Born into an impoverished South African family, Dolly Rathebe struggled free from poverty and found work as a singer. She was given a leading role in the film JIM COMES TO JO'BURG (1949) and after completing another film, THE MAGIC GARDEN (1952), focused on her singing career. Influenced by the bluesy jazz vocal style of singers like Ethel Waters and Ella Fitzgerald, Rathebe embarked on tours with the Manhattan Stars and the Harlem Swingsters, and, from 1954, spent several years as a principal with Alfred Herbert’s African Jazz and Variety Show. In the mid '60s, she retired to operate a Cape Town shebeen but returned to music in 1989, joining the Elite Swingsters and recording the excellent WOZA! (1991), and successful follow-ups, A CALL FOR PEACE (1995), and SIYA GIDA/WE DANCE (1990).