Zimbabwe music star Oliver Mtukudzi dies in Harare at 66 Zimbabwean musician and world music star Oliver Mtukudzi dies in Harare at age 66

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A fellow musician confirms that one of Zimbabwe and Africa's most iconic musicians, Oliver Mtukudzi, has died at 66.

Albert Nyathi, a veteran Zimbabwean musician and poet, confirms Mtukudzi's death on Wednesday.

In a career that stretched from white minority-ruled Rhodesia to majority-ruled Zimbabwe, Mtukudzi produced a string of hits that spread his fame across Africa and eventually to an international audience.

Tuku, as he was widely known, avoided political controversy. The closest he came was with his song "Bvuma," which in the Shona language means "accept that you are old" and was taken as a message to longtime leader Robert Mugabe to retire.