After the war he recorded a major hit called “Oriki Ilu Oke,” and his fame spread to Nigerian expatriate communities. Owoh fought for the Nigerian government against the country’s Biafran rebels. Owoh notched several hits in Nigeria in the 1960s, but his career was slowed between 19 by the country’s civil war.
Performing with several bands, Owoh realized that music in West Africa was developing in a new direction and started taking lessons on the electric guitar. Owoh played drums and sang with the Kola Ogunmola Theatre Group (one of the most prominent ensembles in the country) when Queen Elizabeth visited Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1956. Orlando Owoh left us with a musical legacy spanning over forty years and he became one of the leading proponents of highlife music with over 45 classic albums to his name, including many hit singles. He travelled far in the music world before his passing in 2008 and is remembered to this day even outside of his devoted Nigerian fans. His story, like that of many musicians, is a progressive journey in which we can see his choice in musical trends shaping in response to the events in his life.
Owoh combined this aesthetic with a traditionalist spin on things to make his own brand of excellent sound. It developed from a traditional Yoruba genre called “palm wine music”, overlaid with danceable guitar rhythms, and, in the hands of many musicians, it also contained a strong element of Trinidadian calypso.
Leading groups such as the Omimah Band and the Young Kenneries, Owoh remained popular even as Nigerian tastes shifted to the newer Juju and Fuji styles! Before this transition, the hot style in Nigeria and Ghana was called Highlife. Orlando Owoh enjoyed a durable popularity that has cut across generational lines in his home country and beyond. ORLANDO OWOH AND HIS YOUNG KENNERIES BAND’ (1977)Ī household name in Nigeria, Dr.
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