National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba died late this Sunday, November 9th. One of Africa's best known voices and a champion of the fight against apartheid, Makeba died of a heart attack after a performance in Italy. She was 76.

Makeba fell ill after a concert in the southern Italian town of Baia Verde late on Sunday, November 9. She died of heart failure after being rushed to a clinic in the town of Castel Volturno. Ever the activist, Makeba was performing a benefit in support of the families of six African immigrants who had been shot to death in September by suspected members of the Camorra mafia in Castel Volturno.

Known as "Mama Africa" and the "Empress of African Song," Makeba was the first black South African musician to gain international fame, winning renown in the United States in the 1950s with fresh blend of jazz and traditional South African song. Makeba was the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965.

Born in 1932 in Johannesburg, Miriam Makeba first came to the public's attention as a featured vocalist with the Manhattan Brothers. She soon left to record with her all-woman group the Skylarks while touring Southern Africa with Alf Herberts' African Jazz and Variety.

Makeba first gained international recognition when she appeared in the anti-apartheid documentary Come Back, Africa, which premiered and at the Venice Film Festival in 1959.

That same year she took over the female lead in the jazz musical King Kong, a story about the life of boxer Ezekiel Dlamini. With an 72 member, all-black cast and all-jazz score, King Kong gave many people their first taste of South African jazz. King Kong was a hit in South Africa and beyond - debuting in the London's West End in 1961. It starred both Makeba and her soon-to-be husband, jazz musician and legend-in-the-making Hugh Masekela.

In 1963, after testifying about apartheid before the United Nations in New York, the South African government revoked her citizenship. Makeba chose to remain in the U.S., eventually divorcing fellow exile Masekla to go her own way, musically and politically. It was during her American exile that she recorded and released her most famous songs, "Pata Pata" and the "Click Song". In 1966, Makeba received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafonte for An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba. The album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid.

While living in exile in the United States Makeba also married Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael. The two eventually relocated to Guinea on the West African Coast. Makeba returned to world prominence in 1987 when she performed with Paul Simon on the Graceland tour. In 1990, she finally returned to her homeland as a free South African after an exile of 31 years.

In 1992 Makeba appeared in the film adaptation of Mbongeni Ngema's play Sarafina. Her final studio recording was 2004's Reflections. In 2005 she began her "Farewell Tour" of the world - which lasted for three years.

Plans for a funeral have yet to be announced.