Background
Addy was born into the Georgia ethnic group in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.
Addy was born into the Georgia ethnic group in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.
He taught music at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. He was one of the 55 children of Jacob Kpani Addy, a wonche or medicine man who integrated rhythmic music into healing and other rituals. Obo Addy"s earliest musical influence was the traditional music of the Georgia people, but he was also influenced as an adolescent by popular music from Europe and the United States, and performed in local bands that played Westernized music and the dance music of Ghana known as highlife.
Addy was employed by the Arts Council of Ghana in 1969, and played his native Georgia traditional music in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.
He moved to London, England, and began touring in Europe. In 1978, he moved to Portland, Oregon in the United States, where he taught at Lewis & Clark College.
He also led weekly drumming workshops at Portland"s Lincoln High School. After a long battle with liver cancer, Addy died on September 13, 2012.
AfieyeOkropong (Alula Records)
Wonche Bi (Alula Records)
Let Maine Play My Drums (Burnside Records)
The Rhythm Of Which A Chief Walks Gracefully (Earthbeat Records)
Okropong (Santrofi Records).