News — African Musician

In 1939 during the Jim Crow era, baritone Clarence Fountain, bass Johnny Fields, baritone and guitarist George Scott, baritone Ollice Thomas, and tenor Velma Trayler, all elementary school students attending the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind and singing in its glee club, formed an ensemble, The Blind Boys of Alabama. All of the members were blind except for Fountain, who was visually impaired. They were first called the “Happyland Jubilee Singers.”

In addition, to their required basic academics at the Institute, they were taught to read Braille, make brooms, chairs, and shelves. During their early teens, in 1944, they left school and began singing and making money in local churches and community activities. However, they did not record until 1948, releasing their debut single, “I can see everybody’s mother but mine,” on the Veejay label.

In 1953, Blind Boys of Alabama signed a contract with Art Rupe’s California-based Specialty Records. However, the relationship dissolved after five years as they refusal to sing secular music. After leaving Specialty Records in 1957, the group briefly signed with a few small labels before joining the Chicago-based Vee-Jay label. The group recorded extensively for the Vee-Jay label, coming out with “Can I get a witness” in 1964. 

In 1982, they recorded the album I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord, with the Philadelphia producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. And the following year, 1983, they received national acclaim for their performance in the Off-Broadway stage production of Gospel at Colonus, a contemporary musical adaptation of the Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles but set in a black Pentecostal church. The production received two OBIE Awards and nominations for a Pulitzer Prize as well as a Tony Award. 

In 1992, the Blind Boys received their first Grammy nomination for the album Deep River.  A decade later, in 2001, The Blind Boys of Alabama released Spirit of the Century on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label and won the first of their Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album. In addition, they won consecutive Grammys for “Higher Ground” in 2002, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” in 2003, and “There Will Be a Light” (a collaboration with Ben Harper) in 2004 which peaked at #81 on Billboard 200 and was six weeks on the chart.

In 2014 the Blind Boys released Talkin’ Christmas, a collaboration with Taj Mahal. Three years later in 2017 the Blind Boys released Almost Home on the band’s own BBOA Records label in collaboration with Amazon Music.

Velma Trayler died in 1947 at 24, George Scott died in 2005 at the age of 75. Johnny Fields died in 2009 at 82; Clarence Fountain died in 2018. He was 88. Ollice Thomas died in 2020 at 94.

The Blind Boys of Alabama, one of the most extended ongoing gospel groups, remains active with new members and relevant with its gospel legacy extending into 21st century music.

The Ohio Players who first called themselves the Ohio Untouchables, was a pioneering vocal and instrumental funk ensemble out of Dayton, Ohio. Established in 1959, the group comprised its organizer, pianist/principal vocalist Walter Morrison, trumpeters Bruce Napier and Marvin Pierce, vocalist/bass player Marshall Jones, saxophonist/guitarist Clarence Satchell, percussionist Cornelius Johnson, trumpeter/trombonists Ralph Middlebrooks and Greg Webster, guitarist Leroy Bonner, Percussionist James Williams, guitarist Robert Ward, and pianist William Beck. When the group formed, they were all seasoned singers and musicians. Over their career all of them collaborated with the lyrics, arrangements, and orchestrating of their music.

For their first dozen years the band was not particularly successful. In 1968, for example, the Ohio Players released their version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The composition was arranged and performed with prominent elements of doo-wop and jazz and released on their album, Observation in Time, on the Capitol Records label. Critics praised the song and album, but it did not make the charts.

The Ohio Players finally made their mark in the 1970s with a series of hits beginning with the song, “Skin Tight,” which peaked at #11 in 1974 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1975, the group’s most successful record, “Fire” was released and peaked at #1 on the Billboard chart. That success allowed The Ohio Players to be nominated the Best R&B Vocal Performance by Duo, Group, or Chorus at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards in 1976 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Later in 1976, the Ohio Players released “Honey” on the Mercury Records label.  The song peaked at #3. Their next hit, “Love Rollercoaster” peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 chart and received the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) award certification platinum meaning it sold more than one million records.  None of subsequent releases were as successful. “Who’d She Coo?” (1976) peaked at #18, “Angel” (1977) peaked at #41, and “Everybody Up” (1978) finished out the decade by peaking #80.

In 1979, The Ohio Players encountered financial mistakes and professional conflict regarding disagreements for growth and development. They were unable to resolve their disputes and the ensemble disbanded in 1980.

