News / National
Zbc News intro(gundu ngundu) drummer given a farm
12 Mar 2011 at 16:41hrs | Views
Government has given renowned drummer Douglas Vambe a 100-hectare farm in Marondera.
Vambe composed the Jerusarema-Mbende drumbeat (gundu ngundu gundu ngundu...) that accompanies news bulletins at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
An ecstatic Vambe confirmed the development in an interview with The Herald this week.
"This is the greatest gift I have ever received in my life. I was given my offer letters last month. I thank Government for honouring me in this way," he said.
The drumbeat has become a national heritage.
"All what I wish now is to be allowed to go to State House and play the drums before His Excellency President Mugabe."
He said there was no greater empowerment other than the land.
"I have been empowered. I am a happy man now," Vambe said.
The decorated drummer would, however, require implements such as a tractor and other machinery to put the farm to maximum use. At the moment Vambe plans to venture into chicken rearing.
Vambe had not received a cent since the drumbeat was recorded at the then Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation studios at Mbare in 1962. It has been on the airwaves since then.
Efforts by Vambe to engage authorities at the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation and later the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation for royalties failed and this development comes a relief to the 68-year-old grandfather.
"The drumbeat has been played everyday before and after the news but I have not received a cent for it.
"I have tried to talk to ZBC officials without any success.
"Each time I hear the beat my heart bleeds for all I know is that it is my original composition, a master piece that has paid me nothing," he was quoted as saying in 1999.
At one time Vambe demanded Z$5 million from ZBC as compensation without success.
He had also tried to engage RBC authorities when the drum was first played but did not get any joy.
"Just a day after the recording we heard the drums being played on the African Services. I went to the RBC offices for payment and they threw me out and said I should talk to my fellow blacks who had approached me," he said.
He brought the drums from Chimanimani in the early 1960s. It is the same drum he still plays across the globe today.
The drumbeat is so popular when the ZTV removed it from introducing and concluding its news bulletins for a few days in 1999, there was an outcry from viewers across the country.
Vambe composed the Jerusarema-Mbende drumbeat (gundu ngundu gundu ngundu...) that accompanies news bulletins at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
An ecstatic Vambe confirmed the development in an interview with The Herald this week.
"This is the greatest gift I have ever received in my life. I was given my offer letters last month. I thank Government for honouring me in this way," he said.
The drumbeat has become a national heritage.
"All what I wish now is to be allowed to go to State House and play the drums before His Excellency President Mugabe."
He said there was no greater empowerment other than the land.
"I have been empowered. I am a happy man now," Vambe said.
The decorated drummer would, however, require implements such as a tractor and other machinery to put the farm to maximum use. At the moment Vambe plans to venture into chicken rearing.
Efforts by Vambe to engage authorities at the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation and later the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation for royalties failed and this development comes a relief to the 68-year-old grandfather.
"The drumbeat has been played everyday before and after the news but I have not received a cent for it.
"I have tried to talk to ZBC officials without any success.
"Each time I hear the beat my heart bleeds for all I know is that it is my original composition, a master piece that has paid me nothing," he was quoted as saying in 1999.
At one time Vambe demanded Z$5 million from ZBC as compensation without success.
He had also tried to engage RBC authorities when the drum was first played but did not get any joy.
"Just a day after the recording we heard the drums being played on the African Services. I went to the RBC offices for payment and they threw me out and said I should talk to my fellow blacks who had approached me," he said.
He brought the drums from Chimanimani in the early 1960s. It is the same drum he still plays across the globe today.
The drumbeat is so popular when the ZTV removed it from introducing and concluding its news bulletins for a few days in 1999, there was an outcry from viewers across the country.
Source - Byo24News
