Tymon Mabaleka facts for kids

Tymon Mabaleka (born in 1950, died June 27, 2014) was a famous person from Zimbabwe. He was known for two big things: playing football and making music. People called him "The Whitehorse." He spent almost 20 years playing sports and 15 years working in music.

Early Life and Education

Tymon Mabaleka was born in a place called Nswazi. This area is in the Umzingwane District of Zimbabwe. He went to Longfield Primary School in Nswazi for his first years of learning. Later, he moved to a city called Bulawayo. There, he studied at Msitheli High School.

Football Career

Tymon Mabaleka was a talented football player. He played for a very well-known team from Bulawayo called Highlanders Football Club. Tymon started his football journey at a team named Eastlands. In 1973, he joined Highlanders. This year was a big turning point for the team.

Highlanders had been promoted back to the top league in 1972. They had been sent down to a lower division in 1971. With Tymon "Whitehorse" Mabaleka on the team, things changed. He played alongside other great players. Some of these players were Cavin Duberly and Lawrence Phiri.

In 1973, Highlanders won their first major title. This was the Chibuku Trophy. They also won a regional title that year. Tymon Mabaleka was a key part of their success.

Music Career

After his football career, Tymon Mabaleka became a very respected music producer. He worked for a company called Gallo Records. Many people called him Zimbabwe's "Quincy Jones." Quincy Jones is a famous music producer from America. This shows how good Tymon was at making music.

Famous Musicians He Produced

Tymon Mabaleka helped many musicians become successful. The list of artists he worked with is very long. He helped famous Zimbabwean musicians like Oliver Mtukudzi. He also worked with James Chimombe and Lovemore Majaivana. Other artists included Ilanga and Solomon S’kuza.

He produced many popular songs for Lovemore Majaivana. Some of these hits include Stimela and Salanini Zinini. Other well-known songs were Sono Sami Kuleliyani’zwe and Dabuka Mhlaba.

Tymon also produced Solomon S’kuza’s album called Love and Scandals. He worked on many other hit songs for Solomon Skuza. Tymon always wanted to create high-quality music. He also produced songs like 'Emhlabeni Kunzima' by Ebony Sheikh. He worked on 'Mai Vakakosha' by Shepherd Chinyani and the Vhuka Boys. Another big hit he produced was 'Mugove' by Leonard Zhakata. He also produced collections for the late John Chibadura.

Later Life

Tymon Mabaleka passed away in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was 64 or 65 years old. The cause of his death is not known. He had a wife named Josephine Mabaleka. They had three children together. Tymon Mabaleka was buried in Bulawayo on July 3, 2014.