Tunde King facts for kids

Tunde King was a famous Nigerian musician. He was born on August 24, 1910. People remember him as the person who started a type of music called Jùjú music. He had a big impact on popular music in Nigeria.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the city of Lagos was a mix of local Yoruba people and those who had returned from other countries. They created a music style called "Palm Wine." This music mixed traditional Yoruba folk songs with sounds from places like Brazil and Cuba. They used instruments like banjos, guitars, shakers, and hand drums. The songs were often about everyday life.

Jùjú music grew out of Palm Wine music. It started in the Olowogbowo area of Lagos in the 1920s. It began in a mechanic's shop where young people gathered to relax and play music. Tunde King was the leader of this group.

Tunde King's Life Story

Abdulrafiu Babatunde King was born in the Olowogbowo area of Lagos Island. This was on August 24, 1910. His father, Ibrahim Sanni King, was a Muslim and worked as a clerk in a local court. His father had also lived in Fourah Bay, Sierra Leone.

Tunde King went to a local Methodist primary school. He also attended Eko Boys High School. A friend at school taught him how to play the guitar. He became a key member of a group of friends who spent time at a mechanic's shop. They would talk, drink, and sing. They used simple instruments they found around them.

By 1929, King had an office job. He also worked part-time as a singer and guitarist. He played with a small group using a guitar, samba, and maracas. Later, they changed to a tambourine, a guitar-banjo, and a sekere (a type of shaker). By the mid-1930s, he was very successful. He had made several recordings and played on the radio. However, he still mostly earned money by playing at private parties and events. For example, King played at the funeral gathering for a well-known doctor, Oguntola Sapara, in 1935.

When World War II started in 1939, Tunde King joined the Merchant Marines. These were sailors who carried goods on ships. He came back to Lagos in 1941. Then he disappeared for eleven years. People later found him playing music in ports where French is spoken, like Conakry and Dakar. He returned to Lagos in 1954. Tunde King passed away in the 1980s.

The Sound of Jùjú Music

Jùjú music uses guitars a lot. It mixes African sounds, like the Yoruba talking drum, with music from other places. These include Western and Afro-Cuban influences. Tunde King said the name "Jùjú" came from a tambourine. He bought it from a Salvation Army store. He gave it to his samba drummer. The drummer had a fancy way of playing. He would throw the tambourine in the air and catch it. The audience called this "Jù-jú." This word sounds like the Yoruba word for "throw."

His group grew from three to four members. King played the six-string guitar-banjo and sang. Ishola Caxton Martins played the sekere (a gourd rattle). Ahmeed Lamidi George played the tambourine. Sanya ("Snake") Johnson played the tomtom drum and sang backup. The band created a calm, steady sound. This sound supported the guitar and vocals with simple musical patterns.

In the 1930s, Nigeria was a British colony. Nigerians could only go so far in government or business. This was true no matter how smart or skilled they were. Tunde King put these feelings into his songs. In "Oba Oyinbo," he sang about King George VI of Britain becoming king. He said, "We Have a father... King George is our father... White man Cameron (the governor) is our father..." This was a quiet way of showing how he felt. In other songs that were not recorded, he spoke more directly about his feelings.

The song "Soja Idunmota" talks about a statue of a white soldier with a local person carrying things. The local person's head is down. The song says, "Cruelly, they forget that all people are the same." In "Eti Joluwe," he said it was better for Yoruba people to work for themselves. He felt this was better than working for the government.

Tunde King's Recordings

The first big recordings of Jùjú music started in 1936. They were made by Parlophone Records, part of the EMI company. These songs were released on 78rpm records. Tunde King made many of these recordings. Some famous ones include "Eko Akete" and "Oba Oyinbo" ("European King"). He was paid only a small amount for each recording. He also earned very little from sales. However, these recordings were very important. They helped him become well-known.

Other recordings he made include "Sapara ti sajule orun," "Dunia (Ameda)," and "Ojuola lojo agan." In total, he made over 30 records. Two of his songs, "Oba Oyinbo" and "Dunia," were put on a CD called Juju Roots: 1930s-1950s. This CD was released in January 1985 by Rounder Records.

Tunde King's Lasting Influence

Tunde King's music inspired many other musicians. It influenced his friends and later artists. These included Akanbi Ege, Ayinde Bakare, Tunde Nightingale, and Ojoge Daniel in the 1940s. In the 1960s, stars like King Sunny Adé and Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey were influenced. They even added electric guitars to Jùjú music. His influence continued into the 1970s with artists like General Prince Adekunle. It was still strong in the 1980s. During that time, stars like Sir Shina Peters and Segun Adewale played modern forms of Jùjú music.