C. K. Mann

Charles Kofi Amankwaa Mann, known as C. K. Mann, was a Ghanaian highlife guitarist, bandleader and producer. He brought osode, the music of the Fante fishing communities, into dance-band highlife, and his 1969 hit "Edina Benya" made him one of the best-known highlife musicians of his era.

Early life

He was born in 1936 in Cape Coast in the Central Region. He worked briefly as a seaman before joining the Kakaiku band of Moses Kweku Oppong.

Career

He later joined Ocean Strings and led the band until it broke up in 1965. He then joined a new band in Takoradi, Carousel 7, owned by Anis Mubarak, and persuaded Mubarak to sign the singer Paapa Yankson. "Edina Benya", released in 1969, was his breakthrough. He added Western instruments to osode rhythms, and the sound became his trademark.

His hits include "Adwoa Yankey", "Asafo Beesuon", "Obaa Yaa Aye Me Bone", "Kolomashie", "Ankwasema Dede", "Okwan Tsentsen Awar" and "Tsie M'afotusem". His last album, Wope Nye Ho, was recorded at West Gold Music Studio in Takoradi and released in 2013. He also produced other musicians.

Honours

President John Agyekum Kufuor awarded him the Grand Medal at the 2006 National Honours, among the first recipients after the awards were revived that year. A street in Anaji, a suburb of Takoradi, is named after him.

Death

He died on 20 March 2018 at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority hospital in Takoradi, after an illness that had worsened the previous December.