Roy Chicago: A frontline highlife kingpin in the 60s
*Career*
Roy Chicago (real name John Akintola Ademuwagun), one of the top highlife musicians in the sixties, started playing (professional music) in the 1950s at Central Hotel on Adamasingba Street in Ibadan before moving to Lagos. But his foray into music began in his elementary school days in Sapele in the 1940s. Siaka Momoh, as anchor person for ‘Showtime’ in Vanguard, met him in April 1985, four years before he passed on. He shared the memories of his early beginnings with him.
The meeting was at Chicago Club at Modeke Street, off Ojuelegba Road, Surulere, on Lagos mainland. At 50 then, agile Roy, who along with Victor Olaiya, high-fliers in the highlife music turf of the sixties, had become a committed beer seller – doing all the associated chores of bartending – attending to customers, retrieving empties, receiving and taking stocks, etc.
*Learning curve*
On how he came into music he said: “I became associated with music during my elementary school days in Sapele. We had a school band and I was the band leader. This gave me the opportunity to learn how to play some instruments and I became very good with the trumpet. When I left school in 1946, I became a teacher. I taught in Sapele and present day Ondo State. I established school bands in schools where I was teacher. When I left teaching, I started professional music.”
Roy said he joined Hubert Ogunde’s band immediately he left teaching. This was in 1959.He later left Ogunde for Bobby Benson’s Jam Session Orchestra. He left Bobby, went to Ibadan to form the Green Springers for Green Spring Hotel and came back to Bobby after this assignment. He later left Bobby to form his own band. So, Roy had a tortuous learning curve.
*Roy’s music*
According to historical records, after Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Roy Chicago became increasingly successful with hits such as “Iyawo Pankeke”, “Are owo ni esa Yoyo gbe” and “Keregbe emu”. Victor Olaiya’s International All Stars and Roy Chicago’s Abalabi Rhythm Dandies were two of the leading highlife bands in Nigeria, both led by graduates of the Bobby Benson Orchestra. Roy Chicago is popularly acclaimed to have introduced the talking drum into highlife.
Roy Chicago combined the trumpet and saxophone with vocals. Playing with Bobby Benson in the 1950s, he performed ball room dance and highlife, fox trot, tango, waltz, quick step, jive and Latin American music. His sidemen included tenor sax
