King Sunny Adé and His African Beats - Juju Music (1982)

"Juju Music" is the 1982 major label debut of Nigerian jùjú band King Sunny Adé and His African Beats.

After nearly 15 years as Nigeria's biggest musical draw and juju music's reigning monarch, King Sunny Ade went global in 1982 with a brief but fertile stint on the Mango label. The three albums that resulted  "Juju Music", "Synchro System", and "Aura" gave Ade unprecedented exposure on the Western market and introduced a slew of music lovers to the sounds of Afro-pop. "Juju Music" was the first of Ade's Mango titles and remains the best of the lot. Over the course of seven extended cuts, King Sunny Ade & His African Beats lay down their trademark mix of talking drum-driven grooves, multi-guitar weaves, lilting vocal harmonies, and pedal steel accents; for this major-label debut, the band also chucks in some tasteful synthesizer bits and a few reggae-dub flourishes. Besides classic juju pop like "Ja Funmi" and "Ma Jaiye Oni," Ade and his 20-piece entourage serve up percussion breakdowns like "Sunny Ti de Ariya" and a heady blend of soul, dub, and synth noodlings on "365 Is My Number/The Message." Throughout, Ade deftly inserts Hawaiian slide guitar licks and Spanish-tinged lines reminiscent of Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower." Juju Music should not only be the first-disc choice for Ade newcomers, but for the Afro-pop curious as well.

Track listing

01.  "Ja Funmi"  - 7:08

02.  "Eje Nlo Gba Ara Mi"  - 7:14

03.  "Mo Beru Agba"  - 3:27

04.  "Sunny Ti de Ariya"  - 3:46

05.  "Ma Jaiye Oni"  - 5:07

06.  "365 Is My Number/The Message"  - 8:16

07.  "Samba/E Falaba Lewe"  - 8:07

Released:  1982

Recorded at:  Otodi Studio, Lome, Togo.

Genre:  Jùjú, Nigerian Pop

Length:  43:05

Label:  Mango Records

Producer:  Martin Meissonnier

All tracks composed by:  King Sunny Adé

Personnel

Shina Abiodun – conga

Mofes Acambi – drums

King Sunny Adé – guitar, composer, keyboards, vocals, mixing

Ademola Adepoju – steel guitar

Adisa Adeyemi – bongos

Jacob Ajakaye – vocals

Rasaki Aladokun – African drum, talking drum

Gani Alashe – shekere

Michael Babalola – maracas

Adrian Boot – photography

Tunde Demiola – vocals

Niyi Falaye – vocals

Jomoh Gbadamosi – African drum, talking drum

Segun Hori – guitar

Jelili Lawal – bass guitar

Segun Llori – guitar

Martin Meissonnier – keyboards, producer

Bob Ohiri – guitar

John Okeumeu – guitar, rhythm guitar

Alhaji Timmy Olaitan – drums, African drums

Matthew Olojede – vocals

Femi Owomoyela – vocals

Segun Shokumbi – vocals