These are some of the biggest Nigerian funk and pop songs of the 1970s, '80s and 1990s. You can add more songs to the list.
Yinusa Akinibosun (Professor Y.S.) later played the saxophone in Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's bands.
naptu2: Don't want no money! Don't want no cigarette! All I need is my love!
Dan dan da dan dan dan dan.
naptu2: Just listen to the bass, drums and horns. 1970s Nigerian funk.
Professor Y.S. & his B.B. Band - One Early Morning
naptu2: Title: One Early Morning. Performed by: Prof Y.S. & his B.B. Band. Written by: Prof. Yinusa Akinnibosun. Label: Decca Year: 1969 Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single
naptu2: Before we go to today's featured artist, I have an incredible and irresistible urge to post this again.
This is my entire childhood
Come dance with me!
Prof Y.S. & His B.B. Band - One Early Morning (1969).
naptu2: How can I not post this epic Nigerian song?
I searched for this song for decades before I found it again and now that I've found it I'm never letting it go.
Prof Y.S. & His B.B. Band - One Early Morning (1969).
Bro, I saw your earlier post, but your question took me on a journey that was sometimes frustrating. I'll tell you what happened.
I recognised the lyrics as soon as I saw your question (I knew that I had heard the song), but I couldn't remember the melody. It was so frustrating! I kept searching my mind, trying to remember where I had heard those words.
Then I remembered the melody yesterday night and it occurred to me that the song has been done more than once. There's a 1970s version and a 1990s version, but I couldn't remember the name of the song or who sang it. I wasted a lot of time because I wrongly believed that the 1970s version was done by Ofege.
Now I've found the '70s version. I'm hoping that someone will hear this and remember the name of the person that covered it in the '90s.
naptu2: I remember when we had a reunion (in 2008 or 2009). This song came on and there was a 70 year old man who couldn't control himself anymore. He just had to dance.
CHECK OUT THE RHYTHM ON THIS SONG! I haven't even gotten to the excellent guitar playing, just check out the rhythm!
Now, for those of you that don't know, (1) these were secondary school kids. They were students at St Gregory's College when they released this track (2) This song was done in 1974. (3) They played the instruments themselves.
The school boy band from St Gregory's College that had massive hits that were popular across Africa
(Paul Alade, Melvin Ukachi, Dapo Olumide, M Ike Meme and featuring Berkly Jones). These (apart from Berkley Jones) were secondary school kids and they played all the instruments by themselves.
Ofege - Nobody Fails (1973)
naptu2: They were still in secondary school when they did this. It took over Nigeria. I repeat, they were still in secondary school (St Gregory's College, Ikoyi) when they released this album and it became a hit across Nigeria. They played the instruments on the track.
Paul Alade has died in the United States due to the coronavirus.
Dapo Olumide (keyboards) became a pilot and was the CEO of Virgin Nigeria. He later became the CEO of Ropeways Nigeria, the company that plans to build a cable car system in Lagos.
Some of the other members of the band were outside the country the last time I heard from them, but I can't remember what they are doing (I'll update this post as soon as I remember).
Most of their hits (Try And Love, Wizzy Ilabo, etc) are on Youtube.
OFEGE 'TRY AND LOVE’ (1973)
-> Back on vinyl officially for the first time since 1973 -> RARE Nigerian landmark Psy-funk album -> Comes with insert & liner notes -> Limited edition (500 copies with obi strip)
Available in record stores & with online retailers worldwide on October 5. Pre-orders are NOW available through Light In The Attic Records --> www.lightintheattic.net
naptu2: I HAVE FOUND IT!!! I HAVE FOUND IT!!! I HAVE FOUND IT!!!
This is a momentous occasion! It is an epoch making event! Wow!
This is the song that I have written about on this thread countless times. This is the song that I have been searching for! I couldn't remember its name and I couldn't remember if it was by Kris Okotie or Jide Obi, but this is the song! This is the song!
Unfortunately the video doesn't get to the end of the song, but I don't care. This is the song!
