The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), Abraham Adjatey, has lauded the impact of late veteran musician, Nana Ampadu on the Ghana Music Industry.
According to the GHAMRO CEO, the veteran’s prominence, talent and prolific songwriting skills earned him the nickname “steel of the Highlife genre.”
Speaking on Hitz FM, on Tuesday, Agya Abraham, as he is popularly known, recalled that Nana Ampadu’s talent allowed him to open up to many other musicians he wrote great songs with and also paved the way for many other highlife greats of today.
“Indeed, between 1964 and 1968, he wrote very good songs for some of the greats and we all grew up thinking they were music that the greats did,” he added.
Agya Abraham said Nana Ampadu was seen as an enigma in the music industry because many people did not understand his creativity while others accused him of using voodoo to create music.
“He led the genre of highlife, he was this steel of the highlife genre. Kwame, you did well, he has done what others couldn’t do,” the GHAMRO CEO noted.
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He added that Nana Ampadu also helped grow the Musicians Union of Ghana and had a significant impact on the development of GHAMRO.
Agya Abraham said, “you know what Kwame Ampadu did with MUSIGA, his involvement in collections management in this country was way back in 1982.
“He was part of the agitation and he helped set up the Copyright Society of Ghana. Kwame Ampadu and 99 others went to court and that has brought us this far. Kwame has paid his dues.”
The Highlife legend, Nana Kwame Ampadu, reportedly passed on on Tuesday, September 28.
The 76-year-old, according to sources, died at the Legon hospital after he fell sick overnight. He was rushed to the emergency ward on Tuesday morning and died shortly.
The composer, guitarist and singer, who is a household name both in the country and abroad, hails from Obo-Kwahu in the Eastern Region.
The inventive, clever, talented, imaginative, witty singer formed his African Brothers band in 1963. One of the founding members was Senior Eddie Donkor.
Nana Kwame Ampadu shot into prominence in 1967 with his ‘Ebi te yie’ (some are living well) track which many said was politically motivated.
, Abraham Adjatey, has lauded the impact of late veteran musician, Nana Ampadu on the Ghana Music Industry.){kind=link}