"Soul Makossa" is a 1972 single by Cameroonian makossa saxophonist Manu Dibango. It is often cited as one of the first disco records.[2] In 1972 David Mancuso found a copy in a Brooklyn West Indian record store and often played it at his Loft parties.[3] The response was so positive that the few copies of "Soul Makossa" in New York City were quickly bought up.[3] The song was subsequently played heavily by Frankie Crocker, who DJed at WBLS, then New York's most popular black radio station.[3] Since the original was then unfindable, at least 23 groups quickly released cover versions to capitalize on the demand for the record.[3] Atlantic eventually licensed the song from the French record label Fiesta.[3] Their release of it peaked at #35 on the Billboard chart in 1973; in 1999 Dave Marsh wrote that it was "the only African record by an African" to crack the top 40.[4] At one point there were nine different versions of the song in the Billboard chart.[5] It became "a massive hit" internationally as well.[5]
The song is probably best known for the chanted vocal refrain "ma-mako, ma-ma-sa, mako-mako ssa", which was adapted and used in songs by many prominent artists.
"Soul Makossa" was originally recorded as a B-side for "Mouvement Ewondo," a song about Cameroon's association football team.[5] Manu Dibango later recorded a new version for his 1994 album Wakafrika. A newer version of the song, called Soul Makossa 2.0, was recorded in France by Manu Dibango and Wayne Beckford for a release in 2011, as the first single of Dibango's album Past Present Future.
Three versions:
http://www.mediafire.com/?os49f577oebotsf
(For Demo only, delete after 24 hrs)
A Rare Live Version
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