Charisma (6)

Charisma were a group of South African session musicians under the leadership of, one of the countries leading producers, Graeme Beggs. The song spent 12 weeks at the top of the the Springbok charts, the most by a South African band. Only Johnny Nash's " I Can See Clearly Now" had spent more time at number one. ‘Mammy Blue’ was originally a French song written by Hubert Giraud and was a minor hit in the US for the Pop Tops in 1971 (peaking at number 57) and later in 1973 The Stories took it to number 50. It has also recorded by Roger Whittaker, Dennis East, Ken Boothe and in more recent times, Steve Hofmeyr and Kurt Darren. The song hinges around the chorus of ‘Oh mammy, oh mammy…’ and is a relaxed, almost mystic song. The chorus featuring the female vocals of Stevie van Kerken sort of swirls around in the clouds with Paddy Powell’s vocals floating over the top of them.