| Zexie Manatsa’s Green Arrows band |
Zexie Manatsa rose from an infant guitar prodigy in Mhangura to become one of the first local musicians of significant stature.
In December 2006 the recently resuscitated Zimbabwe Music Awards paid homage to the grand patriarch of mainstream local music with the inaugural Cheuka Shure/Bheka Emva trophy.
During the presentation ceremony, an urban grooves duo ushered the crowd back to 1974, with their rendition of Manatsa’s first major hit “Chipo Chiroorwa“.
“Chipo Chiroorwa” has exclusive credit in the country’s music annals as the first song by a black Zimbabwean to win a gold disc, having sold 25 000 copies back in the ’70s.
Speaking on the same occasion, Oliver Mtukudzi credited the Green Arrows frontman for mentoring him when he was still a showbiz rookie trying to find his feet in the industry.
The musicians’ relationship was to be further cemented by the marriage of their children Tendai Manatsa and Selmor Mtukudzi, whose chemistry blossomed during their mutual stint with Pax Afro.
From a banjo-strumming eight-year old in the mining town of Mhangura, Manatsa assembled an ambitious outfit featuring Jealousy Siyagwaja, Raphael Mboweni, Maxie Mabhena and his brothers Stanley and Keddies.
Manatsa and company proved to be a quiver of incisive arrows, when they scored a first with then Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation deejay Webster Shamu, who recorded their first studio jams.
They released their debut seven single featuring song “Shamwari Yangu Unonyeperei” and “Hama”.
Green Arrows caught the attention of South Africa’s Gallo Records scout West Nkosi.
Following the success of “Chipo Chiroorwa,” Manatsa insisted that he was not a passing fad as his subsequent hits, “Mwana Waenda” and “Musoro Wanzomba” went on to bag more gold discs for the bearded songster.
Humour and controversy was characteristic of Manatsa. He notoriously singled out white-garment sects for biting satire in tracks like “Vakaita Musangano” and “Tii Hobvu.” Another controversial track “Antonyo” impersonated an expatriate struggling to speak Shona.
Music critics of the time observed that Manatsa combined the humour of Safirio Madzikatire and the good music of Oliver Mtukudzi.
However, the most enduring parallel was his high-profile conversion both spiritually and musically to Christianity — the transition from Green Arrows to Gospel Arrows!
Leonard Zhakata, Culture T, Mr Bulk and Rutendo Muchirahondo, the original female third of 2BG, are some of the Zimbabwean crooners to experience similar theophanies.
Sadly, Manatsa’s subsequent offerings had a rather lukewarm reception. The Gospel Arrows’ last notable offering was “Mutungamiri Akanaka.” Charles Charamba has expressed his desire to do a duet with Manatsa but nothing has come out of the proposal so far.
The “Chivaraidze” hitmaker has hinted that he will still sing songs which do not offend God from his secular discography.
However, he has shelved erstwhile popular hits such as “Tipeiwo Ndege” and “Musango Mune Hangaiwa” because of insinuations to which ancestral worship are now incompatible with his beliefs.
Manatsa’s career had its rainy days.
Fate struck in September 1987 as Manatsa was driving from a show in Chitungwiza. The minibus which was carrying his instruments and band members rammed into the car he was travelling in.
Manatsa lapsed into a coma for six weeks while his uninsured instruments were all written off.
Manatsa later blamed his problems on his ancestors for saying he had brewed beer for them to invoke their blessing for his newly opened bottle store just a week before the accident.
When he regained fitness and stage composure, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe donated him instruments which were promptly seized by his creditors.
Manatsa became obsessive with the bottle and was at one time fined for stealing hair-dye worth a paltry $11. Bankrupt and destitute after the repossession of his house, Manatsa finally relocated to Bulawayo where he met the Lord.
“I was in the company of my wife, coming from a beer party, when we heard about a group of people singing about Mwari waEzekiel,” Manatsa recounted in one of his previous interviews.
“Jokingly, I said to my wife ‘Isu ndisu vana vaMwari waEzekiel vacho. Handei tinotora vasikana vari kuimba tivafundise kutamba chipisi dzemunyika.’
“But when we got to the congregation, I was surprised to hear the pastor say something about drowning and crying for help. And I remembered a day when I almost drowned while on holiday in Kariba.
“The sermon touched me and when he asked whether there were people who were ready to follow Jesus, my wife and I stood up,” Manatsa said. The 70-year-old Manatsa is still a pastor with ZAOGA and some of his children are now part of his Gospel Arrows.
He is married to his first love, Stella. Their marriage is not only distinguished by its longevity but also their legendary wedding before a capacity crowd at Rufaro Stadium which raised the couple $19 000 in 1979.