John Kongos facts for kids

John Theodore Kongos, born on August 6, 1945, is a talented singer and songwriter from South Africa. He is famous for his 1971 song "He's Gonna Step on You Again", which was a Top 10 hit. The band Happy Mondays later used this song to create their own hit, "Step On".

Another one of John Kongos's popular songs is "Tokoloshe Man". You might have heard it on the TV show Life on Mars or its soundtrack. His second album, Kongos, also did very well, reaching the top 30 on the music charts in the UK.

John Kongos's Music Journey

John Kongos started his music career in South Africa in the early 1960s. He had success with his band, Johnny and the G-Men, and also as a solo artist. In 1966, he moved to the United Kingdom to continue making music.

Early Bands in the UK

In April 1967, John formed his first UK band called Floribunda Rose. The band included British musicians Pete Clifford and Jack Russell, along with Nick 'Doc' Dokter and Chris Demetriou. They released one song called "Linda Loves Linda". After this, some members left, and John formed a new group called Scrugg. They released three more songs.

Solo Success and Hit Songs

After performing with his bands for about 18 months, John Kongos released his first solo album in 1969. It was called Confusions About a Goldfish.

He then started focusing on writing songs for other artists. This led to many successful songs in Germany and other European countries. Later, he signed with Fly Records and released two big hit singles. These were "He's Gonna Step on You Again" in May 1971 and "Tokoloshe Man" in November 1971. Both songs reached the Top 4 in the UK charts.

His second album, Kongos, was very popular and made it into the top 30 albums in the UK. Some of his songs were also covered by other artists. For example, the New Zealand band The Human Instinct covered "Tomorrow I'll Go". Also, "Ride The Lightning" was covered by French singer Sylvie Vartan and became a number one hit in France in 1976.

Interesting Facts About His Music

"He's Gonna Step on You Again" is famous for being one of the first songs to use a "sample" in music. A sample is when a small part of another recording is used in a new song. However, it's actually a "tape loop" of African drumming, which is a similar idea.

John Kongos also helped write a German song called "Charly, laß dir einen Bart steh'n" with Günther Behrle. This song became a hit for the German singer Daffi Cramer in 1976.

Working Behind the Scenes

Besides singing and writing, John Kongos also worked as a record producer and sound engineer in his London studio. He created music for TV shows, including jingles and theme songs. He even helped with the programming of a special music machine called a Fairlight CMI synthesizer for Def Leppard's 1983 album Pyromania.

New Generation of Fans

In 1990, a new generation of music fans discovered John Kongos's work. The band Happy Mondays took his song "He's Gonna Step on You Again" and turned it into their own hit, "Step On". This song reached number 5 in the UK charts. The Happy Mondays also covered his song "Tokoloshe Man" for a special album called Rubáiyát.

John Kongos's Albums

John Kongos's early music from 1966 to 1969, including songs with Floribunda Rose and Scrugg, and his first solo album, was put together on a collection called Lavender Popcorn in 2001.

His album Kongos (from 1972) and his other singles were later released on a CD called Tokoloshe Man Plus in 1988.

Family Life

John Kongos is married to Shelley. They have four sons: Johnny, Jesse, Dylan, and Daniel. All four of his sons are also musicians and are members of the rock band Kongos.

See also

In Spanish: John Kongos para niños