So Far... The Best of Sinéad O'Connor

Mandinka

"Mandinka" is a song by Sinéad O'Connor from her 1987 album The Lion and the Cobra. The video for "Mandinka" was shown heavily after debuting 24 January 1988 on 120 Minutes on MTV. The single was a mainstream pop hit in the UK, peaking at #17 in the singles chart, as well as her native Ireland. The single was a big college radio hit in the US. In 1988, O'Connor sang "Mandinka" on Late Night with David Letterman, in what was her first US network television appearance. Sinéad also sang the song live at the 1989 Grammy Awards. In an interview in The Tech, 12 April 1988, O'Connor said: "Mandinkas are an African tribe. They're mentioned in a book called Roots by Alex Haley, which is what the song is about. In order to understand it you must read the book." Released 1 December 1987 Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, CD single Recorded 1986-1987 Genre Pop rock Length 3:46 Label Chrysalis Writer(s) Sinéad O'Connor Producer(s) Sinéad O'Connor Kevin Mooney [Read more on Last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Sin%C3%A9ad+O%27Connor/_/Mandinka). User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

"Mandinka" is a song by Sinéad O'Connor from her 1987 album The Lion and the Cobra. The video for "Mandinka" was shown heavily after debuting 24 January 1988 on 120 Minutes on MTV. The single was a mainstream pop hit in the UK, peaking at #17 in the singles chart, as well as her native Ireland. The single was a big college radio hit in the US. In 1988, O'Connor sang "Mandinka" on Late Night with David Letterman, in what was her first US network television appearance. [Read more on Last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Sin%C3%A9ad+O%27Connor/_/Mandinka).