Teddy Osei, a founding member and saxophone player for the iconic Afro-rock band Osibisa, has died at a ripe age of 88. The news was confirmed to Joy News by Bessa Simons, President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA).
Also, in a statement on their Facebook page, the band said: “The members of Osibisa, and the band’s management, are deeply saddened by the death today of their dear client and friend Francis ‘Teddy‘ Osei.”
Born Francis Osei in 1939 in Kumasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana, and named after Ashanti King Osei Tutu, the young Osei thrived in a musical environment at home. At college he taught himself saxophone by listening to jazz records, when the intended saxophonist in a band he was trying to form failed to show up for rehearsals.
Osei’s musical legacy began in his hometown of Kumasi, where he discovered his passion for instruments at a young age.
While attending college in Sekondi, Takoradi in Ghana, he formed his first band, “The Comets,” with his friends. After graduating, Osei briefly worked as a building inspector before pursuing his musical dreams in London.
In 1962, a Ghanaian government grant allowed Osei to study at a London music school for three years. However, a change in Ghana’s political climate forced him to remain in England. It was there, in 1969, that Osei joined forces with other talented musicians to form the band Osibisa.
Having achieved some success in Ghana with his earlier band, the Comets, Osei left for London in 1962, studying music and drama and forming soul outfit ‘Cat’s Paw’. In 1969, along with his brother Mac Tontoh and Sol Amarfio from Cat’s Paw, Osei formed Osibisa, joined by Antiguan Wendell (Dell) Richardson (lead guitar and lead vocalist), Nigerian Lasisi Amao (percussionist), Grenadian Roger Bedeau, also known as Spartacus R (bass), and Trinidadian Robert Bailey (keyboards).
Osibisa’s unique blend of African rhythms and rock influences propelled them to international fame in the 1970s. The band’s popularity waned somewhat over time, but they never stopped performing, continuing to captivate audiences with their electrifying sound.
“Known the world over as the leader and founder of Osibisa, the groundbreaking Afro-Rock band, Teddy osei was a talented and passionate, man, musician, and mentor to many. A talented saxophone player, drummer and vocalist, Teddy found success but also fulfilment with his bands, most notably Osibisa.
With the Osibisa band, Ghanaian-born Osei was instrumental in introducing white music audiences to Africa’s Afro-beat sound, finding favour with progressive rock fans for their first few albums in the early 1970s. A young Roger Dean created the band’s distinctive logo several years before he designed the famous bubble logo and also designed the covers for the band’s first two studio albums, 1970’s Osibisa and 1971’s Woyaya, both of which featured his unique flying elephant artwork.
The band had their biggest UK hit with 1975’s Sunshine Day (from that year’s Welcome Home album) which reached No. 17 and also featured in Richard Linklater’s 2014 Academy Award-winning film Boyhood. The band’s early success waned as the 1980s dawned but the band continued to tour and record. Osei suffered a stroke in 2010 and was forced to cut back on touring but remained active in the studio.
In 2020 the band released Sunshine Day: The Boyhood Sessions – capitalizing on the Linklater connection – and in 2021 they released a new studio album, ‘New Dawn’, which saw Osei and fellow founding member Robert Bailey working together once again, alongside long-standing member Gregg Kofi Brown.
Another founding member of the Osibisa Band, and drummer Sol Amarfio has also died at the age of 84 in December 2022.
“His was an important voice in music and culture, and he will be missed, but never forgotten.”
May the soul of this great African legend Rest peacefully…
