{{Short description|Ghanaian musician and producer (1936–2026)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Ebo Taylor | image = Ebo Taylor.jpg | caption = Taylor in 2013 | birth_name = Deroy Taylor | birth_date = {{birth date|1936|1|6|df=y}} | birth_place = Cape Coast, Gold Coast | origin = Accra, Ghana | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|2|7|1936|1|6|df=y}} | death_place = Saltpond, Ghana | genre = {{hlist|Highlife|afrobeat|jazz}} | occupation = {{hlist|Guitarist|singer|composer||bandleader|record producer}} | years_active = Late 1950s–2026<ref name="Marc">Amigone, Marc, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/modiba/love-and-death-the-new-al_b_764735.html "Love and Death, the New Album from Ghanaian Legend Ebo Taylor"], ''Huffington Post''. 25 March 2016</ref> | label = {{hlist|Essiebons|Gapophone|Philips-West African-Records|Strut Records}} | past_member_of = }} '''Ebo Taylor''' (born '''Deroy Taylor''';<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2026-02-09 |title=Ebo Taylor: Ghana's influential highlife and Afrobeat musician dies at 90 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e9p04n8y9o |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> 6 January 1936 – 7 February 2026) was a Ghanaian guitarist, composer, bandleader, record producer and arranger focusing on highlife and afrobeat music.
==Life and career== Born Deroy Taylor in Cape Coast, in what was then the Gold Coast colony, on 6 January 1936,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Denselow |first=Robin |date=13 February 2026 |title=Ebo Taylor obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/13/ebo-taylor-obituary |access-date=2 March 2026 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> he started playing piano at the age of six.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |title=Ghana music legend Ebo Taylor dies at 90 |url=https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2026/02/08/ghana-music-legend-ebo-taylor-dies-at-90/ |access-date=8 February 2026 |publisher=Ghana Business News |date=8 February 2026}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2026}}
Taylor was a pivotal figure on the Ghanaian music scene for over six decades. In the late 1950s, he was active in the influential highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band. In 1962, Taylor took his group, the Black Star Highlife Band, to London where he collaborated with Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti as well as other African musicians.<ref>[http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/introduction-ghanaian-afrobeat-ebo-taylor/ "An Introduction to the Funky Ghanaian Afrobeat of Ego Taylor"], ''The Vinyl Factory''. 24 March 2016.</ref><ref>[http://kofimusings.com/2012/09/19/tales-from-a-troski-his-name-is-ebo-taylor/ His Name is Ebo Taylor] ''Kofi Musings''. 24 March 2016.</ref>
Returning to Ghana, Taylor worked as a producer for musicians such as Pat Thomas and C. K. Mann—as well as pursued solo projects—combining traditional Ghanaian material with afrobeat, jazz, and funk rhythms to create his own recognizable sound in the 1970s. He was the inhouse guitar player, arranger, and producer for Essiebons, founded by Dick Essilfie Bondzie.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|author=Ekow Barnes|author-link=Ekow Barnes|title=The Ghanaian musician who helped put West African music on the world map|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/ebo-taylor-ghanian-highlife-aag/index.html|access-date=1 December 2020|website=CNN|date=30 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
In 1992, Ghetto Concept included his afrobeats in their music.
Taylor's work became popular internationally with hip-hop producers in the 21st century.<ref>Ross, Will, [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-25657461 "Ghana's Ebo Taylor on his new popularity"], ''BBC News''. 25 March 2016.</ref> In 2008, Taylor met the Berlin-based musicians of the Afrobeat Academy band, including saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff, which led to the release of the album ''Love and Death'' with Strut Records (his first internationally distributed album) in 2010.<ref name="Marc" /><ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ebo-taylor-mn0000675355 |title=Ebo Taylor | Music Biography, Credits and Discography |publisher=AllMusic |date= |accessdate=13 October 2013}}</ref><ref>Denselow, Robin [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/07/the-playlist-world-and-folk-music-caetano-veloso-moriarty-shirley-collins-ebo-taylor-and-more "The playlist: world and folk music – Caetano Veloso, Moriarty, Shirley Collins, Ebo Taylor and more"]. ''The Guardian''. 25 March 2016.</ref> The same year, Usher used a sample from Taylor's song "Heaven" for "She Don't Know" with Ludacris.<ref>Denselow, Robin, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/14/ebo-taylor-review "Ebo Taylor review – lend your ears to an Afrobeat story of love and death"], ''The Guardian''. March 25, 2016.</ref> His songs were also sampled by artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Rowland, Jidenna, Vic Mensa and Rapsody.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=2026-02-09 |title=Ebo Taylor, Ghanaian highlife pioneer and guitarist, dies age 90 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/09/ebo-taylor-ghanaian-highlife-pioneer-dies-age-90 |access-date=2026-02-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
He collaborated again with the Afrobeat Academy in Berlin in 2011. In 2017, his Ghanaian funk anthem "Come Along" was popular among DJs.<ref name=":0" />
The success of ''Love and Death'' prompted Strut to issue the retrospective ''Life Stories: Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973–1980'', in the spring of 2011. A year later, in 2012, a third Strut album, ''Appia Kwa Bridge'', was released. ''Appia Kwa Bridge'' showed that at 77 years old, Taylor remained creative, mixing traditional Fante songs and chants with children's rhymes and personal stories into his own sharp vision of highlife.<ref name=afropop>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.afropop.org/wp/11376/hip-deep-ghana-1-ebo-taylor-and-the-pioneers-of-afro-funk/ |title=Hip Deep Ghana 1: Ebo Taylor | and the Pioneers of Afro Funk |publisher=Afropop |date= |accessdate=21 May 2014}}</ref>
