In the 1970s, English Drummer Ginger Baker drove across the Sahara Desert to meet Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. What followed were some of the most incredible jazz & rock recordings of all time, as well as some heartbreaking setbacks.
7:09 "...nearly beating Fela to death..." Well, you left out the craziest part. Not only did the soldiers have Fela beaten to an inch of his life, but they actually THREW HIS MOTHER OVER THE TWO-STOREY BALONY OF THEIR HOME - KILLING HER EVENTUALLY. To get the full picture of how dark this incident was, you need to know who Fela's mother was - Olufunmi Ransome-Kuti. She was one of the handful of Nigerian legends who earned Nigeria her independence. As far as amalgamated Nigeria is concerned, it really wouldn't be farfetched to call her the nation's mother. That was the woman Nigerian soldiers saw fit to toss over a two-storey balcony like a ragdoll.
“In 1978 Ransome-Kuti was thrown from a third-floor window in her son Fela's compound, a commune known as the Kalakuta Republic, when it was stormed by one thousand armed military personnel. She lapsed into a coma in February of that year, and died on 13 April 1978 as a result of her injuries.”
More than a generous dose of “artistic license” has been applied to this piece. 😂😂😂 For starters, Fela who was classically-trained at the Trinity College of Music in London had already toured the US and recorded an album at EMI’s Abbey Road studios in London before hooking-up professionally with Ginger Baker in Nigeria. Furthermore, Fela was already an EMI artiste with several albums under the label (such as “Open and Close” and the epic “Shakara”) before a public falling out (reportedly over the length of Fela’s songs and new equipment for an upcoming tour, among other related issues), following which Fela then signed on with Decca (WA) Records under its Afrodisia label. Meanwhile, the tale that Fela never played his recorded music in concert is entirely a MYTH. He did - not just on tour, but at the weekly “jumps” at the Shrine. Fela was not some “local” musician waiting/hoping for “discovery”. Rather, many of the world’s best musicians (from Stevie Wonder to James Brown) beat a furious path down to the Shrine.
Or maybe, never let a drummer full of weed plan anything? After he lost Paul McCartney which doomed the studio in a struggling to find their own identity former British colony he decided to um...take up polo? Fucking unbelievable. Organized a tour from Africa to Europe but relied on a drum full of smuggled weed to finance it? Oh. My. Hats off to him for reaching out and helping to bring the beauty of African music to the attention of the western world, but he really should have made room for a manager on that Land Rover.
Ginger Baker as a close approximation I can make is the musical Hunter S Thompson. A truly undomesticated individual. A true free spirit, and a force of nature.
Excuse me, but someone DRIVING from Europe to Nigeria could be it's own video entirely, holy shit. If I was Land Rover I'd pay them and use that fact in advertising.
@@thewhat531 to be fair, that's what SOME rovers do. MOST Rivera are mall crawlers now, and would lose their electrics and be inoperable within a week of hard use. In fact. Even the "good" ones break down. They were just easier to fix with simple tools on the side of the road, or middle of the desert, as it were.
Ginger only cared about one thing: drums. He was totally dedicated to the drums even above his own children. I think he could have played for 24 hours straight if he put his mind to it. If you haven't seen "Beware Mr. Baker" you should watch it. Ginger was the best drummer I ever saw in my 70 years and he was definitely one of a kind.
Probably why as a Fela Kuti devotee and Tony Allen feign I love the Ginger Baker album the best. Ginger’s jazzy skip style on that record drives me wild. Ye Ye De Smell sends me in a 60s teenager frenzy. Dem drums are AAAAAHHHH!!!
We have known about Fela for about 15 years but thank you for introducing us to Ginger, it is good to spread the knowledge, his sons Seun and Femi are still really doing it.
If you haven’t heard the album “Zombie,” I strongly recommend it. Afro-pop, Jazz, and funk come together in a masterpiece of grooves, rhythm and virtuosity. What they didn’t mention is Fela’s incredible talent on the saxophone and his skills as an improvisational musician. Cool stuff.
