Jerry Hansen

John William Hansen (23 February 1927 to 7 April 2012), known as Jerry Hansen, was a Ghanaian highlife singer, composer, arranger and saxophonist. He founded and led the Ramblers International Band, and was a founding member and the first president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA).

Early life

He was born at Asante Bekwai to Maami Senkire and Johney Hansen, a pharmacist. He first encountered music at the Seventh Day Adventist school in Bekwai and continued at the Methodist School in Koforidua from 1939. He began secondary school at Achimota, where he learned from teachers including Philip Gbeho, but had to leave when he could not pay the fees. He finished at Accra Academy, earning his Oxford and Cambridge certificates in 1947.

Career

After school he worked for the United Africa Company before winning a scholarship to train in Germany as an optical mechanic. There he met the Ramblers, a Dutch orchestra whose members were doctors and lecturers who played music alongside their professions, which convinced him that music and a career could go together.

He joined the Accra Orchestra in 1949, where King Bruce was a member, and learned saxophone and clarinet. He later played conga with the Accra Rhythmic Orchestra, where he met musicians including E. T. Mensah, learned to read music with the city orchestra, and was taught trumpet and trombone by Saka Acquaye. In 1952 King Bruce and Saka Acquaye formed the Black Beats and brought him into the band. He went on to found and lead the Ramblers International Band, one of the leading highlife dance bands of his era.