Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.[1]
History
In Ghana in the 1950s, Teddy Osei (saxophone) and Sol Amarfio (drums) played in a highlife band called The Star Gazers. They left to form The Comets, with Osei's brother Mac Tontoh on trumpet, and scored a hit in West Africa with their 1958 song "Pete Pete." In 1962 Osei moved to London to study music on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government. In 1964 he formed Cat's Paw, an early "world music" band that combined highlife, rock and soul. In 1969 he persuaded Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, and Osibisa was born. Joining them in the first incarnation were Grenadian Spartacus R (bass); Trinidadian Robert Bailey (keyboard); Antiguan Wendell Richardson (lead guitar); and Nigerian Lasisi Amao (percussionist and tenor saxophone). Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, rock, Latin and R&B.
The band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to large audiences in Japan, Australia, India and Africa. During this time Ghanaians Darko Adams 'Potato' (died 1995) and Kiki Djan (died 2004) were also members of the band. In 1980 Osibisa performed at a special Zimbabwean independence celebration, and in 1983 were filmed onstage at the Marquee Club in London. Changes in the music industry however (punk and disco primarily) meant declining sales for the band, and a series of label changes resulted. The band returned to Ghana to set up a recording studio and theatre complex to help younger highlife musicians.[2] In the 1990s their music was widely anthologized in many collections, most of them paying no royalties whatsoever to the band.[3]
In 1996 Osei reformed the band, and many of their past releases began coming out on CD. The band remains active in 2009, although Osei has cut back his touring schedule due to the effects of a stroke.[4]
Many of Osibisa's works are highly danceable. A fair comparison would be to Earth, Wind, & Fire from the USA, but with a “world” flair. Both groups feature highly complicated and sophisticated dance music with Afro-Caribbean bass-drum grooves and dynamic horn charts (example: Ojah Awake), and both groups could be criticized as “insipid disco” on titles which seek a more commercial appeal (example: Dance the Body Music, Lets Do It).
The name Osibisa was described by the band members as meaning "criss cross rhythms that explode with happiness" but it actually comes from "osibisaba" the Fante word for highlife.[5][6] Their style influenced many of the emerging African musicians of the time.
Album Covers
Osibisa have had some very iconic album covers. The first two albums featured artwork (and logo) by famed progressive-rock artist Roger Dean (before he became famous for his artwork), depicting flying elephants which became the symbol for the band. The third album, Heads, features a cover by Mati Klarwein, famed for his covers for Santana (Abraxas) and Miles Davis (Bitches Brew). Osibirock features "Negro Attacked by a Jaguar" (1910) by Henri Rousseau. Playing on the original flying elephants theme, the Ultimate Collection set features elephants with tank turrets for heads. Roger Dean's logo for the band continues to be used on every release.
Musicians
- Saxophone — Teddy Osei
- Trumpet — Colin Graham
- Percussion, Congas — Kofi Ayivor, Nii Tagoe
- Drums — Sol Amarfio, KB
- Keyboards — Bessa Simons, Kwame Yeboah, Chris Jerome, Emmmanuel Rentzos
- Guitars — Kari Bannerman, Gregg Kofi Brown, Wendell Richardson
- Bass Guitar — Victor Mensah, Herman Asafo
- Vocals Gregg Kofi Brown, Teddy Osei, EmmanuelRentzos, Wendell Richeardson & all on BV's
- Tour Manager Mick Tresnan AKA Mick Tee
Discography
Albums
- 1971 - Osibisa - (Billboard Hot 200 # 55)
- 1971 - Woyaya (see note) - (Billboard # 66)
- 1972 - Heads - (Billboard # 125)
- 1973 - Best of Osibisa
- 1973 - Superfly TNT Soundtrack (Billboard # 159)
- 1973 - Happy Children
- 1974 - Osibirock (Billboard # 175)
- 1975 - Welcome Home (Billboard # 200)
- 1976 - Ojah Awake
- 1977 - Black Magic Night: Live at the Royal Festival Hall
- 1980 - Mystic Energy
- 1981 - African Flight
- 1983 - Unleashed
- 1989 - Movements
- 1992 - Africa We Go Go (unauthorised)
- 1992 - Uhuru (unauthorised)
- 1992 - The Warrior (unauthorised)
- 1992 - Ayiko Bia (unauthorised)
- 1992 - Jambo (unauthorised)
- 1992 - Gold
- 1992 - Criss Cross Rhythms
- 1994 - Celebration: The Best of Osibisa
- 1994 - The Very Best of Osibisa
- 1997 - Monsore
- 1997 - Hot Flashback Volume 1
- 1997 - Sunshine Day: The Very Best of Osibisa
- 1997 - The Ultimate Collection (2 CDs)
- 1998 - Live At Cropredy
- 1999 - The Best of Osibisa
- 2001 - Aka Kakra (Acoustic Live)
- 2001 - Best of V.1
- 2002 - Millennium Collection
- 2002 - Best of Osibisa
- 2003 - African Dawn, African Flight
- 2003 - Very Best of Osibisa
- 2004 - Wango Wango
- 2005 - Blue Black Night (Live) (2 CDs)
- 2008 - Selected Works
- 2008 - Sunshine Day: The Hits
- 2009 - Osee Yee
- 2009 - The Very Best of Osibisa
Note - Although the title of this album is conventionally spelled Woyaya, the actual title is Wכyaya (with a backwards-c)
Singles
- 1971 - "Music for Gong Gong"
- 1972 - "Wango Wango"
- 1972 - "Ana Bo 1"
- 1972 - "Move On"
- 1973 - "Prophets"
- 1973 - "Happy Children"
- 1974 - "Adwoa"
- 1974 - "Who's Got The Paper"
- 1975 - "The Warrior"
- 1975 - "Sunshine Day"
- 1976 - "Black Ant"
- 1976 - "Dance the Body Music"
- 1976 - "The Coffee Song"
- 1977 - "The Warrior"
- 1977 - "Black Out"
- 1978 - "Living Loving Feeling"
- 1980 - "Jumbo"
- 1980 - "Celebration"
- 1980 - "Oreba"
- 1980 - "I Feel Pata Pata"
- 1982 - "Move Your Body"
- 1985 - "Wooly Bully"
- 1996 - "Sunshine Day (radio edit)"
- 1997 - "Dance The Body Music"
Video
- 1983 - Warrior (VHS) (recorded 5 April 1983 at the Marquee Club, London)
- 2003 - Osibisa - Live (DVD Plus) (same show as above)
Literature
- Charles Aniagolu: Osibisa - Living In The State Of Happy Vibes And Criss Cross Rhythms. Victoria (CDN): Trafford Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1412021065.
- Brigitte Tast, Hans-Jürgen Tast „be bop - Die Wilhelmshöhe rockt. Disco und Konzerte in der Hölle" Verlag Gebrüder Gerstenberg GmbH & Co. KG, Hildesheim, ISBN 978-3-8067-8589-0.
References
External links
