The indefatigable Highlife

A MAJOR reason why big band highlife held so much charm and attraction for audiences in those days was that the various outfits were seen as cohesive units where all the members each played crucial roles, even though singers became more popular  on account of their becoming the vehicles for projecting the bands.

For some strange reason, a majority of the pioneering band leaders  were trumpeters who also doubled on vocals – among them Sam Akpabot, Victor Olaiya, Chief Bill Friday, E.C. Arinze, Charles Iwegbue, Rex Jim Lawson, Roy Chicago, Eddy Okonta, Agu Norris, Zeal Onyia, Bala Miller, Satch Ayo of Sahara All Stars, Jos, Eric Onugha, Sunny Brown, Dan Satch Joseph. Chris Ajilo who was more famous for dance music than highlife however played the saxophone. Bobby Benson was a multi –instrumentalist and teacher who was proficient in all the instruments of the orchestra. The guitar became more convenient for him to play in later years.

The Ghanaian scene was slightly different where, even though E. T. Mensah led the way like Bobby Benson did in Nigeria, graduates of his Tempos Band   did not essentially lead their outfits on trumpets. Jerry Hansen of the Ramblers Dance Band, Spike Ayanko of the Melody Aces, King Bruce of the Black Beats, Rex Ofosu Martey of Ambassadors Band – all were saxophonist – band leaders. Other leaders of varying instruments were  Eddy Quansah, Sammy Obbot, trumpet; Adlib Young, trombone; Teddy Ossei of the Comets, George Lee of the Ghana Messengers, saxophones; Stan Plange, guitar; and Payne McFolson of Africana Rhythmiers, fiddle bass.

Some of these band leaders such as Rex Lawson and Roy Chicago were highly proficient vocalists who honed this talent to professional level, singing with feeling and identifying highlife with indigenous blues and the folkloric tradition. There was however, Adeolu Akinsanya, a band leader whose role was unique in that he did not play an instrument, but fronted the ensemble on vocals; he was also a prolific composer and lyricist who wrote for his own band as well as the public domain circuit where his works were used by musicians from almost all the social music genres including juju, fuji, apala, sakara and highlife among others. He bears a similarity with Ghana’s Oscar Moore who, though had no band, wrote for almost everybody in Ghana.

But there were musicians whose main preoccupation was to sing; and some of them like Dan Aquaye became prodigious and celebrated. Actually, just the way Emmannuel Tetteh Mensah’s Tempos Band   set the pace for big band highlfe in the early 50s, Dan Acquaye who was Mensah’s vocalist, blazed the trail with a distinctive style and a qualitative voice that invariably established a tradition for highlife, singing such early hits as School girl, Trovafe, Gyaesu among others. He influenced a whole generation of singers, among them Joe Mensah, Joss Aikins of Ghana and Tunde Osofisan, Exy Ohunta both of Nigeria.

Joss aikins sang for the Stargazers Band and various other artistes; he was more of a session artiste who became identified with most of the bands. Joe Mensah also sang for the Star gazers in Ghana but it was his stint in Nigeria with Chief Bill Friday’s Ambassador Downbeats that pushed him into the limelight. It was great fun listening to Joe Mensah at Tea Time Dance Sessions  held at ambassador Hotel in those days, especially when he sang such highlife classics as Ropopo and Bonsue.

Chief Bill Friday became so popular with Bonsue in those days that he was credited with original composition and performance, whereas he picked it up from Ghana in its obscure settting only to dress it up in beautiful highlife robes – and give it a popularly appealing treatment. And this was mainly through the vocal treatment of Joe Mensah. There were several versions of Bonsue in those days; almost all the bands including E.T. Mensah and Victor Olaiya had their own interpretations. But of all of them, Bill Friday’s version which was hailed as the greatest because it had a distinctive vocal delivery had a way of pushing audiences into dance party ecstasy. Little wonder, Friday really became furious when, at the University of Ibadan Havana Dance in 1962, Victor Olaiya, who was also on the bill first played his own version of Bonsue to preempt the high expectation of the students who were looking forward to savouring the experience of the song from Chief Bill Friday and Joe Mensah.

