Dolly Rathebe was a South African musician and actress who performed with the Elite Swingsters jazz band, and in Alf Herbert's African Jazz and Variety Show.
10 Facts About Dolly Rathebe
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Dolly Rathebe was discovered around 1948 after singing at a picnic in Johannesburg.
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Dolly Rathebe rose to fame in 1949, aged 21, when she appeared as a nightclub singer in the British-produced movie Jim Comes To Jo'burg - the first film to portray urban Africans in a positive light.
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Dolly Rathebe became an international star when she sang with the Afro jazz group, the Elite Swingsters, in 1964.
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Dolly Rathebe moved with her family to Cape Town township and, to survive, ran a shebeen for many years.
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In 1989, Dolly Rathebe re-united with the Elite Swingsters to perform in a film that was set in 1950s Johannesburg.
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In 2001, Dolly Rathebe received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the South African Music Awards.
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Dolly Rathebe funded the construction of a multi-purpose hall at Sofasonke village near Klipgat, north of Pretoria.
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The hall is named "Meriting kwaDolly Rathebe", which means "Dolly Rathebe's Retreat".
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In 2004, Dolly Rathebe was awarded the South African Order of Ikhamanga in Silver for her "excellent contribution to music and the performing arts and commitment to the ideals of justice, freedom and democracy".