Johnny Clegg was a South African musician known for his performance with bands Juluka and Savuka. He also performed as a solo artist, occasionally reuniting with his earlier band partners. Johnny Clegg net worth before his death is estimated to be $5 million.
Johnny Clegg was born on June 7, 1953, in Lancashire, England. He was born to English father Dennis Clegg, and a Rhodesian mother, Muriel. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he moved with his mother to Zimbabwe. At the age of 6, he moved to South Africa and also spent some year in Israel during his childhood.
Also known as Le Zoulou Blanc, Clegg found the band Juluka with Sipho Mchunu. The band later grew to a six-member group. As a young man, during the early stages of his musical career, he combined his music with the study of anthropology, a subject which he also taught for some time at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
The band, however, was often harassed by the South African government at that time. They were able to tour internationally and played in Europe, Canada, and the USA. They also had two platinum and five gold albums which helped them for worldwide recognition. In 1985, the band got separated when Mchunu returned to his rural home to care for his family.
Clegg then went on to form another band Savuka in 1986 with dancer Dudu Zulu. Their first album “Third World Child” broke several records worldwide. They went on to record several more albums including “Heat, Dust and Dreams” which received a Grammy Award nomination. In 1993, the band got separated after Dudu Zulu was shot and killed while attempting to mediate a taxi war.
After that, Clegg recorded several solo albums. His song “Dela” was featured on the soundtrack of 1997 film “George of the Jungle” while “Great Heart” was the title song for 1986 film “Jock of the Bushveld”.
Regarding his personal life, he was married to Jenny Clegg. They got married in a traditional Zulu wedding on March 26, 1989, in South Africa. The couple has been together for almost three decades and has two sons named Jesse Clegg and Le Zoulou Blanc. His son Jesse Clegg is also a recording artist.
On July 16, 2019, Johnny Clegg died at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.
