{"id":55942,"date":"2026-04-13T14:10:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=55942"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:10:27","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignweekend-special-co-writer-melvyn-matthews-dies-at-67","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/13\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignweekend-special-co-writer-melvyn-matthews-dies-at-67\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Weekend Special\u2019 co-writer Melvyn Matthews dies at 67"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"mvp-content-main\">&#13;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_190440\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-190440\" class=\"wp-image-190440 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/%E2%80%98Weekend-Special-co-writer-Melvyn-Matthews-dies-at-67.jpg?resize=600%2C377&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/\u2018Weekend-Special-co-writer-Melvyn-Matthews-dies-at-67.jpg 600w, https:\/\/fakazanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Melvyn-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-190440\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Melvyn Matthews passes away<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The South African music industry is in mourning following the passing of veteran songwriter Melvyn Matthews, best known for co-writing Brenda Fassie\u2019s timeless hit Weekend Special.<\/p>\n<p>Matthews, affectionately known as \u201cMr Weekend Special,\u201d reportedly passed away on Saturday at the age of 67 at his home in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n<p>His death marks the loss of a creative force whose work helped shape the sound of South African pop music.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond Weekend Special, Matthews also contributed to other songs for Fassie, including Life Is Going On, further cementing his place in the country\u2019s musical history.<\/p>\n<p>He was also a member of CC Beat, a group that later evolved into Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels, adding to his wide-ranging impact in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>Tributes have begun pouring in, with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture honouring his legacy in a heartfelt message shared on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The department said, \u201cIt is with great sadness that I extend my deepest condolences on the passing of Melvyn Matthews, affectionately known as \u2018Mr Weekend Special\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Matthews remained active in the creative space, serving as an adjudicator for the Mzansi Golden Economy cultural funding programme, where he continued to support emerging talent.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of reporting, his family had not publicly confirmed the cause of death.<\/p>\n<p>Details regarding memorial and funeral arrangements are also yet to be announced.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 4 -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Weekend #Special #cowriter #Melvyn #Matthews #dies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; Melvyn Matthews passes away The South African music industry is in mourning following the passing of veteran songwriter Melvyn&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55944,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55942\/revisions\/55944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}