Highlife was made in Ghana. Praise the Lord!
It is distinguishable from other genres of music with its peculiar jazzy horns, guitars, melodies, storytelling, and rhythms. The genre was borne out of a past filled with traditions. There are stories, fables, fabu around highlife. As I was enjoying my Star beer at the beach with Kofi Ayindoho, one person walked to me and said "Do you know the first person to play highlife was a fish who became a man?" "Yes", I said, "it was me!"
Local mores in Ghana tell us that the first "native" highlife band was formed by soldiers who had fought in the Second World War, redefining the sounds that they were exposed to. The name "highlife" itself was coined because the sound was played to elites, and back then, the poor people used to stay outside to listen to the bands. Kwame Nkrumah later adopted this genre of music as Ghana's official music.
Are you interested in the stories or the music?
To make my friends from Ghana so angry, I will start the Series in Nigeria. Next time, they will not demolish our embassy.
Legend has it that it was Wole Soyinka who composed "Taxi Driver", and Bobby Benson turned it into a great hit, one of the greatest moments in highlife story….to annoy our friends from Ghana by giving credit to their imitators!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu5Bav_ySW0
No comments:
Post a Comment