President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he is grateful to the late Nana Ampadu for his support for him all these years.
According to the President, the late legendary highlife musician believed in his vision and proved it with his support during the 2016 election.
“Nana Ampadu believed in my vision for the transformation of Ghana and assisted me tremendously on the campaign trail in the run-up to my victory in the elections of 2016, for which I remain eternally grateful. His was a life well-lived, and he will be sorely missed.”
The President noted that the outpour on social media is a prove of the love the people of Ghana had for his work and his personality.
“The outpouring of grief by many Ghanaians, following the news of his death, is an appreciation of the impact his music had on successive generations of Ghanaians.”
Nana Ampadu died on Tuesday after a short illness. The 76 years old was one of Ghana’s greats in music whose work put the country on the map.
Nana Ampadu was born at Adiemmra on the Afram Plains in the Eastern Region of Ghana on 31 March 1945.
Ampadu’s “African Brothers Band” was formed in 1963. One of the founding members was Eddie Donkor.
He came to prominence in 1967 when he released his song Ebi Te Yie (or “Some Are Well Seated”), a song that was seen as potentially critical of the then-governing National Liberation Council and disappeared from the airwaves, only returning after the end of military rule.
In 1973 he won a nationwide competition in Ghana to be crowned the Odwontofoohene, or “Singer-in-Chief”.
His musical career has also involved him in electoral politics, including composing a song for Jerry Rawlings’ National Democratic Congress party to use in the 1992 election campaign.
Ampadu also released a song critical of an attempt to disqualify Rawlings from the 1992 election based on him being half-Scottish.
