Very educational, to say the least. The Professor's style of conversational delivery makes the lesson quite riveting, and the host was fielding all the right questions as if he had a telepathic connection to us the audience. Just as the jollof story, the root is neither Ghana nor Nigeria, but rather Liberia and Sierra Leone. The crystallization, however, occurred in Ghana, and then shuttled back and forth primarily between Ghana and Nigeria during the phase of its critical evolution. This genre of music is, however, a collective subregional act, prominently among the anglophone elements of the panafrican ecowas area, touched by other transatlantic influences, such as the carribean and the US, and as well as an intra continental African significant source, the Congo! I am just recapping what I learned from the great presentation. Our Ewe speaking francophone neighbor to the East, Togo, especially its southern section, should not, however, have been left out. I believe this was not a conscious omission.
I loved every bit of this, bravo to both of you, learnt a lot from this knowledgeable professor. There is a massive problem of how we as a people treat our own heritage. We need to really look at ourselves critically and ask why we don’t love our traditions enough to hold in high esteem, preserve and even export it for funds investments. We really need to get our shit together, wise the fuck up before it’s too late!
Following up with my earlier comments, permit me to mention Bella Bellow, just as one great Hilife musician from Togo. Finally, while I am proudly and sincerely celebrating with Nigeria as the very tip of the African spear to have eventually put our indigenously brewed African music on the global center stage as the most dominant genre presently, may Ghana also get another opportunity to bask in the sunlight it so well deserves. I am proud of the likes of Burna boy who makes his accomplishments a panafrican feat for all. The average Nigerian, however, turns this beautiful moment for the contiguous plus Madagascar into a moment to project a form of vain superiority. This should not be the case. Long live the spirit and mindset of Kwame Nkrumah, Fela, Burna, Sarkodie and many more. May a window also open soon for Congo, South Africa, and for all other sections. It is our time to shine and shine even brighter through mutual support and active collaborations. Ps. Let's keep our music videos clean.
I agree that he possesses extensive knowledge about the origin and history of Ghanaian-style highlife music, which I greatly respect. One would expect that he would confine himself to this area of expertise. As he himself acknowledged, the term "highlife" is more descriptive of the lifestyle of a specific class of people during a particular time in history, characterized by their high-class lifestyle, rather than a definitive music classification. It was used to categorize a social group that danced to a fusion of local and Western music. However, when examining the genre of music that falls under the label of highlife, one realizes its vast and diverse structure and composition, making it better suited as a description of the music enjoyed by people in West Africa during a specific period in history. To speak honestly, highlife music cannot be confined to a particular social status, as it transcends such boundaries. It also cuts across age, geographical borders, and more. Unfortunately, Professor John Collins conducted most of his research on the history of highlife in Ghana without eyewitness accounts, relying instead on interviews with individuals who were supposed to have been present during the golden days of highlife music. It is a pity that he was not of age during the 1950s and 1960s, which are often referred to as the golden era of highlife. By the time he returned to Ghana in the 1970s, highlife music had undergone significant changes, especially in Nigeria due to the impact of the civil war. Regarding the issue of highlife's origins, it is entirely incorrect to claim that highlife music originated in Ghana, based on the aforementioned definition or description of highlife music. I do agree with him on the influence of the guitar picking style introduced by the Portuguese-Spanish sailor, the Liberian Krumen, from which our highlife guitar style derived. Professor Collins also mentioned that the sailors' influence did not end in Ghana; they brought it to various coastal regions like Lagos harbor, Warri, Sapele, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, and Calabar in Nigeria. Each of these regions, similar to Ghana, embraced and localized the Krumen guitar, resulting in their own unique genres of highlife music. The traditional Lagos highlife music, as played by Julius O. Araba or Tunde Nightingale, differs from what Crossdale plays in Ondo or the Eastern Nigerian highlife musicians like Sir Warrior or Celestine Ukwu. Highlife music is strongly influenced by folklore, which explains why Sir Victor Uwaifo's music or Rex Lawson's has a distinct sound. The West African Volunteers Front, stationed in five different locations in Nigeria and two in Ghana, also had a significant influence on the use of brass instruments in highlife music. Group vocal harmony arrangements, deeply rooted in church music, are a common harmonic style in Ghanaian highlife music. Consequently, the vocal harmony style in Ghanaian highlife music is largely derived from the harmonic structure of Methodist church music. However, this does not apply to Nigerian highlife, which draws more from folk traditions and utilizes percussive instruments. Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson's drumming, percussion, and beats, for example, are often based on the Kalabari Akaso worshippers' rhythms. Chief Inyang Henshaw and other musicians demonstrate similar influences. I encourage you to give it a listen. When discussing the influence of big bands and others, we cannot overlook the Cuban influence on highlife bands. We should remember Moses Simons' 1929 composition "El Manisero" (Peanut Vendor). While Bobby Benson is considered the father of big band music in Nigeria, E.T. Mensah holds that title in Ghana. According to the late elder Steve Rhodes, in an interview, he recounted E.T. Mensah's first visit to Nigeria as a band member. The band predominantly played ballroom dance music but included one or two tracks that the audience referred to as native airs, similar to what we call "Ashiko" in Nigeria or, in today's language, highlife. If anything, Nigeria influenced the arrangements of Ghanaian highlife music. Most leading highlife music bands had their music arranged for recording by Stan Plangue. Interestingly, Stan Plangue received his training in Nigeria from the late musicologist Fela Sowande. Professor John Collins focused his research solely on Ghana and attempted to apply his findings to the entire West Africa, which, in my opinion, is a significant error. Nigerian, Ghanaian, and other West African highlife music developed concurrently, each with its own indigenous folkloric culture and influences. According to the late musicologist Steve Rhodes, who was a trained scholar in Germany during the 1940s, highlife music did not originate in Nigeria from Ghana. Instead, the term "highlife" originated in Ghana, and we adopted it for our own music, such as Ashiko and other names we used to describe our music back then. I acknowledge Prof. John Collins as an authority on Ghanaian highlife music, and I believe he should leave it at that. Sincerely, Osezua Stephen-Imobhio
Thank you Efo Kafui and Prof. Collins. I am glad this video has been made. Good stuff, relevant and accessible documentation.
Prof. COLLINS is a national treasure trove of knowledge about music
I agree!
Very educational, to say the least. The Professor's style of conversational delivery makes the lesson quite riveting, and the host was fielding all the right questions as if he had a telepathic connection to us the audience. Just as the jollof story, the root is neither Ghana nor Nigeria, but rather Liberia and Sierra Leone. The crystallization, however, occurred in Ghana, and then shuttled back and forth primarily between Ghana and Nigeria during the phase of its critical evolution. This genre of music is, however, a collective subregional act, prominently among the anglophone elements of the panafrican ecowas area, touched by other transatlantic influences, such as the carribean and the US, and as well as an intra continental African significant source, the Congo! I am just recapping what I learned from the great presentation. Our Ewe speaking francophone neighbor to the East, Togo, especially its southern section, should not, however, have been left out. I believe this was not a conscious omission.
Very knowledgeable Prof. Great memory.
I really enjoyed this. kudos Sirs
I loved every bit of this, bravo to both of you, learnt a lot from this knowledgeable professor. There is a massive problem of how we as a people treat our own heritage. We need to really look at ourselves critically and ask why we don’t love our traditions enough to hold in high esteem, preserve and even export it for funds investments. We really need to get our shit together, wise the fuck up before it’s too late!
Following up with my earlier comments, permit me to mention Bella Bellow, just as one great Hilife musician from Togo.
Finally, while I am proudly and sincerely celebrating with Nigeria as the very tip of the African spear to have eventually put our indigenously brewed African music on the global center stage as the most dominant genre presently, may Ghana also get another opportunity to bask in the sunlight it so well deserves. I am proud of the likes of Burna boy who makes his accomplishments a panafrican feat for all. The average Nigerian, however, turns this beautiful moment for the contiguous plus Madagascar into a moment to project a form of vain superiority. This should not be the case. Long live the spirit and mindset of Kwame Nkrumah, Fela, Burna, Sarkodie and many more. May a window also open soon for Congo, South Africa, and for all other sections. It is our time to shine and shine even brighter through mutual support and active collaborations.
Ps. Let's keep our music videos clean.
That’s my professor!!!
This is goos, please give us more, Kafui and Prof Collins mo ye bue.
Very educative
Thank you
Great interview, medaase paa
I agree that he possesses extensive knowledge about the origin and history of Ghanaian-style highlife music, which I greatly respect. One would expect that he would confine himself to this area of expertise.
