George Darko (12 January 1951 – 20 March 2024) was a Ghanaian burger-highlife musician, guitarist, vocalist, composer and songwriter, who was on the music scene from the late 1960s.[1] A native of Akropong, Ghana,[1] Darko was popular in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and his songs are some of the most timeless and enduring highlife tracks in Ghana's music circles. Some of his contemporaries include Ben Brako, C.K. Mann, Daddy Lumba, Ernest Nana Acheampong, Nana Kwame Ampadu and Pat Thomas, among others. He was widely considered to be one of the pioneers of burger-highlife with his first hit "Ako Te Brofo" ("The Parrots Speak/Understand English") which was released in 1983.[1] The song remains popular among Ghanaians both at home and abroad, and is still played at funerals and parties.[2][3][4]
George Darko | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Nana Yaw Ampem Darko (Tufuhene of Akropong-Akuapim) |
| Born | 12 January 1951 Akropong, Gold Coast |
| Origin | Ghana |
| Died | 20 March 2024 (aged 73) Akuapim-Mampong, Ghana |
| Genres | Burger-highlife |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocal, guitar |
Son of a paramount chief, George Darko was educated at the Presbyterian School at Akropong. After playing for an army band entertaining troops in the Middle East, Darko returned to Ghana and formed the Golden Stool Band. In the late 1970s the band moved to Germany, where Darko went solo and formed the Bus Stop band in 1982.[1] Returning to Akropong in 1988, he was made Tufuhene of Akropong-Akuapim in 1991 with the stool (throne) name of Nana Yaw Ampem Darko.[2] In January 2010, he demanded and received apologies from a newspaper which had reported sex allegations in connection with him.[5] He was the biological Father of the German Rapper and Singer Manuellsen.
Death
editGeorge Darko died on 20 March 2024, at the age of 73. He had been in palliative care at Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Akuapim-Mampong for three months before his death.[6]
Discography
edit- Studio albums
- Friends (1983, Taretone)
- Highlife Time (1983, Sacodisc International)
- Moni Palava (1986, A&B Records)
- Soronko (1988, Musicolor)
- Highlife in the Air (1994, Boulevard Records)
- Ebetoda (1998, One World Records)
- Come to Africa (2006, Okoman Records)[7]
- No Weapon (2019, Okoman Records)
- Contributing artist
- The Rough Guide to Highlife (2003, World Music Network)
Awards
editVGMA Lifetime Award for Outstanding Contribution to Highlife (2020).[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 630. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ a b "Goethe Institut Celebration of Burger Highlife – History of Burger Highlife". 26 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Celebration Of Burger Highlife With George Darko". Ghanacelebrities.com. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Ghana News - George Darko plotting to kill me - Lee Dodou asserts". Ghana-news.adomonline.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Apology To Nana George Darko". Modernghana.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Highlife legend George Darko is dead". GhanaWeb. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "George Darko". Discogs.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "2020 VGMAs: George Darko wins 'Lifetime Achievement Award'". YouTube. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
External links
edit- George Darko discography at Discogs
- George Darko at IMDb
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