It's unusual for a band to have been around for as long as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and for me (and, I suspect, many people) to know next to nothing about them. I mean, this is a band that's been around since 1960 - 50 years! - in one form or another, and all I knew about them was that they're an African chorus that sang on Graceland. That's an awful shame.

I spoke with Albert Mazibuko, a member since 1969, to help straighten me out.

The band's lineup, as we know it today, was formed in 1964 by Joseph Shabalala. Why? It came to him in a dream. He'd been the bandleader of a choral group specializing in isicathamiya, traditional Zulu music. But the sounds he heard in his dream were these gorgeous harmonies that he'd never heard before. This spurned him on to reform the group as Ladysmith Black Mambazo and replicate the music of his dreams.

"Joseph came to me in mid-morning," says Mazibuko. "He wanted us to help him implement his dream, because he had been dreaming and he had a vision. ... He wanted to do something new."

With this new sound, the group quickly rose in popularity, eventually becoming one of Africa's most acclaimed and best-selling acts. Originally doing secular songs, Shabalala converted to Christianity in 1975, and from then on their music was religious and socially minded. In 1986, with their participation on Paul Simon's Graceland, not only did their fame spread to the rest of the world, but the record also flew in the face of apartheid.

In the years since that album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo's reach has only grown. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the group in 2002, as a masked gunman in the parking lot of a church murdered Joseph Shabalala's wife. Since then, rumors have been heard that Shabalala will soon retire.

"What [Shabalala] said to me is that he's training his sons to take over," says Mazibuko.

With Shabalala eventually leaving the group he started about 50 years ago, the change will definitely be felt. But the group's message of peace and love will remain - as will those beautiful harmonies.

[Pantages Theater, Friday, March 26, 7:30 p.m., pre-show lecture 6:30 p.m., $35-$59, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894]