As he himself acknowledged, the term "highlife" is more descriptive of the lifestyle of a specific class of people during a particular time in history, characterized by their high-class lifestyle, rather than a definitive music classification. It was used to categorize a social group that danced to a fusion of local and Western music.
However, when examining the genre of music that falls under the label of highlife, one realizes its vast and diverse structure and composition, making it better suited as a description of the music enjoyed by people in West Africa during a specific period in history.
To speak honestly, highlife music cannot be confined to a particular social status, as it transcends such boundaries. It also cuts across age, geographical borders, and more.
Unfortunately, Professor John Collins conducted most of his research on the history of highlife in Ghana without eyewitness accounts, relying instead on interviews with individuals who were supposed to have been present during the golden days of highlife music. It is a pity that he was not of age during the 1950s and 1960s, which are often referred to as the golden era of highlife.
By the time he returned to Ghana in the 1970s, highlife music had undergone significant changes, especially in Nigeria due to the impact of the civil war.
Regarding the issue of highlife's origins, it is entirely incorrect to claim that highlife music originated in Ghana, based on the aforementioned definition or description of highlife music.
I do agree with him on the influence of the guitar picking style introduced by the Portuguese-Spanish sailor, the Liberian Krumen, from which our highlife guitar style derived. Professor Collins also mentioned that the sailors' influence did not end in Ghana; they brought it to various coastal regions like Lagos harbor, Warri, Sapele, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, and Calabar in Nigeria. Each of these regions, similar to Ghana, embraced and localized the Krumen guitar, resulting in their own unique genres of highlife music.
The traditional Lagos highlife music, as played by Julius O. Araba or Tunde Nightingale, differs from what Crossdale plays in Ondo or the Eastern Nigerian highlife musicians like Sir Warrior or Celestine Ukwu. Highlife music is strongly influenced by folklore, which explains why Sir Victor Uwaifo's music or Rex Lawson's has a distinct sound.
The West African Volunteers Front, stationed in five different locations in Nigeria and two in Ghana, also had a significant influence on the use of brass instruments in highlife music.
Group vocal harmony arrangements, deeply rooted in church music, are a common harmonic style in Ghanaian highlife music. Consequently, the vocal harmony style in Ghanaian highlife music is largely derived from the harmonic structure of Methodist church music. However, this does not apply to Nigerian highlife, which draws more from folk traditions and utilizes percussive instruments. Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson's drumming, percussion, and beats, for example, are often based on the Kalabari Akaso worshippers' rhythms. Chief Inyang Henshaw and other musicians demonstrate similar influences. I encourage you to give it a listen.
When discussing the influence of big bands and others, we cannot overlook the Cuban influence on highlife bands. We should remember Moses Simons' 1929 composition "El Manisero" (Peanut Vendor). While Bobby Benson is considered the father of big band music in Nigeria, E.T. Mensah holds that title in Ghana.
According to the late elder Steve Rhodes, in an interview, he recounted E.T. Mensah's first visit to Nigeria as a band member. The band predominantly played ballroom dance music but included one or two tracks that the audience referred to as native airs, similar to what we call "Ashiko" in Nigeria or, in today's language, highlife.
If anything, Nigeria influenced the arrangements of Ghanaian highlife music. Most leading highlife music bands had their music arranged for recording by Stan Plangue. Interestingly, Stan Plangue received his training in Nigeria from the late musicologist Fela Sowande.
Professor John Collins focused his research solely on Ghana and attempted to apply his findings to the entire West Africa, which, in my opinion, is a significant error.
Nigerian, Ghanaian, and other West African highlife music developed concurrently, each with its own indigenous folkloric culture and influences. According to the late musicologist Steve Rhodes, who was a trained scholar in Germany during the 1940s, highlife music did not originate in Nigeria from Ghana. Instead, the term "highlife" originated in Ghana, and we adopted it for our own music, such as Ashiko and other names we used to describe our music back then.
I acknowledge Prof. John Collins as an authority on Ghanaian highlife music, and I believe he should leave it at that.
Sincerely,
Osezua Stephen-Imobhio
Such a wonderful story teller. Learned a lot from this conversation. Thank you.
Interesting that GOSPEL opened up an avenue for Women singers/performers
Yes ooo
That comment about "cross-dressers" though!!!!!😂
what about igbo highlife
aKPE