Kolo Kolola Song

About Embe Dodo - Zilizopendwa Them Mushrooms

Embe Dodo - Zilizopendwa : Them Mushrooms

The group was founded in 1969 as Avenida Success. The original line-up consisted of brothers Teddy Kalanda, Billy Sarro and two other members, Dennis Kalume Harrison (now deceased) and George Zirro Harrison who left the group for a solo career. Other musicians have joined the band to keep it going strong.

The band took their name from the mystical magic mushroom species, that grow wildly across the depths of Africa's rain forests. They are seen as East Africa's premier band.

This group rose to fame with a distinct blend of taarab and sega folk music, before taking to chakacha and spicing it up with rap and hip-hop beats.

Originally from Mombasa, this group played the beach hotel circuit until 1986, using classical coastal influences.

One of the most famous of their songs is 'Jambo Bwana' which is on the lips of every tourist who visits Kenya. Penned by Teddy Kalanda, the band leader, this song went on to sell 30,000 copies. Jambo Bwana, borrowed from a popular Kenyan folk song of the same name was an instant it in the 1980's