Fela. John Collins

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      FELA

      JOHN COLLINS

      FOREWORD BY BANNING EYRE

      DISCOGRAPHY BY RONNIE GRAHAM

       FELA

      KALAKUTA NOTES SECOND EDITION

       Wesleyan University Press Middletown, Connecticut

      Wesleyan University Press

      Middletown CT 06459

       www.wesleyan.edu/wespress

      © 2015 John Collins

      Foreword © 2015 Banning Eyre

      All rights reserved

      Manufactured in the United States of America

      Designed by Mindy Basinger Hill

      Typeset in Albertina MT Pro

      New, revised, and expanded edition of Fela: Kalakuta Notes, © KIT Publishers, 2009.

      Wesleyan University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative. The paper used in this book meets their minimum requirement for recycled paper.

      Library of Congress

      Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Collins, John, 1944–

      Fela: Kalakuta notes / John Collins; foreword by Banning Eyre; discography by Ronnie Graham.—Second edition.

      pages cm.—(Music/Interview)

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 978-0-8195-7539-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)—

      ISBN 978-0-8195-7540-1 (ebook)

      1. Fela, 1938–1997. 2. Musicians—Nigeria—Biography. I. Title.

      ML410.F2955C67 2015

      781.63092—dc23

      [B] 2014042402

      5 4 3 2 1

      Cover illustration: Fela at a Brixton show, London, 1983. Photo by Jak Kilby.

      TO MY WIFE AND SON,

      DOVI HELEN AND

      THOMAS KOJO COLLINS

      CONTENTS

      Foreword by Banning Eyre ix

      Introduction 1

       PART ONE Early Days

      1. The Birth of Afrobeat 27

      2. Joe Mensah Remembers 41

      3. Fela in Ghana 49

      4. Stan Plange Remembers 55

       PART TWO Confrontation

      5. The Kalakuta Is Born 67

      6. “J. B.” Talks about Fela 73

      7. The Kalakuta Republic 81

      8. The Black President 114

      9. Amsterdam and After 125

       PART THREE Retrospect

      10. Mac Tontoh on Fela 139

      11. Frank Talk about Fela 152

      12. Obiba Plays It Again 165

      13. Smart Binete Sorts It Out 174

      14. Anku Checks Out the Beat 178

      15. Nana Danso Orchestrates 183

      16. Some Early Afro-Fusion Pioneers 197

      17. Interview with Fela 204

      18. Afterthoughts and Updates 209

      19. Felabrations at Home and Abroad 238

      Chronology 259

      Notes 269

      Selected Bibliography 281

      Discography 285

      Appendix A: “Shuffering and Shmiling” Score 303