Artist Bio:
Born Sunday Adéniyi, the son of a Methodist minister, King Sunny Adé left the religious path to pursue a musical career early on. KSA, as Nigerians know him, was just 17 when he eluded the expectations of his courtly family to pursue music playing in Lagos highlife bands. In 1964 he latched on to the juju craze, joining his first band, The Green Spots, in 1967. Following in the footsteps of his musical hero, the late I. K. Dairo, Adé formed his own band, the African Beats, in 1974. But he couldn't just imitate Dairo's sound, and soon went head to head with rival bandlead Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey.
Adé, with his percussive "synchro system," and Ebenezer, with his melodious "miliki" system, drove juju music to unprecedented heights as they competed to update the sound. Ebenezer introduced the three-guitar lineup and the trap drums; KSA overlaid a pedal steel guitar, and later synthesizers. But juju's core rested in percussion topped by eloquent talking drums, and in harmonized call-and-response vocals mixing Yoruba proverbs and Christian themes. Adé has a gentle, silky voice and diving, birdlike dance moves, which his four backup singers follow as part of the group's masterful stage choreography. With a tilt of his guitar, Adé damps his musicians down to a tap and a whisper, only to have them surge on cue with a rally of drums, shakers, bells and tangling guitars.
In 1982, Island Records, in search of a new Bob Marley, had signed Adé and with the help of French producer Martin Messonnier, produced his first international album, Juju Music. The album's lead track, "Jafunmi," became an instant classic, a juju anthem that Adé still plays in every show, despite having over 100 albums to select among. Messonnier didn't change Adé's sound, but he did encourage him to break his customary long strings of compositions into individual songs.
Two more Island albums appeared, Synchro System (1983) and Aura (1984). On Aura, Adé lengthened the songs some and pushed the grooves harder, enlisting ex-Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, and featuring an overdubbed harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder. That track, "Ase" hit the spot for many fledgling Afropop fans, but failed to produce the sales Island was looking for. When Island then wanted to make more drastic changes to Adé's sound, he balked.
The pressures of international success took its toll on Adé's band as well. As in so many African pop success stories, Adé's musicians wanted more money, and shortly before the Island deal fell apart, much of Adé's band jumped ship forcing him to regroup. At first, you could hear the difference, but within a few years, Adé once again staged a crack team of musicians. For the next decade, Adé kept touring, but recorded no new music for the international market. Two live releases appeared, notably 1986's Live Live Juju, a Seattle concert recording featuring Adé's boisterous, celebratory "Africa and America." As satisfying as these live sessions were, American juju fans began to wonder if they'd ever hear new studio work from the African Beats again.
In 1995, Adé found a sympathetic American manager, Andrew Frankel of Graviton. Adé signed with Mesa, and produced three excellent recordings. The first of the Mesa records, E Dide/Get Up, made it clear that Adé was going to play pure juju music, without any electronic gimmicks or hip-hop ambiance. By sticking to his guns and sitting out the world beat fusion trend, Adé has ended up on top in the difficult international pop game. More impressive still, back in Nigeria, he's survived and even managed to play a constructive role throughout one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Africa.
Adé has generally avoided politics throughout his career, but he has always provided a strong moral voice through his often religious lyrics. In 1997, Adé brought together 32 Nigerian musicians to record a record against ethnic violence called "The Way Forward."
Adé has also taken the lead in a struggle that affects his country's musicians in particular, rampant music piracy and the complete failure of radio and television entities to pay mechanical royalties to artists. As the head of Nigeria's musicians' union, Adé has led the charge to educate politicians and the public, and to pass legislation codifying the rights of the nation's musicians. – Banning Eyre, Courtesy Afropop Worldwide: www.afropop.org
