Greatest Hits
Brenda Fassie, whomTimeonce called "the Madonna of the Townships," was one of South Africa's most beloved pop icons. She was born in Cape Town, moving to Johannesburg's Soweto township while in her early teens. Her first solo hit,Weekend Special, was an international sensation but fame arrived before she was mature enough to handle it. Her private life was marred by drug-and-alcohol-induced problems and abusive relationships. After years of alternating obscurity and comebacks, she releasedMemeza(Shout), followed by a string of hit albums. It seemed that all was finally well with her but she died in May 2004 at age 39. Like Janis Joplin and Judy Garland, Fassie lived and sang hard enough for ten during her short life. Traditionalists should note that the mainstream was her habitat. But her voice was an exquisite force of nature and her songs were the soundtrack of a generation. --Christina Roden