Music
Landmark
Alick Nkhata
1922 – 1978
Made Zambian music a national music, and was killed in a cross-border raid
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Zambia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Soldier, broadcaster and singer, he collected and recorded the music of Northern Rhodesia's peoples and put it on the radio in their own languages. He was killed in 1978 when Rhodesian forces raided a camp near Lusaka.
Alick Nkhata served with the King's African Rifles in Burma, then worked with the ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey recording music across central Africa before joining the Central African Broadcasting Station in Lusaka.
He led the Lusaka Radio Band, wrote and sang in Bemba, Nyanja and other Zambian languages, and as a broadcaster and later director of the national broadcasting service shaped what Zambians heard of themselves. Much of what is known of mid-century Zambian music survives because he recorded it. He was killed in October 1978 when Rhodesian forces attacked a camp at Chikumbi, north of Lusaka.
He led the Lusaka Radio Band, wrote and sang in Bemba, Nyanja and other Zambian languages, and as a broadcaster and later director of the national broadcasting service shaped what Zambians heard of themselves. Much of what is known of mid-century Zambian music survives because he recorded it. He was killed in October 1978 when Rhodesian forces attacked a camp at Chikumbi, north of Lusaka.
Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will check it.