| Birth Name: | Lance James Liebenberg |
| Alias: | "Big Daddy" |
| Birth Date: | 18 July 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Germiston, South Africa |
| Death Place: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Genre: | Country |
| Occupation: | Singer, radio host |
| Website: | lancejames.co.za |
Lance James (18 July 1938 – 2 March 2020) was a South African country singer and radio broadcaster (Springbok Radio, 1954–1985). Some of his hits include Thank You, Vicki and Ahoy, Madagascar Ahoy !.[1] During Huisgenoot's 2009 Skouspel he (along with nine other singers) was honored for their lifelong contribution to Afrikaans and South African music.[2]
Lance James Liebenberg was born 1938 in Germiston on the East Rand of Johannesburg.[3] He married Valerie Mary Wilson and they had two children Chanel Liebenberg and Dionne Liebenberg.
He worked at the SABC on Springbok Radio from 1954 until 1985.[4] At the radio station, he was a presenter on two shows, Keep it Country on Sundays and Munt uit Musiek.[5]
An autobiography, Dankie by Francois van Oudtshoorn was published in 2015.[5] His final album came out in 2019, called Swan Song.[5]
Suffering from heart problems and other aged health issues, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital in 2020.[6] There he broke a hip and would later pass away from an infection after hip surgery, several weeks in hospital.[6] [7] He is survived by his two daughters Chanel and Dionne, three grandchildren Tyron, Declan and Lilly-Joy, son-in-law’s Glenn Floyd and Benjy Mudie, business partner Mara van der Burgh and partner Eunice Wait [7]
In 2019, he was honoured for his life work by Federasie van Afrikaanse Kulturvereniginge.[7] Other awards include a Beeld Award for contribution to Afrikaans music, a Solidarity Award, six Sarie Awards and several awards for "Best Album of the Year", and a Life Time Achievement Award.[8] On 26 January 2020, Lance was also inaugurated as a living legend in the South African Legends Museum. He was one of only 20 legends from whom a bust was also made.