Ghanaian Music Legend Ebo Taylor dies at 90
Ebo Taylor, the revered Ghanaian guitarist and composer whose innovative fusion of highlife, jazz, and funk shaped African music for decades, has died at 90.
A key architect of the highlife genre, Taylor’s career began in the 1950s. His studies in London in the 1960s led to a historic collaboration with a young Fela Kuti, seeding the sounds that would evolve into Afrobeat.
Returning to Ghana, he became a prolific producer and arranger for greats like Pat Thomas.
Despite his foundational role, wider global acclaim arrived late. “I think I’ve had my day, though it came much later,” he once remarked.
His rediscovery in the 2000s, driven by albums like Love & Death, introduced his work to new generations.
His music found further reach through samples in tracks by Usher, The Black Eyed Peas, and others.
The government of Ghana mourned the loss of a “colossus.” Remembered fondly as “Uncle Ebo,” producer Panji Anoff noted his egalitarian spirit: “He would sit with us, some nearly 50 years his junior, as though we were all peers.” Taylor’s legacy is etched into the very fabric of African popular music.
