiko Langa Langa

Zaiko Langa Langa are a seminal soukous band from DR Congo. The word "Zaiko" is a portmanteau for the lingala phrase Zaire ya bankoko, meaning "Zaire of our ancestors", where "Zaire" must be read as a reference to the river by that name, now called Congo...

, Bella Bella or OK Jazz

OK Jazz

TPOK Jazz, originally known as OK Jazz, was a rumba band in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from June 1956 until December 1993.-Location:...

 competed with each other for the favors of the Kinshasa youth, Stukas deliberately played in the outskirts, for the people in the suburbs, who could hardly afford going to the venues downtown to see musical shows. In the 1970 they already had a relatively large number of followers, so that they were invited by television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 channel Voix du Zaire to play in their shows. They became so pupular that the Zairean authorities eventually put pressure on Voix du Zaire to let the Stukas appear on TV on a daily basis, because their shows helped "keep the children out of the streets". The Stukas also became the top band of the "Para fifi" club, one of the most important venues of Kinshasa.

In 1974, Stukas were invited to play at Zaire '74, a great musical event that was meant to introduce the so-called Rumble in the Jungle, i.e., the boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 match between Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

 and George Foreman

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

. In Zaire '74, the Stukas had the chance to play side by side with international stars such as Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....

, Manu Dibango

Manu Dibango

-External links:*...

, BB King, and even their favourite James Brown. As a consequence of the Stukas' much appreciated performance at the event, Lita Bembo was acclaimed as the best Congolese artist of 1974 in a readers' poll of the popular Congolese paper Salongo

Salongo

Salongo is a 1976 Jazz album by Ramsey Lewis released on Columbia Records.-Reception:The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard Jazz Albums and #17 on the Black Albums chart...

.

Since 1977, Stukas experienced several personnel changes. Some of its members were invited to play by great soukous bands such as Yoka Lokole

Yoka Lokole

Yoka Lokole was a soukous band from Zaire founded by Papa Wemba and others in 1975 and disbanded in 1978. Despite its short life, Yoka Lokole was a prominent band in Zaire in the mid-1970s, as its lineup comprised several of the most influential soukous musicians of the times, including Papa...

 and Bozi Boziana

Bozi Boziana

Mbenzu Ngamboni Boskill, better known as Bozi Boziana, is congolese guitarist and singer. He has been in several major soukous bands, including Bamboula de Papa Noel, Minzoto Sangela, Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi Lokole, Yoka Lokole, Langa Langa Stars and Choc Stars, and founded his own band, Orchestre...

's Orchestre Anti-Choc. Lita Bembo eventually left, to relocate to Bruxelles, where he began a new career as a producer and sound engineer. The Stukas recorded at least one album without Lita Bembo, called Ballade a Libreville. Lita Bembo also recorded some solo albums while he was in Europe, in the mid 1980s.