Of the original Ohio Players, Clarence Satchell died at the age of 65 on December 30, 1995, Ralph Middlebrooks died on November 15, 1997, at the age of 78, Robert Ward died on December 25, 2008. He was 60. Cornelius Johnson died on February 1, 2009 at the age of 72. Leroy Bonner died of cancer on January 26, 2013, at age 69 and Marshall Jones died on May 27, 2016. He was 75. Walter “Junie” Morrison, the youngest member of the band, died on January 21, 2017 at the age of 62. Despite their brief success in the mid-1970s, the Ohio Players combined R&B, jazz, and funk to create a legacy that would influence numerous bands that followed them.

The O’Jays, an R&B ensemble from Canton, Ohio, was formed in 1958 by childhood friends Eddie Levert, who was born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1942 and moved to Canton at the age of 8, and Walter Williams, Sr. born in Canton in 1942.  They became best friends and a singing duet in 1958. The duo invited other schoolmates who could sing, William Powell, born in Canton in 1942; Bobby Massey, born in Canton in 1942; and Bill Isles, born in 1941 in McAntenville, North Carolina, also joined.  The five, all of whom attended McKinley High School in Canton, first called themselves the Triumphs but in a1960 they changed their name to the Mascots.

In 1961, The Mascots released a single, “Miracles,” on the Cincinnati-based King label. Their song was actively promoted by Eddie O’Jay, a popular disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio. As a tribute to him, they in 1963 rename themselves the O’Jays.

The group’s first chart hit was “Lonely Drifter” in 1963.  Two years later in 1965, they moved to Los Angeles, California and earned their first national R&B hit, “Lipstick Traces on a Cigarette, which peaked at # 28 on the R&B chart.  The next year, 1966, the group reached # 12 on the R&B chart with “Stand in for Love.”

Kenny Gamble & Leon A. Huff signed the O’Jays to their Philadelphia International label in 1972 and there they had their first and only million-selling single, “Back Stabbers” which reached #1 on the R&B chart and no. #3 pop on the US Billboard Hot 100 later that year.  In 1973, their hit “Love Train” followed, peaking at #9 on the R&B chart. Unusual for an R&B song, the lyrics of “Love Train” promoted global unity. While not as successful as “Back Stabbers,” it went gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. Many music critics considered it the birth of Philadelphia-style soul music.

The O’Jays received the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 1997. In 2001, the O’Jays’ For the Love album released earlier in the year, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album. Additionally, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Four years later, in 2009, BET awarded the group the Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2011 they received the Trumpet Lifetime Achievement Award. The O’Jays were inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2013, and in 2019, they receive the Soul Tracks Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2019, it was discovered that much of the O’Jays original music scores and recording documents were destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.

William Leonard Roberts II, also known as Rick Ross, is a rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Roberts was born on January 28, 1976, to William Leonard Roberts Sr. and Tommie Roberts in Clarksdale, Mississippi but the family relocated to Miami, Florida, when Ross was young. He attended Miami Carol City Senior High School graduating in 1994. He then attended Albany State University in Albany, Georgia, on a football scholarship before dropping out of college and taking a job in the local construction industry.

In 2000, Roberts’s music career began when he signed with Suave House Records and adopted the rap name, Teflon Don. He made an appearance on Eric Sermon’s 2000 rap album, Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis. Roberts later signed with Slip N Slide Records. In 2006, Roberts released his debut album, Port of Miami that feature hit songs like “Hustlin” and “Push It.” The album was certified platinum, selling over million units. In 2008, Roberts released his second album, Trilla, featuring the singles “Speedin,” “The Boss,” and “Here I Am.” The album would be certified gold, selling over 500,000 units.  In 2009, he released his third album, Deeper Than Rap that features the singles “Mafia Music,” “Magnificent,” “All I Really Want,” and “Maybach Music 2.” That album was also certified.

In 2010, Roberts released Teflon Don with the singles “Super High,” “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast), and “Aston Martin Music.” That album also sold more than 500,000 units. Two years later he released his fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don’t featuring singles “Touch N’ You,” “So Sophisticated,” “Hold Me Back,” and “Diced Pineapples.” The album was certified gold, selling more than 500,000 units. 

Roberts released other albums including Mastermind (2014), Hood Billionare (2014), Black Market (2015), Rather Than You Me (2017), and Port of Miami 2 (2019).  In 2008, he launched his record label called Maybach Music Group, which signed Olubowale “Wale” Akintimehin, Robert “Meek Mill” Williams, Omari “Omarion” Grandberry, and Richard “Gunplay” Morales Jr. 

Despite his music success, Roberts was involved in several controversies, including rap feuds with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Adding to the controversy, Roberts had legal issues, including a lawsuit from former drug kingpin Ricky “Freeway Rick” Ross, who accused him of stealing his name. He also has a history of health problems that included seizures. On January 27, 2013, Roberts and his girlfriend were targets of a drive-by shooting on his 37th birthday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They escaped uninjured. On March 2, 2018, Roberts suffered a heart attack after being found unresponsive at home in Miami, Florida. He was on life support for 48 hours but recovered. 

