Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg

Date: 27 Mar 1960
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg

Johannes Kerkorrel, talented Afrikaner musician and groundbreaking songwriter born in Johannesburg, on 27 March 1960. He started singing in the late 1980s while working for the conservative Afrikaner newspaper Rapport. He was later fired from the newspaper because of his political activism. Kerkorrel’s music was overtly critical of the apartheid government and, as a result, his albums were banned including Eet Kreef. On 12 November 2002 he committed suicide. His birth name was Ralph John Rabie. A film about his life, titled ‘Who killed Johannes Kerkorrel’ was released in 2011.

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How we know this

01Staff Reporter, (2011), Who Killed Johannes Kerkorrel?, from Mail & Guardian, 04 August [online], Available at https://mg.co.za [Accessed: 19 March 2013]
02South Africa, 'Dylan' of Afrikaans rock dies, from SouthAfrica.info, [online] Available at www.southafrica.info [Accessed: 20 March 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, March 20). Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095319

South African History Online (2013) 'Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg', South African History Online, 20 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095319 (Accessed: 21 September 2026).

South African History Online, Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095319, (accessed 21 September 2026).

"Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg." South African History Online, 20 Mar. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095319. Accessed 21 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "Johannes Kerkorrel, Afrikaans singer and songwriter, is born in Johannesburg." South African History Online. March 20, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095319.