Jesse & Jaron Clegg: "He always created a special place in his life for family"
Jesse and Jaron Clegg sat down with Stacey and J Sbu to talk about their incredible father, Johnny Clegg, his legacy, and his autobiography - 'Scatterling Of Africa'.
There's never an inappropriate time to sing a Johnny Clegg song. he belongs to all of us.
Johnny Clegg was and always will be a South African national treasure.
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Johnny was born in England but spent his early years growing up in South Africa and Zimbabwe. His formative years were what some would call a tad chaotic, but that only helped form him into the curious and adventurous man he would become.
But although he did not have a stable home environment during his own childhood, throughout his successful career he made sure his family remained a priority.
He was amazing in so many ways. He was obviously our dad so we had a very deep personal connection with him. It's one thing to think of him as a public figure but for us, we just think of him as dad. He was always very supportive, he was always very present, he has so much going on but he always created a special place in his life for his family.
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But just as he had a deep love for his family, he also fell in love with the Zulu culture.
He was fluent in isiZulu and in 1970s he teamed up with KZN local Sipho Mchunu, a migrant worker and guitarist, and the two of them started making music together. Their band Juluka would go on to achieve worldwide success with the song that launched their international career - 'Scatterlings of Africa'.
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It only makes sense that his autobiography be named, 'Scatterling of Africa'.
The book follows Johnny in his formative years as he discovers himself and is filled to the brim with anecdotes about an interesting, colourful, and exciting life.
He was so curious. He was the most curious man ever. He wanted to know what you got excited about and then he got excited.
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The book does not include much about his private family life but Jesse and Jaron admit that upon reading the book, they learned so much more about their father as well.
We've heard the stories but I think we both weren't quite aware of how chaotic his childhood was.
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Ultimately, this autobiography encapsulates the life of a man who went through many personal struggles, found a second home in the Zulu warrior culture, and what shaped his journey.
Though he may no longer be with us, he lives on through his music, his family, and the influence and impact he had on South African culture.
And he leaves us with this final piece, his life story.
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