He performed at the 2015 edition of the annual Stanbic Jazz Festival along with Earl Klugh, Ackah Blay and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2015/02/18/earl-klugh-arrives-in-ghana-for-stanbic-jazz-festival/|title=Earl Klugh arrives in Ghana for Stanbic Jazz Festival|date=18 February 2015|website=GBN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520114630/https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2015/02/18/earl-klugh-arrives-in-ghana-for-stanbic-jazz-festival/ |archive-date=2015-05-20 |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>
In 2025, at the age of 89, Taylor received renewed attention in the United States through the label Jazz Is Dead after decades as an often unheralded force in West African music, according to a ''New York Times'' article by David Peisner.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/arts/music/ebo-taylor-jazz-is-dead.html|title=At 90, the Ghanaian Highlife Pioneer Ebo Taylor Finds a New Voice: The singer, guitarist and composer released heralded music in the 1970s and early '80s before retreating. The label Jazz Is Dead is boosting his rediscovery.|first=David|last=Peisner|work=New York Times |pages=C1, C4 (print version, front page of Arts section) |date=21 January 2025|access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref>
== Death == Ebo Taylor died on February 7, 2026, in Saltpond, a town on the coast of Ghana.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2026-02-08 |title=Ebo Taylor Dies at 90 |url=https://nowaccra.com/2026/02/08/influential-ghanaian-highlife-musician-ebo-taylor-dies-at-90/ |access-date=2026-02-10 |language=en-US|website=Now Accra}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nossiter |first=Adam |date=2026-02-13 |title=Ebo Taylor, Musical Innovator of Highlife and Afrobeat, Dies at 90 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/arts/music/ebo-taylor-dead.html |access-date=2026-02-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A delegation from the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), led by its president, Bessa Simons, paid a condolence visit to his family in Saltpond.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 February 2026 |title=MUSIGA commiserates with Ebo Taylor's family, one-week observation date announced |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/MUSIGA-commiserates-with-Ebo-Taylor-s-family-one-week-observation-date-announced-2023106 |access-date=2 March 2026 |website=GhanaWeb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MUSIGA pays condolence visit to family of late Ebo Taylor |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/musiga-pays-condolence-visit-to-family-of-late-ebo-taylor/ |access-date=2026-02-24 |website=Joy Online |language=en-US|date=24 February 2026}}</ref> thumb|Taylor watching a musical performance by young Ghanaian artists
==Awards and recognition== *Life Time Achievement Award – 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/entertainment/2014/April-28th/ebo-taylor-receives-life-time-achievement-award-at-2014-vgma-industry-awards.php|title=Video: Ebo Taylor receives Life Time Achievement Award at 2014 VGMA Industry Awards - MyJoyOnline.com|website=www.myjoyonline.com|access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref> *Lifetime Achievement Award – 2019 Highlife Music Awards<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://shinepublications.com/2019/09/11/highlife-music-awards-2019-receives-praises-from-industry-players/|title=Highlife Music Awards 2019 Receives Praises From Industry Players|last=Wonder |first=Jerry|date=11 September 2019|website=Shine publications|language=en-US|access-date=27 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109092627/https://shinepublications.com/2019/09/11/highlife-music-awards-2019-receives-praises-from-industry-players/ |archive-date=9 November 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> *Music Legend of the year – 2019 Ghana Business Awards<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kasapafmonline.com/2019/11/ebo-taylor-receives-music-legend-honorary-at-2019-ghana-business-awards/|title=Ebo Taylor receives Music Legend honorary at 2019 Ghana Business Awards |last=Acquah|first=Edward|website=Kasapa102.5FM|date=15 February 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>
==Selected discography== ===Albums=== *''My Love and Music'' (LP) (Gapophone Records), 1976 *''Ebo Taylor'' (Essiebons), 1977 *''Twer Nyame'' (Philips-West African-Records), 1978 *''Me Kra Tsie'' - Ebo Taylor & Saltpond Barkers Choir (LP) (Essiebons), 1979 *''Conflict'' - Ebo Taylor & Uhuru Yenzu (Essiebons), 1980<ref>Dineen, Donal, [https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/sunken-treasure-ebo-taylor-uhuru-yenzu-1.2186654 "Sunken Treasure: Ebo Taylor & Uhuru Yenzu"], ''Irish Times''. 25 March 2016.</ref> *''Calypso "Mahuno" and High Lifes Celebration'' - Pat Thomas & Ebo Taylor (Pan African Records), 1980 *''Hitsville Re-Visited'' - Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas & Uhuru Yenzu (LP) (Essiebons), 1982 *''Abenkwan Puchaa'' (Essiebons), 2009 *''Love and Death'' (Strut Records), 2010 *''Life Stories: Best of Ebo Taylor 1973–80'' (Strut Records), 2012 *''Appia Kwa Bridge'' (Strut Records), 2012 *''Yen Ara'' (Mr. Bongo), 2018 *''Palaver'' (Tabansi/BBE Music), 2019 (rec. 1980) *''Ebo Taylor JID022'' (Jazz Is Dead), 2025
;As contributing artist *''The Rough Guide to Psychedelic Africa'' (World Music Network) 2012
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons}} * {{IMDb name|5912653}} * {{discogs artist|Ebo Taylor}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Ebo}} Category:1936 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Ghanaian highlife musicians Category:Fela Kuti Category:Fante people Category:St. Augustine's College (Cape Coast) alumni Category:Ghanaian jazz musicians Category:Afrobeats musicians Category:Ghanaian male musicians