“Nobody” is a stretch. Western music press doesn’t constitute the entire Universe of music listeners. Fela was huge here. In his lifetime. Going to guess from the video title that this is an American channel.
@Thomas Farrell you're so irrelevant, nobody cares about your opinion. You should isolate your ass and let ppl live without the irrelevance of your existence
They did some great work together. There was a band when I was in college called "Chicago Afrobeat Project" or something like that, and I discovered Fela through them. (weirdly enough I had already been listening to his son, Femi Kuti, for years prior as he was on the Jamband circuit for a while in the late 90's/early 00's, never knowing that his father was essentially the Marley of Africa, lol) Went to my local record store and could only find a few Fela recordings on vinyl, the live album with Baker, Zombie, and a few other Africa 70 and one Egypt 80. I don't think they knew what they had as I was able to get them all, like 5-6 albums for about $50. Now they're $30-50 a piece for the Japan releases (which is what I found). Been a big fan ever since, though I really need to be in the right mood for Fela. Spring-boarded off Fela into Ali Farka-Toure and various Zam-Rock groups. Amanaz's "Africa" now being one of my favorite albums ever. Would love any suggestions of African rock/funk/jazz/blues as I'm always down to discover new artists.
I saw a documentary back in 1975 entitled "Ginger Baker In Africa" which was telecast on a non profit TV network. (I know the year because of whom I was with at the time) Shortly after I bought two albums "Ginger Baker in Africa" and Afrodisiac" by Fela Ransome Kuti and the Africa 70. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them and I may still be able to find them somewhere in my basement. Baker's involvement with Kuti and African music was not a secret at the time. There were articles and reports written about it in music magazines and newspapers. The records were not difficult to find.
MsBizzyGurl Just saw an interview with ginger practically on his deathbed. He said "losing all that" was a really painful thing. Kinda feel bad for him now.
Already done. Beware of Mr. Baker. Also, Fela had way bigger balls than James Brown. The allegations of fining musicians are wrong. When Brown showed up and Fela found out about Browns policy of fining musicians for getting high and playing wrong notes, he sent James to bed and forbid him from playing with Baker and the band.
Fela Kuti reminds me of Tyler Durden in Fight Club. He "stood against" this oppresive social hierachy but he treated his bandmates as less than human becoming a walking contradiction.
the cover of Band on the Run has actor Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in LoTR. The reason the picture is like that is that they couldn't keep still long enough because they were laughing too much at being serious. They got this picture when they told them to just hold onto each other for a second
"Hard to imagine a band today dragging their van across the Sahara desert." You did an amazing piece on soviet music - check out Gazelle of death and Denis Alekseev. For 10+ years he drives bands to do gigs in the most remote places on earth
"If truth be known," he continues, "I was the Stones' first drummer. We used to do the interval for Alexis Korner with Mick Jagger, who was like Korner's protege, and Brian Jones. I got on very well with Brian, so we formed a band. Then Charlie [Watts] left Alexis Korner so I could join, and I got Charlie into the Stones. But it was Brian who set the Stones on its path."
I think it was a Range Rover... The Jenson was flown to Jamaica (Yep... Flown in a cargo plane ^-^) and he drove it off a cliff, surviving only because he wedged the car in a tree growing out the side of the cliff. Allegedly :)
Ohhhh a film must be made.... not the typical Hollywood garbage but those rare jewels that come along here and there that always manage to withstand the test of time.....
