Music
E. T. Mensah
1919 – 1996
The King of Highlife
Why they are here
He shaped highlife into the sound of independence-era West Africa, and was playing it beside Louis Armstrong when Ghana became a nation.
Emmanuel Tettey Mensah learned flute and piccolo in an Accra school fife band and joined the Accra Orchestra in 1932. Through the 1930s and 1940s he played alto saxophone with a succession of orchestras before joining the Tempos in 1947 and, when that band broke up in 1950, rebuilding it as E. T. Mensah and the Tempos.
The Tempos carried highlife across West Africa and made it the popular music of the independence years. Mensah drew international attention when he performed with Louis Armstrong during Ghana's independence celebrations in 1957.
The Arts Council of Ghana honoured him with a stool at the 1975 National Arts Festival, formally recognising him as the King of Highlife. He died in Accra in July 1996.
The Tempos carried highlife across West Africa and made it the popular music of the independence years. Mensah drew international attention when he performed with Louis Armstrong during Ghana's independence celebrations in 1957.
The Arts Council of Ghana honoured him with a stool at the 1975 National Arts Festival, formally recognising him as the King of Highlife. He died in Accra in July 1996.
- Fondation Daniel Langlois — Ghana's Highlife Music Collection: E. T. Mensah
- GhanaWeb — E. T. Mensah biography
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