05
May
May
Born Sunday Adeniyi, King Sunny Ade has been perfecting his Nigerian juju beats for decades. By now, he’s achieved legendary status: Some know him as the African Bob Marley.
The son of a church organist, Ade knew from a young age that music was his life’s passion. He left grammar school in the 1960s, started a band and hasn’t looked back since.
He’s played in many groups over the years and founded his own label; as a recording artist, he’s put out over more than 100 singles and LPs, and earned two Grammy nominations in the process.
Ade hit the height of his international popularity in the late ’80s, but he remains extremely popular in Nigeria.
With intertwining guitar lines, traditional talking drums and introspective lyrics, he’s in the midst of a comeback in the U.S. and Europe. He was recently inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame, and just brought part of his large ensemble along for a tour of North America.
This is The Story of King Sunny Adé and his Juju Music
Sunday Adeniyi (the real name of King Sunny Ade) was born on September 22, the year 1946, in Oshogbo, Nigeria.
The family he was born to belonged to the true Yoruba royalty.
This is the reason why the title “King” is not very far from the truth and real state of things. In addition to the title, Sunday soon received the name the “King of Juju” due to his musical talent.
Being still very young, Sunny Ade used to play highlife. This was a kind of urban dance music that appeared closer to the end of the 19th century. Later, it gained certain features of church music, sea shanties, military style of brass bands, and many authentic African traditions of singing and composing music.
At that time, this genre was at its peak of popularity among the population of Nigeria.
However, with time, his affection in music changed and he started playing juju. This genre developed in Nigeria around the 1920s. It was a kind of expressive music for the Yoruba working class of that time. Sunny Ade created a band of his own named the Green Spots in mid-1960s.
Before Sunny Ade there was I.K. Dairo who had already added some sound of the famous Yoruba percussion that’s known as talking drums.
These drums imitate the natural intonations and tones of the Yoruba language. Another incorporation of his was the specific vocal structure common to many sub-Saharan ethnic groups. This manner is called call-and-response.
…. To be continued….
Source: NTA and legit.ng
