Tributes for ‘humble Soul Brother’
Condolences poured in yesterday for David Masondo, lead singer of the legendary music group The Soul Brothers.
The Soul Brothers’ massive success ‘never went to his head’.
Ahumble man who never allowed fame to go to his head. This is how residents of Hammarsdale in KwaZulu-Natal, the hometown of David Masondo, lead singer of the legendary The Soul Brothers, described their neighbour yesterday.
Masondo, 67, died in the Garden City Clinic in Johannesburg on Sunday where he had been admitted after complaining of exhaustion.
“If he saw a person on the street, he would stop his car just to greet that person. It did not matter if that person was a stranger or not,” said Dumezweni Mcoyi, Masondo’s next door neighbour in Hammarsdale Unit 1’s Mshengu Street.
“He was much older than me and yet he always addressed me as baba (father). We are not only proud that he lifted the profi le of the township through his success, but also of the fact he was a true role model in the area,” Mcoyi said.
The driving force behind one of Africa’s most successful music groups, Masondo guided The Soul Brothers to greater heights.
The group released more than 30 albums and sold millions of copies throughout the continent.
Formed in 1974 , they hit the big time with their single Mama Ka Sibongile, a love song.
“He never allowed that to go to his head. He treated everybody, from the public to family members, with great respect,” Masondo’s daughter, Mbali, said yesterday. “We lost a father, a friend and a true role model.” –