Google just nailed down the good will of an entire nation.

Miriam Makeba, or “Mama Africa” as she was fondly known would be 81 years old today, and Google have honoured her with today’s doodle.

An icon of South African musical prowess, and an important pop culture figurehead in the struggle against apartheid, Makeba’s citizenship and right of return was revoked by the apartheid government in 1959.

She returned to South Africa after South Africa made the successful transition to democratic governance in the early 1990s.

She passed away from a heart attack in November of 2008, following a performance in Italy.

You can’t get that kind of sentimental quality from Bing.