adminTembo said he felt obliged to revive his father’s legacy because failure to do so would have meant letting his father down.
“I never had an opportunity to know my father as he passed on when I was in Grade One. As I was growing, I realised that it was my duty to revive my father’s musical legacy” he said.
Tembo said as he was growing up he listened to some of his father’s music and he was inspired to become a musician.
“One of my father’s songs that I used to listen as I was growing up was the famous Simbimbino.
“I enjoyed the song because it was an exciting story that had been told in the form of a song,” he said.
The young musician said when he was in secondary school he met some friends who shared his same passion for music.
“When I was at primary school I never showed any interest in singing, but I really enjoyed listening to my father’s music a lot.
“At times my mother had to switch off our small radio, so that I could do my homework,” he said.
The musician said while in secondary school he enrolled for a music class and he met some teachers who taught him different musical skills.
“When I enrolled for music lessons at school, I realised that music was something that runs within the Tembo family. I never struggled in applying any skill that I was taught by my teachers,” he said.
Tembo said by listening to his father’s music he fell in love with Jit, the kind of music that his father’s Bhundu Boys used to play.
The up-and coming musician said soon after completing his secondary education in 2005 he decided to take music as a career.
“Soon after completing my secondary education, I decided to take music as a career, as I realised noone was prepared to revive my father’s musical legacy. I began attending lessons on how to play a guitar,” he said.
Tembo said because of his passion it only took him less than six months to learn how to play the guitar.
“Soon after completing the training I decided to form my own band,” he said.
The musician said the band already had a six-track album that was released in 2010 titled Rwendo.
“So far we have managed to record our first album and it’s on the market although it was not properly marketed.
“Some of the songs on this album include Mucherechedzo, Mari, Kamukana, Simbimbino and Usipomdo,” he said.
He said during that same time they recorded a DVD album for the videos of some of his father’s music that he had recorded with Bhundu Boys.
“We have got a DVD that is also on the market and has got some of the most successful songs that include Simbimbino and many others,” he said.
The Bhundu Boys were a popular Zimbabwean outfit that played a mixture of Chimurenga music with some American rock and roll, disco, country and pop influences.
Their Jit music was at one time popular across Africa and on the international scene. The genre has also inspired modern day groups like Nehoreka and Mokoomba.
The Bhundu Boys recorded their first 7-vinyl single at Shed Studios in Harare on 1 February 1983, as part of the Studio’s drive to sponsor more local music.
The Bhundu Boys reached the top of the Zimbabwean music scene on Shed Studio’s Rugare Label, with four number one hits Babamunini Francis, Wenhamo Haaneti, Hatisitose, and Tsvimbodzemoto between 1981 and 1984.
Almost all the band member of Bhundu Boys, except Rise Kagona, have passed away.
Online Reporter