Kris Okotie - I'm Going Now (1979)
naptu2: ♪Ah! I came from far away now just to set my eyes on you. I felt the apprehension as soon as I was landing I knew something was wrong and I couldn't get my heart's desire
Ah! I came from far away now just to set my eyes on you. I know you made me cry once, no, even twice I knew something was wrong and I couldn't get my heart's desire
Ah! I came from far away now just to set my eyes on you. I felt the apprehension as soon as I was landing I knew something was wrong and I couldn't get my heart's desire
But I'm living my life now just to make you my own I'm leaving all these things just to do what you say I'll leave you with my love if you give me your love I'll give you everything now just to get my heart's desire
Ah! I came from far away now just to set my eyes on you. I felt the apprehension as soon as I was landing I knew something was wrong and I couldn't get my heart's desire
I'm going now, I'm going now, I'm going (Don't go oh oh) But my heart breaks♫
naptu2: I came from far away now just to set my eyes on you.
These were two of the biggest pop stars in Nigeria and, interestingly, they were roommates at the University of Nigeria (along with a third musician who I don't consider to be on their level).
I should do a versus series with their videos, but there aren't enough of their videos on YouTube.
I Need Someone is Chris Okotie's biggest hit, but, believe it or not, it's not on YouTube. I don't think it's his best song, but it was his biggest hit.
Kill Me With Love was Jide Obi's biggest hit and it is on YouTube. I don't think it was his best song, but it was his biggest hit.
So, I'm still going to post two of the biggest songs of 1981.
Unfortunately the record skips a couple of times in the first video (vinyl). The second song was also used in a beer advert in the early and mid '80s and I can almost picture the beer mugs dancing anytime I listen to the song.
Jide Obi - Kill Me With Love[i] (1981)
Kriss Okotie - [i]Fine Mama
naptu2: Nigerian boogie. There's another song (by Jide Obi) that should be with these two, but I can't remember the name of that song.
I can still see the Gold de Kanterbrau mugs dancing.
Do you remember Art Alade's interview on the Bala Miller Show? Do you remember that he said that they were taught to sing properly, so that the words that they were singing would be heard? Do you remember that he said that, "But now the boys they sing oinoinoino". I am sure that he was referring to these boys.
Art Alade said that the choir master would put a cane in their mouths to make sure that they opened their mouths properly, so that they did an O, so that the words would be heard clearly. That interview was done in 1983 and these were the biggest pop singers at that time and they usually mumbled some of their words.
I'm referring to Kris Okotie (Chris Okotie) and Jide Obi (Jideofor Obi).
I wish I had enough resources to do a versus series. I'm still searching for a particular song by Jide Obi, but I can't remember the title of the song. However, there's this:
(apologies in advance because the record skips a few times).
naptu2: It's kind of strange that Kris Okotie's biggest hits (except for Fine Mama) are not on YouTube, but a lot of his lesser songs are there. I would have thought that it'd be easier to find his major hits and more difficult to find the lesser songs.
naptu2: It's weird that there are so many videos of Kris Okotie's songs on YouTube, but his 2 biggest hits are not on YouTube. I have searched for more than 12 years and I have never found "I Need Someone" or "Goodbye Teacher" on YouTube.
This (below) is his biggest hit that's on YouTube.
This song will forever remind me of the Gold de Kanterbrau advert. I can still see the beer mugs dancing
Every morning c1981-1986, I always stopped at Kingsway Rendezvous on the corner of Broad Street and that other street (I can't remember its name) to buy 2 doughnuts and sometimes a meatpie.
Then, in 1986, Kingsway Rendezvous rebranded. It became Mr Biggs and this was the theme song of its first few adverts (just the instrumental, no singing).
Jide Obi - Front Page News (c1980)
naptu2: Do you remember that this was the song that was used in the first ever Mr Biggs advert?
Do you also know that he composed the theme tune of Tales By Moonlight?
naptu2: Can you believe that I have never ever posted it on this thread? This song was everywhere back in the day. It was one of the most popular songs in Nigeria. It was so popular that I didn't think that I needed to post it. I have posted all the other songs, but I have never posted it.
