Bébé Manga Biography
Bébé Manga was born on 27 November 1948 She died on 1 July 2011, also known as Bébé Manga, was a Cameroonian makossa singer whose best-known song is “Ami O”. She is considered one of the most popular makossa singers of the 1980s.
Bébé Manga Age
Bébé Manga was born on 27 November 1948, She died on 1 July 2011
Bébé Manga Family
She was the last of four children to her mother. Only she and one of her brothers, E. E. Manga, survived, as the two other children passed away while still in their infancy. Her father was a teacher and later served for many years as a Headmaster in the present Southwest and Northwest Regions.
Bébé Manga Husband
She got married, and later their marriage hit the rocks, as they divorced.
Bébé Manga Children
While Bebe Manga did not have a biological child, The Post learnt she had a soft spot for children. She reportedly adopted over a dozen children from the Southwest and Northwest Regions. Bebe Manga also reportedly raised many children in her family.
Bébé Manga Early life
She was born In Mamfe, Manyu Division the South West Region. Bebe Manga was lauded by the journalists in Ivory Coast because of her distinctive and expressive voice.
Bébé Manga Early Career
She started her career in 1975, singing in a night club in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire called “Son de Guitare” (Sound of a guitar). Her friends impressed on the manager of the club that Bebe Manga had a good voice and could sing. After singing quizas quizas, the manager of the club, lost in admiration for the talented singer hired her on the spot there and then, so began her professional career. From that point on, it was a roller coaster ride. Manga has performed extensively in Africa: Gabon, Senegal, Mali, Zaire, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Morocco etc. In the Caribbean Islands (Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique), Colombia, USA, France.
Bébé Manga Rise to Fame
She rose to stardom and international fame in 1980 when she replayed Ebanda Manfred’s 1962 radio hit, “Amie” (meaning “friend” in French). Bebe Manga’s version known as “Amio” earned her the prestigious “Maracas D’or” award from SACEM, and a firm place in history as one of Cameroon’s greatest voices who has been an inspiration to a new crop of female stars such as Ruth Kotto and Jackie Biho. Most notably, Bebe Manga transformed Ebanda Manfred’s little-known Radio Douala recording into a worldwide hit that has attained cult status similar to Pete Seeger’s Guantaramera, that other iconic song replayed by artists as diverse as Joe dassin and Wyclef Jean.
Later, at the end of the 1990s, she put another world-class song, “Mota Benamaa”, deploring the situation of children suffering around the world. Her talents were celebrated at the Top D’Or 2005 in Abidjan, as she was voted one of the best African artists of all time.
She is featured on Manu Dibango’s “Manu Safari” album, and partnered with other talented artists like Tom Yoms on several hits. Some of her other songs, (some of which) now feature in an online “BEST OF BEBE MANGA” COMPILATION, are: Aloba, Bele Sombo, Djiya kamba, Alice Agbor, Esele mba, Jemea longo, Muna Muto, Eyiegele Ding and Zipte Men.
Bébé Manga Death
On 1 July 2011 Bébé Manga died on the way to hospital after suffering a heart attack at her home in Douala. She was 62. She was buried on 30 July 2011 in her family compound in Tinto, Upper Bayang sub-division of Manyu Division, Cameroon.
Bébé Manga Legacy
In the last two decades, Amio has been replayed dozens of times and in different languages by musicians in Europe, The Caribbean, Latin and North America, and Africa, among them André Astasié, Henri Salvador, star of the French song in 1982, Manu Dibango in 1993, Monique Seka, Nayanka Bell, Fred Paul, Passi and Bisso na Biso in 2000, Papa Wemba and Angelique Kidjo, Jacky Biho, Naima, along with African Connection with Denise and Bloco in 2004 (Summer Hit in France and Gold Plate Record) are among those prestigious artist who played, adapted and interpreted this Hit single and Bébé Manga again (in English).
Bébé Manga Albums
- Ami-Oyomiya (1982)
- Beko (1982)
- Djoudjou Dada (1982)
- Temps Futur (2000
Bébé Manga Photo
Bébé Manga
Bébé Manga News
One of Cameroon music icons, Elizabeth Prudence Bessem Manga, aka Bebe Manga, is no more. She died on Friday, July 1, in Douala, after suffering from a cardiac arrest at her Banamouang residence in Akwa- Nord quarter. According to Bebe Manga`s niece, Christie Ayuk, her aunt, who had been bustling with vivacity through out that morning, suddenly slummed and died in less than an hour.
