Sweet Mother

{{Short description|1976 song by Prince Nico Mbarga and Rocafil Jazz}}

{{For|the 2012 Brazilian film|Doce de Mãe}}

"Sweet Mother" is a highlife song by the Cameroonian and Nigerian singer Prince Nico Mbarga and his band Rocafil Jazz. Released in 1976, it remains one of the most popular songs in Africa.

The demo-tape of "Sweet Mother" was turned down by EMI in 1974, citing the song's "childish appeal." "Sweet Mother" was later also rejected by Decca Records and Philips Records, before it was eventually released in December, 1976, by Rogers All Stars, a Nigerian recording company based in Onitsha.[http://www.ngex.com/entertainment/pages/nicombarga.htm Prince Nico Mbarga: Profile][http://www.modernghana.com/news2/1975/4/tribute-to-nico-mbarga-of-sweet-mother.html Tribute to Nico Mbarga of Sweet Mother], ModernGhana.com 11 February 2008

The song is a celebration of motherhood, sung in Nigerian Pidgin English. The music is West African highlife, with Congolese Soukous-style guitar finger-picking.

"Sweet Mother" went on to become one of the most popular hits in Africa, selling between 3 and 13 million copies.{{cite web|url=https://www.narratively.com/p/his-biggest-hit-sold-more-copies-than-any-of-the-beatles-so-why-havent-you-heard-of-him|title=His Biggest Hit Sold More Copies Than Any of the Beatles’. So Why Haven’t You Heard of Him?|publisher=Narratively|date=June 25, 2017|access-date=September 14, 2023|first=Sami|last=Kent}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/26/music-extra|title=Music Extra: Sweet Mother|publisher=BBC|date=2017|access-date=September 14, 2023}} Sometimes called Africa's anthem, it was voted Africa's favourite song by BBC readers and listeners in 2004, coming before Brenda Fassie's "Vuli Ndlela", Fela Kuti's "Lady", Franco's "Mario" and Miriam Makeba's version of "Malaika,"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4137879.stm Sweet Mother is Africa's anthem], BBC, 31 December 2004 which is a South African classic, sung by Dorothy Masuka in the fifties.