Thandi Klaasen
Encyclopedia
Thandi Klaasen is a jazz musician from Sophiatown, Gauteng
. Her career as a singer and dancer began in the mid-1950s. In 1961 she moved to London
to work in the musical King Kong. She has since performed with Dolly Rathebe
, Miriam Makeba
, Dorothy Masuka
, and others.
When she was a teenager, her face was permanently scarred by a mix of thinners and petroleum. She is the mother of singer Lorraine Klaasen
.
Sophiatown, Gauteng
Sophiatown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under Apartheid, rebuilt under the name by Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name.Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its...
. Her career as a singer and dancer began in the mid-1950s. In 1961 she moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to work in the musical King Kong. She has since performed with Dolly Rathebe
Dolly Rathebe
Dolly Rathebe was a South African musician and actress.Dolly Rathebe was born in Randfontein in South Africa but grew up in Sophiatown which she describes as having been "a wonderful place". She was discovered around 1948 after singing at a picnic in Johannesburg...
, Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, Dorothy Masuka
Dorothy Masuka
Dorothy Masuka is a jazz singer who was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1935, then called Southern Rhodesia. She was the fourth of seven children and her mother was Zulu while her father was a Zambian hotel chef. Still, she attended a Catholic school deemed good by the standards of education allowed...
, and others.
When she was a teenager, her face was permanently scarred by a mix of thinners and petroleum. She is the mother of singer Lorraine Klaasen
Lorraine Klaasen
Lorraine Klaasen is a Montreal-based world music singer. Her mother is South African singer Thandi Klaasen. She has performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and her international itinerary has included the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean...
.