THE adage: ‘Behind every successful man is a woman’ is befitting of musicians who have partnered their spouses, business-wise, especially in Zimbabwe.
In a world where the proliferation of prophets has seen wives taking a prominent role as ‘prophetesses’, it is not difficult to understand why several musicians in the country have taken the same route.
Take the Charambas for example.
Both Pastor Charles Charamba and his wife Olivia have worked and supported each other as gospel musicians to form the formidable duo that they are.
Since coming on the music scene as an ‘unknown couple’, the Charambas have continued to complement each other in their work.
The duo has not only set an example of a perfect couple on stage but have shown the advantages of couples working together.
Their work has produced good results and they have become favourites of many local and regional households.
The two combined their talent to come up with a much better gospel music product and their brand has grown locally and internationally.
Despite being silent for a number of years, with regards to album releases, the couple remains a firm favourite of many.
And they have now broken the silence with a double release.
Abba Father is the new nine-track release from Pastor Charamba while Mai Charamba’s Voice of Miriam carries eight tracks.
The albums were released and launched on the same day.
The Charambas previously collaborated on a 10-track album titled WeNazereta in 2014.
Another example of a couple that has done well working together in the cut-throat music industry is Charles Chipanga and wife Namatai Mubariki.
Chipanga recorded his first album in 1998 with the help of Albert Nyathi before joining Oliver Mtukudzi’s Black Spirits where he met his wife.
For nine years he was a member of the Black Spirits.
Together with his wife, Chipanga formed the band Chalenam and released a 10-track album Goodness in 2015.
Unfortunately for some musicians, working together did not strengthen their bonds.
Despite complementing each other and producing beautiful sounds, couples like Rockford Josphats, aka Rocqui, and the talented Pauline Gundidza ended up going their separate ways.
With astonishing talent, the two briefly worked together.
Rocqui’s exquisite composing, singing and dancing skills combined with Pauline’s great vocal capabilities to produce magic.
Songs like ‘Ndichakupa Nguva’ from the duo made waves on the charts.
Working together, the pair significantly contributed to the growth of the Urban Grooves genre.
The story of Rocqui and Pauline is similar to that of the late legends Andy Brown and Chiwoniso Maraire.
In 1996, Maraire joined The Storm fronted by Brown.
The Storm was one of the country’s biggest bands touring the world and bagging many awards.
Maraire and Brown were a splendid combination.
Both were massively talented, vocally and instrumentally.
Music brought them together.
They met, worked together, fell in love and were blessed with two daughters, Chengeto and the late Chiedza.
Chiwoniso featured on Andy Brown and the Storm albums that include Hondo Yesadza (2000) and Passage of Time (2003).
Their echo in the music industry will not be disappearing any time soon considering their music continues to impress even the young at heart.
It is music that has stood the test of time.
For sungura legend Nicholas ‘Madzibaba’ Zachariah, the music industry gave him the opportunity to meet his wife Margaret Gweshe.
Madzibaba is on record saying he met his better half in the music industry long back when she joined Khiama Boys as a dancer.
According to Madzibaba, though his wife retired from mainstream music, she remains one of his biggest advisers in the industry.
The prolific sungura artiste said some of his hits had his wife’s input.
Superstar Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi has also seen it prudent to have his partner playing a big role in his musical career.
The wife of the legend, Daisy Mtukudzi, went on to collaborate with her husband in the song ‘Haasi Masanga’ featured on the album Eheka! Nhai Yahwe.
While financial returns in the local music industry have not been impressive, many artistes who have worked with their spouses seem to have done well.
Maybe it is a case of two heads being better than one.