Hugh and His Boy's

In November of 1992 I remember picking up Monterey Pop Festival Box Set.  It was at the time the best document of the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.  It had a ton of great artists I loved and still listen to.  I liked the boxed set because of the great book and also the nostalgia value.  There were artists I knew and others I did not.  It not only gave me great excitement to hear some of this, it also was a great time capsule of 1967 and the summer of love.

For the most part, the bands I liked on their played great.  People like the Byrds, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and others were a treat to my young ears.  The banter between songs, and even the musicians introducing their fellow contemporaries. It was fun.  There was more excitement when David Crosby introduced Hugh Masekela.  At that time I had no idea who he was, but as soon as I heard him on the Byrds So You Want To Be A Rock and Roll Star I knew I had to listen to him right away and find more of his music.

Around the time of my musical find with Hugh Masekela. I stumbled up an album of his hits called 24 Karat Hits.  It was a great introduction to him.  It was also interesting compilation because it was a mix of some of his tunes and popular tunes of the day.  I had one problem, I wanted to hear his native South African music.  When I did research at the local library I found that at that time (1992) he had like 20 or albums out.  To find one I liked would been an epic hunt and peck of his music.  At that time I decided that I would keep that greatest hits that I had.

Fast forward to late 2000's.  I went hanging around a local chain record and comic store near my house.  I got to talking to the manger about music.  He and I started talking about great African musicians like King Sunny Ade, Ali Farka Toure, Hugh Masekela and my person favorite Fela Kuti.  Then we got on the subject of music from South Africa.  His wife was from South Africa.  He told me that the biggest person in South Africa was Hugh Masekela.  I mentioned I had one CD of two early albums and a greatest hits.  I wanted more of his music.  I did not know where to start. The next day I came in and he handed me a copy of The Boy's Doin' It.

It took a long time for that album to sink in.  After he giving me a copy of that album I found others and each was just as great as that one was.  Between this one and an album called Home Is Where The Music Is.  It's hard to pick one or the other, but in the mood now is The Boy's Doin' It.  It's an album any type of genre of music you like, it will satisfy all of it.  It's got long songs, it's got some pop and disco tunes.  It's got everything and more.  The best part is it's tribute to the master Fela Kuti.  What more can you ask for.  To anyone who wants to expand their musical horizons, then this is the album for you.  It's a tough find, and once you do, you will be rewarded with the greatness of this classic album.