August Msarurgwa

August Machona Musarurwa (usually identified as "August Msarurgwa" on record labels) was a Zimbabwean musician, best known for having composed the 1950s hit tune "Skokiaan" (also known as "Skokiyana", "Skokian").

Biography

Early life and study

August Musarurwa was born and raised in the Zvimba district of Mashonaland, a region in the north of nowadays Zimbabwe, then a British colony in the south of Africa called Southern Rhodesia. He attended "Marshall Hartley Primary School" before moving to find work to the capital city, Salisbury, the modern Harare.

First jobs and employment as a local policeman

After working as a clerk for a tobacco company, he joined the British South African Police as a 22-year-old. The BSAP employed Musarurwa as an interpreter, but later he was transferred to the police band.

Transfer to the African Dance Band

He left the BSAP to work for the Bulawayo Cold Storage Commission, living in the company's compound. As leader of the "African Dance Band of the Cold Storage Commission of Southern Rhodesia", Musarurwa recorded Skokiaan as an instrumental in 1947. A second version of the tune was released in the United States by London Records in 1954 under the name of the "Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band", as Musarurwa's band was then called.

Meeting with Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong met Musarurwa in November 1960 during his African tour. According to his daughter, Armstrong gave Musarurwa a jacket and invited him to visit the United States. The visit was cancelled due to the death in 1962 of Tandiwe, Musarurwa's spouse.

Death

August Musarurwa died in 1968 and is buried in his family cemetery in his village near Zvimba. The inscription on his grave reads Here lies August Machona Musarurwa, great singer and music composer, renowned the world over.

See also

• Skokiaan