“People will talk of you”

Scorpion Mensah and His Afro Cubanos

Senaphone FAO 1506

Senafone, setup by Accra business man Samir Eid, quickly established as a very successful label for modern, hip highlife music in the mid 1950s. With the C.F.A.O. (Companie Francaise de l’Afrique Occidentale) as a distributor, the music of Spike Anyankor’s “Rhythm Aces”, King Bruce’s “Black Beats”, the “Star Rockets” (a.k.a. Tempos No. 2) and the “Delta Dandies” spread all over West Africa.

Scorpion Mensah, also called “New Mr Guiter” was a star guitarist of the 1950s. He had played with Tempo’s No 2 Band and left with vocalist Bing Quartey to play with the “Shanbros Dance Band”. The “Afro Cubanos” were an outfit that also included former companions of E.T. Mensah: After drummer Guy Warren, saxophonist Joe Kelly, bass player “Serious” Amarfio and guitarist “Baby” Nelson had left the original “Tempos Band” in the early 1950s, they formed a  group called “Jam session” and soon after the “Afro Cubanos”.

The song featured in this post captures a recurrent theme not only in West African music (from Kakaiku’s “People will talk of you” to Geraldo Pino’s “Let them talk”) but generally in western youth cultures: the individual versus the society. The advice to not consider the morals and conventions of the society and to “do whatever you think is right” is a resolute contra-distinction to traditional lifestyles which makes this song a definite modern as well as urban statement.

Senafone FAO 1506 - A

People will talk of you

Let your clothes be all of friends.
People still will talk of you.
Blessed of being the richest too.
People still will talk of you.

People will talk of you!
There is time to talk of you whatever you do.
Care not all the things they may say.
Do whatever you think is right.

In your presence you’ll be free.
Turn your back and you will hear,
that there’s time to talk of you.
Care not whatever they say!

People will talk of you!
There is time to talk of you whatever you do.
Care not all the things they may say.
Do whatever you think is right.

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