KSA AT 70: AN X-RAY OF THE MUSIC COLOSSUS

 

Come Thursday 22 September, this year, the music legend, Otunba Anthony Sunday Ishola Adeniyi Adegeye, known worldwide as King Sunny Ade, will be 70 years old. In the spate of five decades of his music career, this music monarch has established himself globally.

KSA was born on September 22, 1946 in Osogbo to the family of Pa Samuel Adeniyi Adegeye an Ondo Prince and Madam Mariam Adegeye.

In this special birthday anniversary write up, Femi Abulude, the Publisher goes down memory lane to celebrate his former boss. Abulude was employed by King Sunny Ade from Prime Publications Nigeria Limited as his Image maker in 1992. He became the band manager of the African Beats, the Administrative manager of KSA Holdings and the General Manager of SIGMA Disc Nigeria Limited. He was also the co-author of Hooked to music a book written on the music icon to mark his 50^th birthday in 1996.

GROWING UP:

I started my primary school at the African Primary School, Isale-Ijebu in Osogbo in 1954. I had to switch to Methodist Primary School, Isale Aro, also in Osogbo because of my interest in music. Methodist had a musical band then, courtesy of the Boys Brigade unit; 2^nd Osogbo unit they called it. I joined this club immediately and became a functional member as a drummer.

At school, I was rascally, but loved to read and wanted to know everything. I wanted to play football, play tennis, participate in athletics and even drive vehicles. I played for the school Team, was part of the school relay team, and was made the school prefect. I was noted for neatness.

As I grew older, my interest in music increased. At that early age, I loved dancing, real dancing. I also had this love for people playing instruments and whatever music they churned out. I always wanted to be part of them. I derived a lot of joy in dancing, and became a good dancer such that people appreciated and clapped whenever I danced.

Before I finished primary school, I have joined Sunday Ariyo’s band and later Idowu Owoeye’s band, both in Osogbo. Even as a student of Saint Charles Grammar School, Oshogbo, I was a full-time member of Idowu Owoeye’s band; it was with the band that event which turned me into a professional musician took place.

We were in Abeokuta for the coronation of Oba Gbadebo II as the Alake of Egba-Land. Coronations of such first class rulers were big event running into weeks, and we had thought that we would make enough money from Alake’s coronation. It was holiday time, so there was no cause for both my mother and the school authority to disallow me from embarking on the trip.

But we did not make money, and we were stranded in Abeokuta for more than three weeks. The lorry we hired left us in the town since we could not pay. It was a terrible experience. One of us, late Ayo Oyeleye told me of his intention to go to Lagos and joined Moses Olaiya’s band. He eventually left for Lagos, leaving us in Abeokuta.

As the youngest member of the band, my total share of our income in Abeokuta was three shillings. I had this on me and lived on crumbs from errands I ran for older members of the group. Now, with just three shillings, I could not go back to Osogbo.

I remembered Brother Oyeleye who has left us some two weeks earlier and must have been playing with Moses Olaiya’s Group.

Perhaps, if a got him in Lagos, I could raise enough money for my journey back to Osogbo. Therefore, I left for Lagos, after roaming the streets of Lagos from Cappa to Obalende back to Cappa, I later found an help who took me to  Odi-Oro where I saw the bill board of Moses Olaiya’s group.

The leader, Moses Olaiya, had gone to work at the Public Works Department, and I met Brother Oyeleye sleeping. He advised me not to go back to Osogbo and introduced me to Moses Olaiya who took me immediately like a son. I had no option than to join him, more for the way he treated me like his own son than any initial intention to stay in Lagos. At Osogbo the family was worried about me. My mother, expectedly, was down, terribly down over my whereabouts. What later served as a comfort was the lie I sent home that I had enrolled in school. It would be more disastrous to confess that I had become a full-time musician, an apprentice musician for that matter.

FORMATION OF HIS BAND

Very much against familiar stories about the formation of other musician groups, juju music groups in particular, the formation of my band was as peculiar as it was accidental.

My boss, Moses Olaiya, held another job at the Lagos Town council and was therefore, this particular day, unable to lead the band at its regular joint, the Palace Hotel, Breadfruit Street, Lagos where we played every Wednesday. Although I was very young in age compared to other members of the Moses Olaiya’s band, and was rather known on the Conga drums, the leadership fell on me that night.

It was a night of real surprise, accidental but very glorious surprise. Unknown to many of our fans, I had taught myself how to play the guitar, and was in fact very much on the brighter side. A rare opportunity, it was, therefore to play my heart out to the surprise of everybody. Chief Tunde Amuwo, the leader of the High Society Band, who was a close friend of my boss, Moses Olaiya was particularly impressed.

He was damn too amazed to hide his feelings and shouted; “So you can play guitar? I will tell your boss. You don’t mean it? So you can play like this? I have instruments, are you interested?

The following Wednesday, he saw me on my regular drums, the conga and he called my boss to inform him of his interest to provide his instruments for my use. After inspecting the instruments at the Westend Coliseum, Moses Olaiya said I should go and form my own band assuring me that “I will be a sort of monitor.”

I didn’t believe my boss and had to frantically explain to him of my innocence in the whole episode so as to erase any impression that I particularly went to Chief Amuwo for the instruments. But Olaiya was, and I believe he is still, a man of immense kindness, He gave me three months vacation from his band to research towards the formation of my group.

HOW I GOT MY BAND

I only knew of Tunde Michael Babalola my close friend, who was playing with another band. I invited him, and he also went in search of some friends but no luck. Anyway, I was able to get eight boys together. That marked the formation of Sunny Adex and his High Society Band, which later became Sunny Ade and his Green Spot band and much later to Sunny Ade and His African beats.

JUJU CROWN

The Sketch, Newspaper conducted an opinion poll in 1977 for people to say who their musician of the year was. I came top and it was the Alaafin of Oyo, His Royal Majesty. Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who crowned me as the king.

HONOURS AND AWARDS

KSA has been accorded several recognitions both here in Nigeria and abroad. His offices and home are adorned with various plagues, shields and chieftaincy memorabilia. Among these awards are: Grand Star of Nigerian music, KORA Award, Honorary doctorate awards, etc. KSA is also a holder of MFR: the highest national honours receive by any musician in Nigeria to date.

The affection team congratulates King Sunny Ade and wishes him many happy returns.