IT is sad to note that of late we have not heard much of Christmas carols being played on radio this festive period as was the case in the past.
With only one radio station in the days of Zambia Broadcasting Services (ZBS), the last weeks of December were always awash with songs and carols depicting the festive mood.
Leading among the happy songs was ‘Happy New year, Happy Christmas, tell your mother, Happy New Year, Happy Christmas’ which was done by Mable Mafuya, a South African singer and actress.
Mable was born in 1934 in Soweto, South Africa, as Nozipho Mabel Mafuya. Her ‘Happy New Year’ song became a regional hit which was played during festive periods.
The song simply has repeated catchy lyrics of ‘Happy New Year, Happy Christmas, Tell your mother Happy New Year, tell your papa Happy New Year, happppyyyyy!’
Locally, some broadcasters played Christmas songs like ‘Abadwa Mwana wa Yosefe’ (Joseph’s son is born) by the late Lazarus Tembo.
Radio’ being a medium of education, entertainment and information’ has a major role in setting the mood of any season.
This could be solemn, celebratory or any other event. It is with this regard that we feel Christmas carols are befitting for a time like now.
Ignoring to play carols of this season on radio, especially that we now have a good number of radio stations dotted across the country, is like denying listeners the much-needed information.
If radio can play songs about Chipolopolo on a weekend the Zambia soccer team is scheduled to play, what more with such an internationally-observed event?
One would have thought that some radio stations that wrongly played Christmas and New Year songs in the middle of the year could justifiably play those carols now.
Even Shoprite started playing Christmas carols and songs last month. Can’t radio stations do better though in the case of shop owners, Christmas has been highly commercialised?
Suffice to appreciate the greetings and compliments of the season messages most radio presenters have showered on their listeners.
We also received seasonal greetings from other voices who are usually behind the scenes and are never heard live on radio.
ICENGELO
We take it that Angel Mwasha’s Golden Oldies on Radio Icengelo presented every Thursday nights is back, if we go by last week when the programme was aired.
What sets Angel’s presentation is that he really goes deeper into olden times, playing songs from as far back as the 1960s and furnishes listeners with information behind the music.
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Whatever happened to a programme Diocesesion Youth Corner last Monday night, it sounded like recordings from a hollow place.
STANBIC JINGLE
You must have heard a Stanbic Bank jingle being played on most radio stations before the main news bulletins.
It is so melodious and resonates with the listeners immediately it comes on.
This sing-along jingle has all it takes for a mellow jingle every listener would want to hear played over and over again.
That is an example of another jingle that challenges local advertising agents to compose and produce quality jingles that make sense and arrest the listeners’ attention.
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Talking about advertisement jingles, there is one about a university running on some radio station, inviting enrolments, yet one can hardly hear the name of that university.
The voice over that particular advert literally swallows the name such that one cannot get it.
All that is left to be heard in that jingle is simply that the university is located on Makishi Road in Rhodes Park area in Lusaka.
Producing jingles calls for expertise in word play that includes rhyming, word repetition, catchy phrases and hypnotic lines. It explains why companies pay advertisers a lot of money to come up with catchy jingles.
Popular jingles include the ‘Papariyaba yubi’ jingle for the defunct Prudence Bank that resonated with listeners.
Some time back Lever Brothers marketed their product, Maggie Cube, with a jingle ‘shiteni Maggie cube, shiteni Maggie Cube. The jingle became part of Zambian folklore.
SUN FM
Following the death of Laban Kalunga, the ‘king’ of Kalindula music whose obituary ran in the print media, radio would have done well to simply dedicate even a 15-minute programme in his honour.
Acknowledgment, however, goes to the ‘Fisashi Mix’ radio presentation by Rowliv and Milton Chipuma who featured him live through the phone a few days before he died.
In that live interview, Kalunga explained his music odyssey, his compositions and concluded that interview by saying he was unwell.
It was a swan ‘song’ that bordered on someone having a premonition.
ZNBC Radio 4
Some listeners in Ndola on the Copperbelt who have not heard Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) radio must have stumbled on Radio 4 transmitted on 88.1 FM last week.
On this Sunday afternoon was Matimba Nkonje who played Zambian local tunes from back into time. He was as versatile on radio as he sounds on his sports programmes.
FALLS FM 90.1
On Radio Falls FM 90.1 from Livingstone airs a motivational presentation by Bernard Mwase every Tuesdays and Thursdays from 07:30 hours to 08:00 hours.
Dubbed ‘Climbing Higher’, the presentation is a well-packaged 30-minute oratory recommended for listeners of all ages.
MATTY P
A lot has been said and written about the fallen broadcaster Matteo Phiri, who died on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 and put to rest on Wednesday, December 22.
He can best be described in relation to broadcasting as one complete broadcaster who was knowledgeable, fluent and had an exceptional voice for the industry.
Stay tuned, don’t touch that dial! – jackmwewa@gmail.com   0955115777