King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye 22 September 1946 |
| Genres | Jùjú, African pop |
| Occupations | Singer, musician |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Labels | Island Records, Sunny Alade, I.R.S., Provogue, African Songs, Sigma Park, Master Disk |
Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye ⓘ MFR (Yoruba: Sunday Adéníyì Adégẹyè; born 22 September 1946), known professionally as King Sunny Adé, is a Nigerian jùjú singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is regarded as one of the first African pop musicians to gain international success and has been called one of the most influential musicians of all time.
Sunny Adé formed his backing band in 1967, eventually known as his African Beats. After achieving national success in Nigeria during the 1970s and founding his own independent label, Sunny Adé signed to Island Records in 1982 and achieved international success with the albums Juju Music (1982) and Synchro System (1983); the latter garnered him a Grammy nomination, a first for a Nigerian artist. His 1998 album Odu also garnered a Grammy nomination. Sunny Adé served as board chairman of the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria before it got licensed and was later appointed honorary president of the society in recognition of his leadership role in the society.