Sir Victor Uwaifo

Composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader Sir Victor Uwaifo was one of the flashiest, most creative, hardest-working Nigerian musicians of the highlife era. The first-ever African to earn a gold record, Uwaifo built his reputation on flamboyant showmanship, deep mining of legends and songs from his native Edo culture, creating new rhythms (Akwete in particular), and revamping old ones (Ekassa), which he juxtaposed with elements from R&B, soul, funk, and psychedelic rock. His long string of hits during the 1960s and '70s -- including the gold-certified "Joromi" in 1965, "Guitar Boy," "Kirikisi," "Iye Iye Oh," "Akwete," "Tisha," and many more -- established his reputation globally and netted him a total of 12 gold records. Uwaifo performed internationally as much as he did at home. He was also a polymath. He invented a double-neck 18-string instrument he called the "magic guitar"; he was a sculptor, writer, lecturer, and hotel owner. He served as the first Honorable Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism in Nigeria. His many recordings have been anthologized and reissued in several countries. Uwaifo was born in Benin City in the Edo State of Nigeria in 1941. He began playing guitar at 12, learning by listening to the Latin American and Spanish records his parents enjoyed. He built his first instrument from plywood, with bicycle spokes for frets, trap cables for strings, and sardine openers for tuning pegs. From 1957 to 1961, he attended Western Boys' High School Benin and St. Gregory's College, Lagos. He studied graphics at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State and graduated in 1963 at age 22. After completing his studies, he played with Bobby Benson's Highlife Band, E.C. Arinze, Stephen Osadebe, and Fred Coker before he formed the Melody Maestros in 1965. Their single "Joromi" became a hit in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. Uwaifo made history in Nigeria when he earned the first gold-certified record in Africa. Between 1965 and 1968 he developed the Akwete rhythm that powered hits such as "Oko no mu me," "Police and Akugbe," "Sesese," "Siwo Siwo," and "Arabade." In 1969 he created the "shadow" rhythm and a dance to match. The new rhythm, which crossed Akwete and R&B, became a radio and dancefloor trend for a few years. In 1971, Uwaifo opened the Joromi Hotel in Benin City. He continued to write, record, and perform. He went deep into researching the traditional Ekassa rhythm and began a long series of recordings that became his hallmark during the '70s. 1971's Ekassa: Modern Music of African Folklore, with the Melody Maestros, went to number one and set the table for a slew of hit singles from the era such as the now-legendary "Guitar Boy," as well as "Ebibi (Ekassa 28)," "Aatete (Ekassa 38)" (that borrowed liberally from the Everly Brothers "Bye Bye Love"), "Kirikisi (Ekassa 24)," and "Madaka," which all registered on West African charts and became best-sellers. In 1975, Uwaifo scored an international hit with the single "Destiny" b/w "Money Yanga," primarily due to the dance club popularity of the B-side. In 1976, Uwaifo founded the Titibitis. They issued their debut album, Five Days a Week Love, for Polydor in 1977 and followed it just a few months later with Suku-Suku Anytime. He also recorded solo, as evidenced by the 1978 offering Oh! Dear Zimbabwe. The Titibitis were a sell-out attraction everywhere they played. Uwaifo had a period of prolific songwriting and the band issued two albums in 1979, O.T.F. (On the Floor) and Roots. Though Uwaifo recorded solo albums with all kinds of musicians, resulting in records such as 1980's Obrosho and 1984's No Palava: Delicate Lover in 1984, the Titibitis were his main mode of musical communication: by all accounts, they were an incendiary live and expert studio band. Together they cut more than 15 albums between 1977 and 1994, including Jackpot (1980), Uwaifo '84, Bayen Sound (1988), Hold Your Romeo (1990), and Original Style '94. In addition to music, Uwaifo opened a television studio in 1981 and began broadcasting weekly cultural programs. In 1983, the Nigerian government presented him with the National Honors Merit Award on national television; he was the first musician to receive the honor. At age 54, Uwaifo returned to school. He completed his bachelor's degree with honors in 1995 and in 1997 received an MFA in sculpture, followed by a PhD in Visual arts from the University of Benin, Nigeria. His doctoral thesis was titled Production of Architectural Sculpture in Nigeria: A Re-Invention of Ancient Benin Royal Altar Pieces into Contemporary Art Using Synthetic Polymer Materials. Uwaifo was invited by the United Nations Staff Day International Committee to perform during the UN Golden Jubilee celebration in 1995. Uwaifo seldom recorded after 1997's Joromi Music of Africa: 15 Vintage Masterpieces, but continued to perform to sold-out houses across the African and European continents, as well as lecture in universities and work as a sculptor, an ambassador in cultural affairs, and as a trustee of the Performing Musicians Associations of Nigeria (PMAN). He was also appointed the Honorable Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism and, from 2001 to 2003, he was a Member of the State Executive Council, the highest policy-making body in Edo State. In the 21st century, Uwaifo continued to tour as labels in England and Europe began anthologizing and compiling his vintage work. 2006's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, from Premier Records Africa, was the first. In 2008, Soundway issued his most definitive collection, Sir Victor Uwaifo: Guitar Boy Superstar 1970-76. In 2012 he released the all-new Colabo 2012, a fusion of highlife and hip-hop. His collaborators on the date included younger Nigerian musicians such as Tuface Idibia, Dare Art Alade, Henry Sax, Tobi Adegoke, Kunle Ayo, and Ekhator Osa. In 2016, Uwaifo was inducted into the Grammy Award Museum in Los Angeles, California. Premier released the remastered compilations Big Sound and Ekassa in 2018; the same year he was honored with an award by the Association of Nigerian Musicologists for outstanding music performance and leadership. Uwaifo died in Benin on August 28, 2021 at the age of 80.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo