Manu Dibango (1933-2020)

Manu Dibango. Pic: c/o Getty.

After failing high school in France, Manu Dibango chose music. He eventually learnt to play saxophone in France.

Dibango, a Cameroonian, who was more known for his Soul Makossa hit of 1972, sadly, died from Covid-19 disease, on March 24, 2020, in Paris, France.

His father was disappointed that Dibango failed his high school exams and took up music performing in nightclubs, in Belgium, AFP reported.

Other sources on his bio however revealed that his mother and father had musical heritage in Cameroon. Dibango’s musical talent was revealed at an early age while singing at the local church, where his mother was a choir leader.

Among highlights of his career was a lawsuit he filed in 2009 alleging that Michael Jackson had stolen from his song, Soul Makossa, used in the American’s two tracks of world's best-selling album, Thriller. Jackson reportedly settled the case out of court.

 In 1990 Dibango published Three Kilos of Coffee, an autobiography, which was originally in French).
 UNESCO named him Peace Artist of the Year in 2004.