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King Sunny Adé was born on September 22, 1946, in Oshogbo, Nigeria. His real name is Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye. "King" refers to his position, "Sunny" comes from Sunday, and "Adé" comes from his family name Adegeye. He is one of the major contributors responsible for the internationalization of Juju music. It is impossible to overestimate his influence on the global and Nigerian music scene. From a young musician in Nigeria to a Grammy-nominated performer, his journey demonstrates a commitment to fusing traditional sounds with contemporary influences, leaving a legacy that inspires musicians everywhere. This article explores the life and legacy of King Sunny Ade.
Sunny was born into a royal family in Ondo State, Nigeria. Sunny Adé was a Yoruba Omoba(Oba is a pre-nominal honorific for kings in Yorubaland who was born in Osogbo) to a Nigerian royal family from Ondo and Akure. Maria Adegeye, his mother, was a trader, and his father played the organ in a church. However, in the Yoruba culture, royal family members were traditionally prohibited from performing music.
Sunny's passion was further fueled by his exposure to his father's gramophone at home. When he was five years old, he would follow vans that were selling goods because he was enthralled with the music that was playing on their megaphones. His father’s collection of records was quite diverse. So exposure to different kinds of music was there to fuel his creative expression. He recalled having records labeled as “GV”. He memorized songs without understanding their meanings. But as his family was not in support of his learning music he had to choose an alternative path to learn music. So he joined the Boys Brigade. Even though the Brigade's band played a variety of instruments, such as trumpets, bass drums, and snare drums, Sunny Ade was most captivated by the snare drum. He would follow the snare players through town from morning till evening, frequently without food or water during army parades.
He went to Saint Charles Grammar School, the Methodist School, and the African School in Osogbo. But in 1962, he moved to Lagos and Abeokuta to get out of family bindings to pursue his passion for music. Claiming to be on his way to the University of Lagos, Sunny Adé left grammar school in Ondo City to begin his musical career in Lagos. He started his career with the highlife group Federal Rhythm Dandies, led by Moses Olaiya. But he left the band.
King Sunny Adé founded his own band, the Green Spots, in 1966 after departing Moses Olaiya's Federal Rhythm Dandies. This choice marked the beginning of a revolution in Nigerian music. His single "Challenge Cup" sold over 500,000 copies in just two weeks in 1969. In an interview, he said,
“How do I make a hit record? I don’t know. And I said to myself “I will make a record to praise them because they won the Challenge Cup.” Before they can play another Challenge Cup, they are going to keep that Cup for the next two years. So when they immediately won the Cup, I just sent a record in praise of them. So all the fans have to buy the record. So that’s my first hit.”
Adé changed the band's name to African Beats between 1973 and 1974 because the cigarette company Green Spot wanted to use the group for marketing. Adé, who stayed away from smoking, decided to distance his band from the cigarette company and adopt a more Pan-African identity. He expressed,
“Cigarette company came to promote Green Spot cigarettes. And I don’t smoke. How will I promote a cigarette? So I intentionally changed the whole band name to the African Beats. And when the band broke off in 1985, then I changed to King Sunny Adé and his New African Beats.”
Over the years, Sunny Adé's band changed their name several times before settling on "Golden Mercury".
In 1982, Sunny Adé's band set out on a tour of Europe, and North and South America. Throughout the tour, he gained recognition for his dancing skills and guitar playing, which were influenced by Tunde Nightingale. He decided to do this in an attempt to stand out from other Juju practitioners.
King Sunny Adé became one of the first African musicians to receive substantial international recognition when he signed with Island Records in the early 1980s. His albums, Synchro System (1983) and Juju Music (1982) introduced juju music to audiences around the world. In 1984, he became the first Nigerian artist to be nominated for a Grammy for his album Synchro System.
He was influenced by I.K. Dairo and Tunde Nightingale.
“I.K. Dairo is more or less like a father to me. He is my role model, he is one of my greatest inspirations. He’s someone that I love so much and I have so much respect for him. Until when he was being laid down into the hole when he died, I didn’t believe he was a human being. I thought he was a saint. Because from the onset I loved his music and I appreciate his music so much. And that’s a part of my music you can hear – the maracas in my music, it’s there”.
But adding his own touch he said,
“I’d been playing with a group that plays like I.K. Dairo for years before I formed my band. And then I said “Where will I go? I want to find my own identity.” So I decided to copy Tunde Nightingale. So, nobody copies Nightingale… except me. Now, I said to myself, “If he’s playing open-chord, I have to find my own way. I don’t want to sound as a copycat.”
He became the first African to receive two Grammy nominations in 1988 with his collection of traditional Yoruba songs, Odu.
Using the Yoruba art of praise singing, Adé infused his lyrics with traditional wisdom and life lessons. King Sunny Adé has supported healthcare and education programs in Nigeria through his non-profit organization called the King Sunny Adé Foundation. His music preserves Yoruba culture while changing with time linking tradition and modernity.
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