One of the most versatile and persistent Zimbabwean guitar bands has proved to be the Shona quartet, the Four Brothers, headed by drummer and vocalist Marshall Munhumumwe, a nephew of Zimbabwe's pop legend Thomas Mapfumo, though the two are practically the same age. Marshall's group had split off from the Great Sounds in 1977, and when they went into the studio to record a song, they had no name. "Since you are four," said the producer, "I will write Four Brothers." From there, the hits began to flow, blending rumba, Shona tradition and the fast jit style in a small group format based around blistering guitar interaction. After playing the WOMAD festival in England in 1988, they returned with their own equipment and have cranked through the long nights in Harare's "dancing bars" ever since. Sadly, Munhumunwe suffered a stroke in 1997 and has been unable to perform since. His protégé, Albert Ruwizhi, stepped in for the next three years, but died shortly after the band's 1999 UK tour. True survivors, the Four Brothers (now six strong) continue to perform, record and tour, and reportedly, they still deliver the sweet, fleet goods that made them stars in the first place.