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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. A native of
Akropong Akropong is a town in South Ghana and is the capital of the Akuapim North District, a district in the Eastern Region of South Ghana. This town is known for producing snails and palm oil.
, Ghana, Darko was popular in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and his songs are some of the most timeless and enduring
highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...
tracks in Ghana's music circles. Some of his contemporaries include Ben Brako, C.K. Mann,
Daddy Lumba Daddy Lumba (born 29 September 1964) is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and musician and has about 34 albums to his name. Born Charles Kwadwo Fosuh, he is widely regarded as the greatest Ghanaian musician of all time. His father, Owoahene Kwadwo Fo ...
, 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. The song remains popular among Ghanaians both at home and abroad, and is still played at funerals and parties. Son of a
paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...
, 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. Returning to Akropong in 1988, he was made Tufuhene of
Akropong-Akuapim Akropong is a town in South Ghana and is the capital of the Akuapim North District, a district in the Eastern Region of South Ghana. This town is known for producing snails and palm oil.
in 1991 with the stool (throne) name of Nana Yaw Ampem Darko. In January 2010, he demanded and received apologies from a newspaper which had reported sex allegations in connection with him. He was the biological Father of the German Rapper and Singer Manuellsen.


Death

George Darko died on 20 March 2024, at the age of 73. He had been in
palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...
at
Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital is a public Hospital located in Akuapim-Mampong in the Eastern Region of Ghana. History and Etymology The hospital was established in 1961 and named to honour Tetteh Quarshie. The Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hosp ...
in
Akuapim-Mampong Akuapim-Mampong is a town in the Akuapim North district of the Eastern Region of Ghana. It shares boundaries with Mamfe. It is famous for being the first place cocoa was planted in Ghana by Tetteh Quarshie. History A 1772 Dutch report includ ...
for three months before his death.


Discography

;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) * ''No Weapon'' (2019, Okoman Records) ;Contributing artist * '' The Rough Guide to Highlife'' (2003, World Music Network)


Awards

VGMA Lifetime Award for Outstanding Contribution to Highlife (2020).


References


External links

* * 1951 births 2024 deaths Palm wine musicians Ghanaian highlife musicians {{ghana-musician-stub