Despite the controversies, Roberts remains in the entertainment business as of 2021. Ross has four children including Toie Roberts, William Roberts III, Berkeley Hermes Roberts, and Billon Leonard Roberts. He was one time engaged to Lira “Galore” Mercer.

Pianist, composer, lyricist, “word doubling” singer William Larry Stewart II, known by his stage name, Billy Stewart, was born on March 24, 1937, in Freemen’s Hospital on the campus of Howard University, Washington, D.C. His parents were William Larry Stewart, Sr. and Idabel Stewart and he had three brothers, Frank, James, and Johnny. 

At the age of nine, Stewart played the piano. At 12, he began singing gospel with his three younger brothers. All of them were taught piano by the mother and they were known as “the Stewart Gospel Singers” under the direction of Idabel Steward. In 1955, Billy Steward graduated from Armstrong Technical High School, an all-black high school in then racially segregated Washington, D.C. 

The legendary guitarist Bo Diddley discovered Stewart’s gift and talent as a pianist in 1956 when he saw his performance with the R&B group, the Rainbows, and introduced him to Chicago-based Chess Records’ talent scouts. Stewart signed with Chess in 1956 and recorded his first song “Billy’s Blues,” with Diddley performing in the background on guitar. In 1957, however, Stewart left Chess for Okeh, another Chicago label. There he recorded “Billy’s Heartaches.” 

In the early 1960s, Stewart began working with A&R man Billy Davis where he recorded the songs “Fat Boy,” “Reap What You Sow,” and “Strange Feeling.” All three records made the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 in the R&B charts.

In 1960, Billy Stewart married Sarah B. Stewart and they were the parents of three children.

In 1965, Stewart returned to Chess Records where he created his unique word-doubling singing technique. He released the song, “I Do Love You” which reached # 6 on the R&B chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year he recorded “Sitting in the Park,” which hit #4 on the R&B chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1966, Stewart uniquely arranged one of the favorite arias from Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess, “Summertime.” Because of his strength in music theory, Stewart brought exceptional excitement to this composition by his extraordinary cadenza scatting skills. The recording reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than 700,000 records.

On January 17, 1970, less than three years after releasing his greatest hit., Stewart died when his brand-new Ford Thunderbird went off the road and plunged into the Neuse River in North Carolina. The cause of the accident was a dislocated or cracked thread of the left adjusting sleeve in the steering control area, creating this mechanical failure. Stewart was 32 at the time of his death.

In 1979, Ford Motor Company paid $500,000 to settle a suit filed by Stewart’s family. In 2002, thirty-two years after Billy Stewart’s death, in 2002, he was posthumously inducted into the Washington Area Music Association Hall of Fame.

Jamal Derek Jr. Francique, a 28-year-old father of two who was active in the Mississauga music scene, was gunned down by a Peel Regional Police officer on January 7, 2020. He died in hospital three days later.

Details of the circumstances surrounding Francique’s death are scant and contradictory. On the evening of January 7, plainclothes officers investigating drug activity at a housing complex on Winston Churchill Boulevard, south of Eglinton Avenue and Southampton Drive in Mississauga, Ontario, fired multiple shots into Francique’s vehicle while he was driving. The officers had intended to arrest Francique who was a “person of interest” but, as Constable Sarah Patten told reporters at the scene, Francique had allegedly driven towards the officers and so they opened fire on his car. According to supporters of the slain man’s family, Francique had been shot in the back of the head. A cellphone video taken by a nearby resident shows several Peel Regional Police officers gathered around Francique after he had been pulled out of his vehicle. An officer can be seen kicking the fatally wounded man while he lay on the ground.

Francique’s grieving family wants to know what happened. They do not understand why the investigation has taken so long or why it took eight police officers to arrest one man. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), a police watchdog that has been accused of holding a pro-police bias, issued a report on January 20, 2021, in which it said there were no reasonable grounds to charge the officer who shot Francique in front of his parents’ home. Knia Singh, the lawyer for the family, says the report contains major inconsistencies that demonstrate that the SIU does not conduct thorough and accurate investigations.

The story of Jamal Francique’s death might have remained unknown were it not for worldwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. The Peel Regional Police shooting of D’Andre Campbell in Brampton, Ontario, and the police intervention that resulted in the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto have sparked a growing concern in Canada about systemic racism and police brutality. On June 13, 2020, several hundred people attended a “Justice for Jamal” vigil in Mississauga to honor him and to shine a light on his case. Author-journalist Desmond Cole addressed the gathering: “Everywhere we look in this country, it’s the same story with police and Black and Indigenous people, and we are tired. But we are not defeated by any means.”

