Ghanaian highlife legend Ebo Taylor dead at 90

Taylor’s passing comes six years after he received the Music In Africa Honorary Award at the opening of the Music In Africa Conference for Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES) in Accra on 28 November 2019. He was honoured alongside fellow Ghanaian musician Bibie Brew. The award, presented by the Music In Africa Foundation, recognises musicians whose work has made a significant contribution to their national industries and to African music more broadly.

Tributes from artists and cultural figures followed news of his death. Former Sauti za Busara festival director Yusuf Mahmoud wrote on social media: “Africa has lost another musical giant. Sad to hear of yesterday's passing of Ebo Taylor from Ghana, age 90, who was Sauti za Busara's headline artist at the 2014 edition.”

Musician Rocky Dawuni described Taylor as “a great African music legend” and added: “We salute the works of this great teacher who has inspired generations and brought the heartbeat of Ghanaian highlife to the world.”

Singer Black Sherif said: “We lost a legend whose contribution to music has created worldwide ripples,” while Kye Kye Ku posted: “Thank you, Ebo Taylor. Exacly nine years ago in Paris. Condolences.”

Born Deroy Taylor in 1936, Ebo Taylor had a career spanning more than six decades. He was a central figure in the development of Ghanaian highlife, playing key roles in bands such as the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band in the late 1950s. His influence extended beyond Ghana in 1962, when he relocated to London with the Black Star Highlife Band and collaborated with a range of African musicians, including Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

Taylor also contributed to the careers of several prominent Ghanaian artists, producing musicians such as Pat Thomas and CK Mann. He later collaborated with Germany-based saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff on the album Love and Death. His music gained renewed international attention in the 2000s through sampling, including in 2009 when US singer Usher sampled Taylor’s track ‘Heaven’ for the song ‘She Don’t Know’, featuring Ludacris.

In recent years, Taylor’s recordings have continued to reach global audiences through samples used in hip-hop and R&B. Songs such as ‘Heaven’, ‘Odofo Nyi Akyiri Biara’ and ‘Love & Death’ have been sampled by artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Rowland, Jidenna, Vic Mensa and Rapsody, introducing his work to new generations of listeners.

Ebo Taylor is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Ghanaian music history, with a legacy that shaped highlife and connected African popular music to audiences around the world.