Mention, however needs to be made of Uhuru Professional Dance Band where, in the 60s, singers such as Charlotte Dada, a great female artiste, and Eddy Ntreh made considerable impact. Singing in big band context, Eddy Nteh made such songs as Ahoefe, Go Slow, Skin Pain and Born Throway among others popular.

In Nigeria, Tunde Osofisan had a brilliant career with Roy Chicago’s Rhythm Dandies where he became popular for such hits as Maria, Bosede, and Yoyo Gbe among others. Godwin Omabuwa sang with numerous bands including the Empire Rhythm Skies before he eventually formed his Cassanova Dandies. He was very well known for highlife and calypso. Even though of Ghanaian extraction, Nat Buckle made great impact as a singer in Nigeria the way Joe Mensah did: trumpeter and bandleader Eddy okonta was also a great singer, but Nat Buckle whose singing career reached its peak in his Star Aces outfit helped to boost the image and performing excellence of Eddy Okonta’s band, especially on the dancing floor of Paradise Hotel, Ibadan, now in Oyo state of Nigeria.

Stephen Osita Osadebe started out as a vocalist at Chief Kanu’s Empire Hotel, singing with several outfits most notably the one led by E.C. Arinze before Arinze relocated to Kakadu Hotel. Osadebe had a successful stint with the Central Dance Band led by trumpeter Eric Onugha at Central Hotel, Yaba. He also worked with the trumpeter and bandleader Zeal Onyia before establishing his own Sound Makers band in 1964, an outfit he leads till today.

The guitar was a fascinating instrument within the context of highlife, especially when it was played by a palm wine stylist with deep feeling. One of the early exponents of such guitar styling was Ghana’s Ebo Tailor who influenced almost every musician on the West African coast. Then came Stan Plange of Bill Friday’s Ambassador Downbeats, NBC Dance Orchestra and Uhuru Professional Dance Band. Ebo Taylor   thoroughly influenced Akani who became a guitar prodigy, a palm wine prodigy who set the pace for Olaiya’s early hits.

Apaipah Jay of Nigeria evoked palm wine chords with Adeolu Akinsanya’s Western Toppers in the beginning, but he later indulged in single notes for which he has a preference. On the other hand, ace broadcaster, Mike Enahoro was the pioneer guitarist with Roy Chicago’s Rhythm Dandies in 1961 – before his place was taken by Alaba Pedro who has become a virtuoso.

Victor Uwaifo was perhaps the first highlife band leader to play the guitar. Fred Coker was also on the scene even though he was more of a calypso man. All these guitarists among others provided chord progressions for highlife, entertained their numerous fans with chorded palm wine styles and generally stimulated charm and appeal with the instrument

The drums was a vehicle for emphasizing the rhythmic thrust of the ensemble sound, but the conga also played a crucial role in terms of providing entertainment in the process of  accentuating the band’s propulsive sound. Tony Odili, the late great Rex Lawson’s conga player was famous for providing long solo concessions. This same exponent who is still around performing with the David Bull’s Professional Seagulls, used to entertain the dance floor community even as he generated patterns that pulsated with great wit.

Also notable for its performance are names such as Easy Aka who played with Adeolu Akinsanya before his recruitment into the Koola Lobitos in 1965. Other prominent conga players are Friday Pozo, Chico, Ade Conga and Henry Kofi who in fact is arguably the greatest conga player of highlife and Afro beat. Henry Kofi had been on the scene the 50s playing with almost all the early highlife bands such as the ones led bt Tunde Amuwo and Bobby Benson. But his talent became rejuvenated in the early 70s with Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Africa 70 outfit.

Kofi’s conga can be heard on the Koola Lobitos repertoire, where his exploits are not just restricted to time – keeping with a regular rhythmic beat. Perhaps the busiest player on the entire music scene, Kofi’s conga would sing the melodies and punctuate arrangements, enact solos that articulate improvisations. Kofi used to steal the show sometimes from every other member of the band, including Fela himself – during international concerts.

Big band highlife put all the musicians on parade; and gave every musician the opportunity to prove his worth. And the trend not only inspired them, it also challenged their musicianship. 

• First published in The Guardian,  Friday, June 15, 2001