Conductor, clarinetist, and composer W. Rudolph Dunbar was born on November 26, 1907, in Nabaclis, Guyana. At the age of nine, his musical genius apparent, he was invited to serve as a clarinetist in the British Guiana Militia Band. After a brief apprenticeship for stellar young Afro-Guyanese and Portuguese-Guyanese musicians, Dunbar performed with the Band until he was 13 years old. Over the course of his career, he became the first black man to conduct orchestras in England, Germany, Poland, and Russia.

Nineteen-year-old Dunbar left his native Guyana for New York City in 1926 to enroll in the Institute of Musical Art, now called the Juilliard School. While studying at the Institute, he participated in the Harlem Renaissance’s music activities, working with leading composer William Grant Still. While working with other Renaissance musicians, Dunbar also developed as a Jazz musician.

After graduating from the Institute of Musical Art, in 1932 at the age of 24, Dunbar journeyed to Paris, France, where he continued to develop his musical craft as a soloist and arranger. He conducted ensembles and studied music composition and conducting at the University of Paris at the Sorbonne. In 1937, After six years in Paris, Dunbar continued his studies in Germany and Austria. He then moved to London, England to pursue opportunities as a composer and conductor. While in London he became involved in music journalism, writing a weekly column in London’s The Melody Maker. He later opened the Rudolph Dunbar School of Clarinet Playing in London and authored the music textbook, Treatise on Clarinet Playing (1939).

By the 1940s Dunbar was a sought-after composer and conductor. In 1942, he was invited to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra before an audience of 7,000 in the Royal Albert Hall, becoming the first black person to hold that honor. Three years later, while working as a war correspondent for the American 8th Army, he was invited by Berlin Philharmonic musical director Leo Brochard to conduct William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major, Afro-American for Allied soldiers in Germany. The concert took place in Allied-occupied Germany on April 12 during the final weeks of the Nazi regime. Dunbar also conducted French symphony orchestras in the late 1940s. In 1951, Dunbar was invited back to Guyana to conduct the British Guiana Militia Band. It was a huge celebration as he returned to lead the band that had first recognized his genius.

By 1962, Dunbar has conducted symphony orchestras and string ensembles throughout Europe, including Poland and the Soviet Union, making him the first Black conductor to enjoy this type of notoriety across that continent. In the USSR he led the Leningrad Philharmonic, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, and the Baku Philharmonic in Krasnodar, North Caucasus.

Dunbar was what would now be called Afrocentric in his approach. He always promoted and performed the music of Black composers. He also used his influence to highlight classical music pieces that honored African and Caribbean countries as they evolved from colonial rule to independence in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

W. Rudolph Dunbar died of cancer on June 10, 1988, in his home in London, England. He was 80 years old at the time of his death.

Nigerian Afrobeats star and Grammy Award-winner, Burna Boy has clocked the enviable title of the first African artiste to have at least three albums being streamed 100 million times each on the global audio streaming service platform Spotify.

This revelation was contained in a tweet by music curators Chart Data. Burna Boy’s last three albums, African Giant, Outside and Twice As Tall, have each received the 100-million mark appreciation from listeners. This makes the Nigerian, whose real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulum, the most sought-after Afrobeats star.

The record falls into a better perspective when Burna Boy’s works are compared to those of his compatriots among whom include Wizkid and Davido. The pair have also attained 100 million streams on at least one previous album. But together, Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido are currently Africa’s most recognizable musical acts globally.

Twice As Tall was awarded best global music album at this year’s Grammy Awards, and a lot of the praise went for Burna Boy’s mother and manager, Bose Ogulu.

Ogulu was named as one of the 2021 International Power Players by Billboard. Billboard’s International Power Players list recognizes industry leaders nominated by their companies and peers and selected by Billboard’s editors, with primary responsibility outside the United States, Billboard said. Honorees included label executives, music publishers, independent entrepreneurs, artist managers and concert promoters.

Ogulu, also known as Mama Burna, was recognized for her work amid the 2020 pandemic, when she co-executive-produced, released and promoted the Twice As Tall album for her Grammy award-winning son, Burna Boy, Billboard said.

Mama Burna herself comes from a proud family associated with music. Her father, Benson Idonije, was a popular radio host and Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti’s first band manager. Getting exposed to the music industry and the Nigerian art world at a young age, Ogulu was inspired to study languages. With a Bachelor of Arts in foreign languages and a Masters of Arts in translation from the University of Port Harcourt, she worked as a translator for the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce.