Music of the Gambia Music of the Gambia The music of the Gambia is closely linked musically with that of its neighbor, Senegal, which surrounds its inland frontiers completely. Among its prominent musicians is Foday Musa Suso. "Mbalax" is a widely known popular dance music of the Gambia and neighbouring Senegal. It fuses popular Western music and dance, with "sabar", the traditional drumming and dance music of the Wolof and Serer people. "For The Gambia Our Homeland", the national anthem of the Gambia, was composed by Jeremy Frederic Howe, based on the traditional Mandinka song ""Foday Kaba Dumbuya"", with words by Virginia Julia Howe,
The Gambia in World War II 1945. In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Gambia, the first visit by a sitting President of the United States to the African continent. The Colony-class light cruiser HMS Gambia, which saw active service during World War II, took its name from the colony. It maintained a connection with the Gambia throughout its service, and on 28 May 1943, called at Bathurst when it was en route to Cape Town. The Gambia is also home to Fajara War Cemetery, now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which contains 203 Commonwealth burials from World War II, four of which are