Marais & Miranda

The husband and wife team Marais and Miranda popularized traditional South African folk music in the United States during the '40s, '50s, and '60s. The duo charmed radio and concert hall audiences with somewhat Americanized versions (most of the numbers were English adaptations, though they did sometimes sing in Afrikaans) of the original folk tunes, blending a scholarly interest in folk history and musicology with a charismatic performance style. Josef Marais (pronounced "Mah-RAY") was raised on a sheep ranch in South Africa and took interest early in the local folk culture...