Nana Ampadu

Nana Kwame Ampadu (31 March 1945 – 28 September 2021) was a Ghanaian musician and composer. Considered as one of the greatest Ghanaian musician of all time, he's credited with numerous popular highlife and he is known to have composed over 800 songs. He was also known as Adwomtofo Nyinaa hempɔn. Ampadu was the lead singer, chief songwriter, and founder of the "African Brothers Band". He is regarded as a pioneer of highlife and afrobeat music and one of the most illustrious Ghanaian musicians of the 20th century.

Music Ampadu's "African Brothers Band" was formed in 1963. One of the founding members of African Brothers Band was Eddie Donkor.

The name was in support of the call by Kwame Nkrumah for African unity. The group was later renamed the African Brothers International Band in 1973.

His musical career also involved him in electoral politics, including composing a song for Jerry Rawlings's 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.

Influence and achievements Nana Ampadu toured with the S. K. Oppong Drama Group, which performed concerts and short plays on the programmes of his band. This group later evolved to become the cast of Osofo Dadzie, the most popular Ghana TV drama series for many years. One of his songs, Obra, became the theme song for Obra, another very popular Ghanaian TV drama series. He also wrote the theme song for the national Operation Feed Yourself programme of the military National Redemption Council for national food sufficiency. His birth name was Patrick Kwame Ampadu and his parents were Opanyin Kwame Ampadu and Mercy Afua Ntiriwaa, both of Obo Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Awards Nana Ampadu won a number of awards in Ghana. Grand Medal of the Volta Civil Division in 1977 Odwontofoohene by the Arts Council of Ghana in 1973 the first ever National Dance Band Competition in 1972

Death Nana Ampadu died on 28 September 2021, at the age of 76, at the Legon Hospital in Accra.