
During Ghana’s highlife explosion during the 1950s and ‘60s following wartime highlife pioneers like E.T. Mensah, Ebo Taylor made his name as a prolific composer, arranger and frontman leading two of Ghana’s greatest big bands – Stargazers and Broadway Dance Band. Moving to London to study music in 1962 alongside West African luminaries like Fela Kuti and Peter King, Taylor formed the Black Star Highlife Band and began incorporating jazz elements into traditional highlife forms.
Returning to Ghana, Taylor became an in-house arranger and producer for Dick Essilfie-Bondzie’s Essiebons label, working with other major Ghanaian stars like C.K. Mann and Pat Thomas. Through the ’70s, he then recorded a number of solo projects, exploring unique fusions and borrowing elements from regional Ghanaian folk music, Afrobeat, jazz, soul and funk.
This compilation revisits this heyday of Taylor’s work, focusing on his solo albums and some of his lesser known side projects including the dynamite Apagya Show Band and short-lived Taylor-led combos Assase Ase, Super Sounds Namba and The Pelikans. The selection also touches on his writing and production work for C.K. Mann and a collaboration recording with fellow member of early ‘70s nightclub band Blue Monks, Pat Thomas.
Tracks include the anthemic ’Heaven’, sampled by Usher on his hit with Ludacris, ’She Don’t Know’, the original version of the poignant ’Love And Death’ and the rare 15-minute nugget, ’Aba Yaa’. The package features rare photos, original album artwork and sleeve notes by Soundway Records’ Miles Cleret.
Track Listing
CD 1 ·
1 | EBO TAYLOR | HEAVEN |
2 | EBO TAYLOR | ATWER ABROBA |
3 | EBO TAYLOR | VICTORY |
4 | ASSASE ASE | OHIANI SUA EFIR |
5 | APAGYA SHOW BAND | KWAKU ANANSE |
6 | EBO TAYLOR | PEACE ON EARTH |
7 | EBO TAYLOR | ABA YAA |
8 | PAT THOMAS & EBO TAYLOR | ENE NYAME NAM !A! MENSURO |
CD 2 ·
1 | APAGYA SHOW BAND | TAMFO NYI EKYIR |
2 | EBO TAYLOR | LOVE AND DEATH |
3 | EBO TAYLOR | OHYE ATAR GYAN |
4 | SUPER SOUNDS NAMBA | YES INDEED |
5 | APAGYA SHOW BAND | MUMUDE |
6 | EBO TAYLOR | WHAT IS LIFE |
7 | C.K. MANN BIG BAND | ETUEI |
8 | EBO TAYLOR & THE PELIKANS | EGYA EDU |
Other Releases from this Artist

Love and Death

Appia Kwa Bridge
Artwork
Listen
links
infos
new releases

TONY ALLEN & JEFF MILLS

Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas
Disco Highlife Reedit

BANTOU MENTALE
No romance

Tony Allen & Africa 70
Disco Afro Reedit

Afrobeat Makers
Vol 3

Meta Meta
MM3

Pat Thomas
Coming Home

Afro-Haitian
Experimental Orchestra

Pat Thomas
& Kwashibu Area Brand

Tony Allen
Film Of Life

Ebo Taylor
Life Stories

Tony Allen
Homecooking Reissue

Ebo Taylor
Love And Death

Ebo Taylor
Appia Kwa Bridge

Meta Meta
Metal Metal