It's time to change that.
Check out the names of all the legends on the album sleeve below.
naptu2: I don't care what the original title of this song is, I'm going to call it by the name that I knew back then.
This song was a massive hit.
This is why you need to question what people tell you and not just believe anything you hear. You see, I knew that he was a Nigerian back then, but there was a time that I was trying to remember the song (late 1990s) and the person that I was with at the time said that he was Ghanaian and I just accepted it. Of course he is a Nigerian!
I gave my nephew a lift and I was listening to Classic FM in the car and this song came on and my nephew asked how they can say that they play the best songs when they are playing "Monkey come chop banana"?
naptu2: You see, he wasn't only a great musician and singer (as you can tell from Mother and Child), he was also a great producer.
She worked at the NTA in the early 1980s and she approached him to produce her album and he did. I think it was recorded in London, but I can't remember for sure.
naptu2: The moment I fell in love with Onyeka Onwenu.
I had the Everly Brothers version of this song (I believe that's the original) and I absolutely loved it. So, for anyone to make a cover version of the song that is as good as the original. . .that person must be really special.
So the NTA showed a competition that was staged in the UK (c1981) and an unknown Nigerian performed this song. I was blown away. In fact, I think I prefer the tempo and beat of Onyeka's version. That was Onyeka's first hit.
Unfortunately her version is not online (God bless Classic FM for playing it once in a while). Here's the Everly Brothers' version.
The Everly Brothers - Walk Right Back.
naptu2: There was a video clip that caught my attention in 1981 or 1982. It was of an incredibly beautiful young Nigerian woman in the UK. I think she had just won some kind of award and then she gave a performance. She sang the Everly Brothers' song, "Walk Right Back". It was beautiful. That video was shown many times on NTA 2 Channel 5 in 1982/1983. I have been looking for that video on YouTube since 2008.
I already loved the Everly Brothers and it was some feat for someone to perform that song and for me to like it without comparing it to the original. We had the Everly Brothers' album and it was one of my favourites. The album sleeve was very colourful. It was made up of little cartoon strips that represented each song on the album. I loved every song on that album. I loved "Bird Dog" because there was someone that I knew that was named Charlie and we used that song to tease him. (Now I'm tempted to do and Everly Brothers sweep).
Anyway, that was the first video of Onyeka Onwenu that I ever saw. I still haven't been able to find her version of "Walk Right Back" on the internet, but this song (below) was from the same album. (You can clearly hear Sunny Okosun's influence in the horns).
This was the first song by Onyeka Onwenu that I ever heard. I wish I could find the exact video that was on heavy rotation on NTA2 Channel 5 in 1982.
We had the original album that contained this song. That album is one of my favourite albums. It had hit after hit after hit and the album sleeve was filled with cartoons. I absolutely loved that original version by the Everly Brothers, so I thought that it would be difficult for anybody to cover the song in a way that I would like it. Onyeka Onwenu succeeded. I also love this version.
The original video from 1982 showed Onyeka performing this song at an event in the UK. She was very pretty.
naptu2: Ok, I'll be fair. The other guy wasn't bad. It's just that I didn't consider him to be on the same level as Kris Okotie and Jide Obi. His music was ok, but I didn't consider him to be a serious musician. I remembered him more for the weird way his name is spelt, his fleet of pimped W123 Mercedes Benz cars and the (girls) names that he gave to his songs. We used to tease a particular girl with his songs.
Then I heard his songs in the early 2000s and they are not half bad. In fact, they are really quite good.
So here are two of the best. (The inscription says 1981, but I could have sworn that it was actually released in 1984/85).
naptu2: Can you believe that the version on the Tabansi channel is not as clear as this. I think that was recorded from a cassette tape, while this was recorded from a vinyl record.
Can you believe that the record company does not have a clear version of its own recording?