Christie Ayuk, who was living with Bebe Manga, said she got up that fateful morning showing no sign of any malaise. She said they took breakfast together and were both chatting at about midday, when her aunt suddenly complained that she was having difficulties in breathing.
“Bebe Manga left the chair where she was sitting and lay on the floor. She asked for water, which I quickly served her. But no sooner did Bebe Manga drink the water than she started vomiting. Her situation degenerated so rapidly that I made phone calls to some family members and friends. Those who were in Douala rushed to the residence only to find her unconscious,” she recounted.
She was rushed to the nearby St Padre Pio Hospital but the medical personnel, who observed that her situation was so bad, advised that she be taken to the Laquintinie Hospital. But unknown to the family members and friends, she died before they got to the hospital. When they got to Laquintinie Hospital, doctors discovered that she had died. The corpse was then moved to the mortuary of the Laquintinie Hospital.
Family members confirmed that Bebe Manga had been a cardiac patient for a number of years. Bebe Manga was last seen on stage on Friday, June 24, 2011, at the grand ‘Soiree Republicaine’ that was organised in Douala by a group led by the Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, Dr Fritz Ntone Ntone.
Daughter Of A Headmaster
On July 2, The Post visited the Douala residence of Bebe Manga, where family members and sympathisers were still to come to terms with reality of her death. During the visit, Dr Mrs. Veronica Ebot Manga of the University of Buea, and Mrs. Jane Tarkang of the Prime Minister`s Office in Yaounde, who are both close family members to the deceased, talked to The Post about the life of Bebe Manga, whom they all referred to as mother.
Born on November 27, 1948, Bebe Manga hailed from Tinto in Upper Bayang Sub-division in Manyu Division, Southwest Region. She was the last of four children to her mother. Only she and one of her brothers, E. E. Manga, survived, as the two other children passed away while still in their infancy. Her father was a teacher and later served for many years as a Headmaster in the present Southwest and Northwest Regions.
After completing primary school, then known as N.A. (Native Authority) School, Bebe Manga got married, and later moved with her husband to the United States, where she did Secretariat studies. But when Bebe Manga and her husband later retuned to Cameroon, their marriage hit the rocks, as they divorced.
Rich Music Career
Meanwhile, Bebe Manga reportedly had the flare for music from birth, and was a prominent member of her school and church choir groups, wherever she went. But it was after her divorce that she started making inroads into professional music in 1972 in Douala. It was also then she adopted the name Bebe Manga, and also added Prudence to her official name.
From Douala, her professional music career took her to Gabon where she settled for a while. She also later briefly lived in Ivory Coast and then France, as well as in the United States. But she would later return to Ivory Coast where she lived for quite a number of years. She released some of her greatest records while in Ivory Coast.
Following the death, in 1990, of her brother, Chief E.E. Manga (an architect) who was based in Limbe, Bebe Manga decided to return and settle in the country. She settled in Douala, where she quickly established herself in the top class of artists in Cameroon music. She released a number of records, and sang some in duos with artists like Ebanda Manfred and Tom Yoms (of blessed memory).
She sang in English, French, Douala as well as her native Ejagham. She won several awards, including an international award which she was presented in Gabon and another one in Ivory Coast. One of her most popular record is ‘Amio’, which she sang with Ebanda Manfred many years ago.
Bebe Manga was 1st vice President of the Board of Directors of the Cameroon Music Corporation, CMC, when Sam Mbede was President. Due to her greatness in the Cameroon music scene, and probably also to her artistic name many people took her for a Douala woman. However, observers are unanimous that Bebe Manga is the most prominent artist from West of the Mungo during 50 years of Camerooon`s independence.
Soft Spot For Children
While she did not have a biological child, The Post learnt she had a soft spot for children. She reportedly adopted over a dozen children from the Southwest and Northwest Regions. She also reportedly raised many children in her family.
Mrs Jane Tarkang, one of the family members that she raised, told The Post that “she had a heart of gold”. Bebe Manga reportedly lost the father in the early 80s, while her mother died in 2007. By press time, the family was yet to come up with a funeral programme.