Joni Haastrup ( the keyboard player pictured in the Ginger Baker Proto Salt/Airforce Jam with the Lijadu sisters)- confirmed to me that the reason McCartney was confronted was merely to ensure that all the equipment stayed in Lagos after he left. That he should advocate for more African artists getting air play and exposure in England. The message being that since the Nigerians had been in England since the early late 1950's/1960's helping the jazz/ rock scene with both sonic and herbal inspiration, with songs like Ob- la di - Ob la Da etc. that the Favor should be returned. McCartney apparently readily agreed. There was a boom in AfroRock in England with Ginger( as Salt and the airforce, Osibisa ( with Remi Kabbaka - a co-investor in Arc studios) ( on Sympathy for the Devil) and the Funkees headlining at Roni Scotts famous club in the early 1970's. We can only surmise why the sound and artist didn't get more exposure. Let's bear in mind that Afro centric musical influence had steadily grown in both English and American jazz and rock scenes since the late 1950s through artists like Guy Warren, Olatunji, MustaphaTetty Ade, and permeated into Hendrix's music and that of Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder and a host of others. Time and again big labels from England would tap these players as session men - for Grace Jones, Sunny Ade, and Paul Simon continuing onward through sampling today. My personal belief and hope is that with more research like yours the names of these great artists will get to fresh ears. One must concede to educational and cultural myopia of American and English views which puts the known Artists in advance of the innovative African artistry and sounds, but clearly upon listening this is backwards. Since those artists were literally in the very same studios and night clubs from LA to London this view has no substance.
@@ezthejedi meeting Fela? I was young, 18, and he was older. I didn't like him. He was at my school to recruit me after a friend and I played a blues tune on Nigerian National Television. I refused.
@@ezthejedi it was post-Biafra War, of which I went through its entirety as well. There was a Nigerian military presence in most towns and all cities, frequent temporary and permanent checkpoints on the roads. Fuel was often scarce and extremely expensive for the area. There were no longer any military skirmishes or ethnic cleansing by the north. It was "relatively peaceful" with a new military government lasting about 3 years until another coup would dictate a new military country leader until the establishment of a new constitution and government structure and formal democratic elections. Bribes were a way of life for those in charge.
@@gxtmfa sorry, I felt a little a bit like if I started playing for him i would be little more than a body. I was wise to those who used positions of power for their personal gain to the sometimes detriment of others. It was a quick call, I had just his demeanor, slight impatience. He was accompanied by Sonny Okun who did most of the speaking. I was slightly flattered but skeptical.
This is such a well made video, makes me want to look more into Fela and Baker's work. (I'm into Cream, Blind Faith, and Airforce. Trying to explore more of Ginger's career.) Hoping your channel blows up!
Check out the album "Sunrise on the Sufferbus" by the Masters of Reality. Ginger played drums on that album and my god is it class, wish he made more music with them but I guess it wasn't his style to stick with any group for too long.
Great video essay! Would love to see a channel cover lesser known stories in music history like this. No shade to some other channels but im not really interested in a video essay like 'How the strokes were influential.' These are the kindve stories that are actually fascinating! Certainly not clickbait crap!
This video should have 50 million views.... Two true music legends, who people hardly know, even today. Many people know the band Cream, but few know it was Ginger who founded that powerhouse trio. And many people know the song ITT (International Thief Thief) without knowing that song, is by Fela.... I happen to own that Fela and Ginger live album, its one of my most priced possessions for sure, and very hard to come by these days, if you are lucky, you find it in a second hand record store, but i wouldnt get my hopes up too much, people who own this album, dont sell it. Ty for highlighting this cooperation between these legends in music in this video, so happy i ran into this.
Purr african talents...the great fela kuti made thr whole eager to his creativity..such a powerful intertpretation of the actual suffering in post colonial africa...rise on mama africa..shine on....
Some may say that he had no one but himself to blame, but it's hard and sad seeing someone, in this case poor Ginger, in the happy enthusiastic vital prime of his youth, become an embittered angry physically deteriorated man before his death.
Fela kuti was well-known in the caribbean part of colombia (mainly Cartagena) at that time, people age 50-80 years old today were hit by the African music wave during the 60-70-80's making Shaka Shakalo a big hit in the pick-up's dancing floor arena. Fela & Ginger Baker live 71 and Shaka Shakalao are part of my personal Lps collection.
I love how people are whining about the title. Its incindiery, its attention grabbing, stop making such a big deal about it. It's a 1k sub channel that got more than 100k views, just golf clap and enjoy the content for what it is.
so... you whining about people whining? lol "I LOVE how you're whining about people getting upset about the clickbait tittle... stop making such a big deal about it. just golf clap and enjoy the life for what it is."
A lot of people only watch videos so they can assert in the comments that they know more about the subject than the person who made the video. Because they're winners.
