The Togolese singer Bella Bellow is a member of the “27 club” – the list of promising young musicians who died at that young age. Having recorded only thirteen songs, she perished in an auto accident in her home country in 1973. She made a strong impression, though, thanks to popular singles like “Rockia,” live performances, and a manager named Gérard Akueson (with whom she had broken ties before her death—possibly because she didn’t see herself as the next Miriam Makeba, as he evidently did).
The B-side of “Rockia” was called “Zelie,” a song about a child bride sung in Bellow’s native Kotokoli tongue, and she sang a version of this on the French TV show Discorama on June 1, 1969. This performance is truly angelic, capturing her essence—both visually and musically—as a future West African saint figure, backed only by two tuxedoed conga drummers and a guitarist, I assume, who is mimicking a kora. Her other performance on the show gives us a glimpse at these three players, and I wish I could somehow figure out what their names are.
Her two performances on the program can be found on the website for France’s National Audiovisual Institute (INA: Institut national de l’audiovisuel) at www.ina.fr, a rather incredible resource for other Discorama performances and much more.