Highlife Legend Ebo Taylor Dies at 90, One Day After Launch of His Own Legacy Festival

The world of African music has lost one of its most influential architects. Legendary Ghanaian guitarist and composer Ebo Taylor, the man who bridged the gap between traditional highlife and global Afrobeat, has died at the age of 90.

In a twist of fate as poetic as his melodies, Taylor passed away peacefully at the Saltpond Hospital on Saturday, February 7 barely 24 hours after the official launch of the first-ever Ebo Taylor Music Festival. The icon had just celebrated his landmark 90th birthday in January, surrounded by fans and family who had gathered from across the globe to honor his seven-decade career.

“The world has lost a giant. A colossus of African music,” his son, Kweku Taylor, wrote in a moving tribute on Sunday. “Dad, your light will never fade.”

Born in Cape Coast in 1936, Ebo Taylor’s journey was intertwined with the very history of West African independence. In the 1960s, he took his Black Star Highlife Band to London, where he met and jammed with a young Fela Kuti. Together, they experimented with the jazz and funk rhythms that would eventually evolve into the Afrobeat sound that dominates global charts today.

While he spent decades as a sought-after producer and arranger for stars like Pat Thomas and C.K. Mann, Taylor’s own solo work found a second life in the 21st century. His intricate, hypnotic guitar lines became a goldmine for international DJs and R&B producers, with his 1970s grooves appearing in hits by American superstars like Usher.

As news of his passing spread, the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) described his death as the “falling of a big tree.” From the streets of Saltpond, where he was affectionately known as “Uncle Ebo,” to the jazz clubs of London and New York, the music world is today mourning a man who proved that true rhythm has no expiry date.