Pimped Mercedes Benz, girls names as titles of songs, flashy clothes, who else could it be but Felix Lebarty.
naptu2: It's amazing how songs that we thought were very silly now don't sound so bad . Baby Kilode was a joke of a song back then. We used to make fun of Dizzy K back then. Now it doesn't sound so bad anymore.
Ditto for all those Felix Lebarty songs that were named after girls.
I honestly didn't like him and now I know why. It's that video!
I've listened to the song in more recent times (since the late '90s) and I have to admit that it's quite good and it's no surprise that it was a hit, but the video ruined everything.
He looked like a Michael Jackson impersonator! Why would I want to watch a Michael Jackson impersonator when I could watch the real thing??
Dizzy K Falola. C1983 (I can't remember all the words).
It's been * years since we met each other. * * * * * * * You rejected my love, Baby Kilode! (Tu du du du du dum du du) Baby Kilode! (Tu du du du du dum du du)
I love you, I love you, I'll never let you go, Baby Kilode!
He started out with a nice pop song that was almost as good as the massive hits of his two friends, Kris Okotie and Jide Obi. That was at the beginning of the 1980s. Then he went on a run in which he had his own massive hits. This lasted from the early 1980s till the late '80s. He developed a formula of "name songs" that worked for him. Then came the early 1990s when he became a joke. He was known more for his customised Mercedes Benz cars and leather jackets than for his songs.
I should start with the nice pop song, but I prefer to remember him when he was at his peak, so I'll start with the name songs.
naptu2: William Onyeabor was popular in Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He had a string of hits during those two decades. However, he was not well known outside Nigeria at that time.
He became a born again Christian and stopped recording and basically ended his music career. It almost seemed as if he had been forgotten in the 1990s.
Then, in the early 2000s, his music began to infiltrate Europe. Europeans discovered his 1970s and '80s funk classics and they couldn't get enough of him. It shocked me to discover that music that was popular in Nigeria in the 1980s, music that we had already enjoyed and moved on, was now becoming popular in the West. The Internet spread his music to America too. In fact, European and American musicians were covering and performing his songs. It was simply amazing.
This is probably his biggest song from the 1980s. I remember when this song was first released. It succeeded because it had a happy video, it had a good message and that message came at the right time. This was the mid-1980s when Nigerians were still suffering the effects of the 1982 oil price crash and were about to begin suffering the devastating effects of SAP. Many people that had been very comfortable suddenly discovered that they were poor. It's as if William Onyeabor was telling the story of these (many) people.
This is the "Higher, higher, higher, higher, higher" and "Down, down, down, down, down" song.
William Onyeabor - When The Going Is Smooth & Good (1985)
naptu2: This tribute to Down Town Lagos was made by Xtasy.
Xtasy was made up of Roy and Stella Murray-Bruce, two of the siblings of Ben Murray-Bruce and their songs were released on Ben Bruce Records. Of course, Ben Bruce needs no introduction.
Pictures 1-3 : Roy and Stella Murray-Bruce in 1984 Picture 4: Roy Murray-Bruce in 2018 Picture 5: Stella Murray-Bruce and Kamala Harris in 2020
Xtasy is a Nigerian duo from the 80's. The group was made up of Roy and Stella Murray-Bruce. Xtasy only made one album on the label of Ben Murray-Bruce's Silver Bird/Ben Murray-Bruce Records.
Ben Murray-Bruce needs no introduction in the Nigerian entertainment world because he started bringing world-renowned musicians into the country from 1980.
naptu2: The second video is the original video from 1990. It was uploaded by the record company (Premier Music), but the treble is too much. The first video is from the album, but it is a bit slower than the album version. However the quality is better than that of the second video.
That's the late Charles Hopst and his crew dancing in the video. He won a popular dancing competition in 1984 or 1985 (I think it was John Player Gold Leaf Competition). He danced in a lot of music videos in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He became a choreographer for the Silverbird Group and he was responsible for some of the dance routines at the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageants in the 2000s.
(I've been searching for this video for a long time).
The first video is the original video from 1991. However, the video didn't start from the beginning of the song, so the second video is the album version.
