Highlife Emerges in Colonial E...

In the early 20th century, British colonial influence fused local guitar styles with Caribbean calypso and military brass bands, birthing highlife around the 1920s in urban centers like Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi. Pioneers such as E.T. Mensah and his Tempos band popularized upbeat tracks like “All for You” in the 1940s-50s, blending swing and jazz for dance halls. This era marked Ghana’s first recorded pop sound, thriving until independence in 1957.