King Sunny Ade

Real Name:
Sunday Adeniyi

Music Genre:
Afrojuju

Record Label:
I.R.S. Records

Date of birth:
22-09-1946

Age:
78

Nationality:
NIGERIA

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King Sunny Ade

Background
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Did you know?

A superstar in his native Nigeria since the late '60s, juju bandleader King Sunny Ade was hailed by American critics in 1982 as the next Bob Marley. While Ade, who sings in his native Yoruba tongue, never achieved that level of popularity in the U.S., he and his 20-piece African Beats band did whet American and European appetites for "world music." In addition, Ade helped open the door for other Afro-pop artists, among them fellow Nigerian juju stars Ebenezer Obey and Dele Abiodun, Zaire's Tabu Ley Rochereau and Papa Wemba, Senegal's Youssou N'Dour, South Africa's Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, and Madagascar's Rossy and Tarika Sammy.

Born into the royal family of Ondo, the youthful Ade horrified his parents by pursuing music, which was considered a profession for commoners. He dropped out of school in 1963 to join semipro bands in the capital of Lagos, playing juju, a popular Nigerian guitar music style since the '20s, which had been radically altered by the infusion of electric guitars and Western rock influences. Within a year Ade was a guitarist with a top juju outfit, Moses Olaiya's Rhythm Dandies. By 1967 he had formed his own band, the Green Spots (taking off on the name of longtime juju king I.K. Dairo's Blue Spots band), and recorded his first single, "Challenge Cup," which celebrated a local soccer team's championship and became a national hit.

By the early '70s Ade's Green Spots had grown into the African Beats, an orchestral ensemble with four or five vocalists, just as many guitarists, a Hawaiian guitarist (inspired by the pedal-steel heard on records by de's favorite country singer, Jim Reeves), keyboards or vibraphone (in the '80s, he added synthesizers), bass, trap drums, and a half-dozen or so percussionists, including the talking drum players so central to the distinctive juju sound. ("Talking drums" are small hand drums with variable pitch.) Ade's style of juju music is a gently hypnotic, polyrhythmic mesh of burbling guitars, sweet harmony vocals, swooping Hawaiian guitar, and throbbing talking drums.

By 1975 Ade was a certified superstar in his homeland; by decade's end, he'd released a half-dozen albums a year, selling around 200,000 copies of each. He set up his own Sunny Alade record label and Ariya nightclub in Lagos. The early '80s found Ade building a substantial European cult following, leading Island Records to sign him for both Europe and North America, where his influence had already been felt on such albums as Talking Heads' Remain in Light (1980) and King Crimson's Discipline (1981). Juju Music, featuring new recordings of tunes from Ade's vast repertoire, got universal rave reviews, as did his first of many U.S. tours; the album sold well enough to graze the bottom of the pop chart (#111, 1983). Synchro System, with a harder rhythmic edge and more prominent synthesizers, fared slightly better (#91, 1983), but when Aura failed to chart, despite a guest appearance by Stevie Wonder, Island dropped Ade. The African Beats then broke up, amidst dissension and claims of being underpaid (though Ade was reportedly losing money on tours, supporting his large band while playing undersized venues). Back in Lagos, Ade formed a new band, Golden Mercury, retaining his trademark sound and continuing to record and tour internationally, periodically returning to the U.S. Ade's 1995 album, E Dide (Get Up), was his first U.S. studio recording in a decade. It was followed by the Grammy-nominated 1998 release, Odu, and 2000's Seven Degrees North.

Did you know King Sunny Ade has appeared in three different Hollywood movies?

Did you know one of those movies include O.C. and Stiggs which cost an estimated $7,000,000 in budget?

Did you know born into the royal family of Ondo?

Discography

Synchro System

Released in 1990

Produced by Island Records
Juju Music

Released in 1991

Produced by Universal/Island Def Jam
E Dide (Get Up)

Released in 1995

Produced by Atlantic
Aura

Released in 1990

Produced by Mango
King Of Juju

Released in 2002

Produced by Wrasse
Ogun

Released in 1997

Produced by aVid
Best of the Classic Years

Released in 2003

Produced by Shanachie
Baba Mo Tunde

Released in 2010

Produced by MesaBluemoon
Ariya Special

Released in 1982

Produced by Sunny Alade
The Return of the Juju King

Released in 1987

Produced by Mercury
Live At The Hollywood Palace

Released in 1994

Produced by Capitol | Hemisphere
Seven Degrees North

Released in 2000

Produced by Mesa BlueMoon Recordings
Afai Bawon Ja

Released in 2012

Produced by Serengeti Records
Isele Yi Leju

Released in 2012

Produced by Serengeti Records
Odu

Released in 1998

Produced by Atlantic | Mesa Recordings
Gems From the Classic Years (1967-1974)

Released in 2007

Produced by Shanachie Entertainment
Get Up

Released in 1990

Produced by Atom Park
Sweet Banana

Released in 1986

Produced by Atom Park
Saviour

Released in 1985

Produced by Sunny Alade
"The Truth" Otito

Released in 1985

Produced by Sunny Alade
Vintage

Released in 1984

Produced by Imported Nigeria ?
My Dear test

Released in 1986

Produced by Atom Park
Jealousy

Released in 1987

Produced by Atom Park
Let Them Say

Released in 1987

Produced by Atom Park
Synchro System

Released in 19924

Produced by Island Records