Jonathan (Johnny) Clegg was born in June 1953 in the English town of Rochdale (near Manchester). With an upbringing that spanned periods in the UK, Israel, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Zambia and South Africa, Clegg became interested in Zulu street music and took part in traditional Zulu dance competitions. He combined his music with the study of anthropology (a subject which he also taught for a while at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg), and formed the first racially mixed South African band, Juluka (based on the Zulu word ofr ‘sweat’), with gardener and Zulu musician Sipho Mchunu. During the apartheid era, performances by racially mixed bands, although not forbidden, were frowned upon, so Juluka’s debut album “Universal Men” didn’t receive any airplay on the state owned SABC, but it did become a word-of-mouth hit. Whilst openly celebrating African culture in a bi-racial band, Juluka's music also produced songs with political slants - the album "Work for All" used mid 80’s South African trade union slogans. Juluka were able to tour in Europe, and had 2 platinum and 5 gold albums, but were disbanded in 1986, when Mchunu was asked by his father to return home and herd the family goats (although Mchunu made some solo recordings afterwards).

Clegg went on to form his second inter-racial band, Savuka (based on the Zulu word for ‘we have risen’/’we have awakened’), and continued the political slant, with 1987’s “Third World Child” album containing songs such as "Asimbonanga" ("We cannot see you"), which called for the release of Nelson Mandela, and also called out the names of 3 representative martyrs of the South African liberation struggle (Steve Biko, Victoria Mxenge, and Neil Aggett). “Third World Child” and next album “Shadow Man” (which sold 250 000 copies in it’s first week, and over 1 million in France alone) occupied 1st and 2nd position respectively in France, with “Shadow Man” also topping the charts in Montreal. Savuka’s last album, “Heat, Dust And Dreams” was nominated for a Grammy Award for best album in the category of World Music. Their song "Dela" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1997 film “George of the Jungle”, and "Great Heart" was both the end credits song for the 2000 Disney movie “Whispers: An Elephant's Tale”, and also the title song for the 1992 film “Jock of the Bushveld”.

Clegg reformed Juluka in the mid 90’s after briefly reuniting with Mchunu, and they toured throughout the world both as the opening act for King Sunny Ade, as well as headlining their own performances.

Clegg and his band often make an international tour during May-August (coinciding with the South African winter). In June 2004 Clegg toured North America for the first time in over 8 years, performing 22 concerts in 1 month, and despite having no albums for sale in North America during those 8 years, and with no significant media coverage, they filled most of their venues. Clegg returned to North America in July 2005 with dates booked throughout the US and Canada. The album “One Life” (remixed at Real World Studios in Bath, England) was released in the UK in October 2006.

Sometimes called Le Zoulou Blanc ("The White Zulu"), Johnny Clegg was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters) by the French Government in 1991. In 2004, he was voted 23rd in the SABC3's Great South Africans. In 2007, Clegg received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of the Witwatersrand.