7 King Sunny Ade 7

declared Ade the King of Juju in 1977, the title became

integral to his professional persona.

In the early 1980s Ade signed with Island Records, and

the release of Juju Music (1982) propelled him, his band,

and juju into the international limelight. Ade’s next album

with Island, the synthesizer-enriched Synchro System (1983),

drew an even more thunderous response and prompted a

surge in international bookings. By the mid-1980s Ade

had exposed much of the non-African world to Nigerian

juju. After his separation from Island in 1985, Ade focused

his musical activity at home, at which time he also began

to shift the topics of his lyrics from the ills of Nigerian

society to more-intimate matters of personal struggle.

Although he maintained a tight schedule of recording

and performances in Nigeria, he continued to make inter-

mittent appearances abroad on the rapidly expanding

world music concert and festival circuit, where both he

and juju music continued to enjoy a strong following.

David Bowie

(b. Jan. 8, 1947, London, Eng.)

B

ritish singer, songwriter, and actor David Bowie (born

David Robert Jones) was most prominent in the

1970s and best known for his distinctive voice, shifting

personae, and prescient sense of musical trends.

To call Bowie a transitional figure in rock history is less

a judgment than a job description. Every niche he ever found

was on a cusp, and he was at home nowhere else—certainly

not in the unmoneyed London suburb where his childhood

was as reserved as his adult life would be glamorous.

Gifted as a musician, actor, writer, and artist (Bowie

attended art school from the age of 12), he would ulti-

mately find his place as a performer utilizing all these

skills. Nothing if not an eclectic musician in his own right,