Lance James - Long black limousine
Lance James Libenberg was born on 18 July 1938 in Germiston. He won his first talent competition at the age of 9 in Margate. After completing school at Parktown Boys High, he joined the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) as an assistant presenter. From 1959 to 1961 he lived in London, England, to promote his singing career, and was a member of a quartet called Group 1.
With his return to South Africa he frequently sang with the orchestras of Dan Hill, Sam Sklair, Ralph Baleson and Werner Krupski, and released his first 7” single, Hey Good Lookin', in 1963. In 1964 he again joined the SABC as music compiler and went on to become a very popular presenter. After releasing another two 7” singles, he joined up with Min Shaw in 1968 to release a duet album titled Bymekaar. They were very popular and in 1969 won a SARI award as Best Group. Lance also released his most popular song, Dankie, in 1969. In 1971 he made his debut as an actor when he played the leading role in die film Lindie, and in the same year his voice, together with that of Min Shaw, was used in the film Danie Bosman. Lance won 6 SARI awards in his career.
In the middle of the 1970s he became the presenter of the programme Keep It Country that was broadcast on Sunday evenings on SABC. It became so popular that he started arranging Country concerts with other popular artists such as Bobby Angel, Barbara Ray, Billy Forrest, Sally Vaughn, Joanna Field and others.
In 1981 he left the SABC to promote his music career on a full-time basis.
Lance was hospitalised on 15 January 2020 with heart problems but had a huge setback when he fell and broke his hip. After a hip replacement operation, he contracted infection and, although he spent several weeks in the intensive care unit, he never recovered. He passed away on 2 March 2020, aged 81. Up until his hospitalisation he still performed regularly and released his last album on CD as recently as 2019. Ironically it was titled Swansong.
Lance had 4 South African Top 20 hits:
1. Lance James – Dankie – 1970, #13, 6 weeks
2. Lance James – Vicki 1971, #4, 14 weeks
3. Lance James - What's your mama's name child – 1973, #17, 5 weeks
4. Barbara Ray & Lance James - After the fire is gone – 1977, #5, 16 weeks
This song was released on 7" single in 1982.