Roy Chicago: John Akintola Ademuwagun, better known as Roy Chicago, was a prominent highlife musician in the 1960s. He began his professional music career in the 1950s, performing at the Central Hotel on Adamasingba Street in Ibadan before relocating to Lagos. However, his musical journey started much earlier, during his elementary school days in Sapele in the 1940s. Siaka Momoh, writing for ‘Showtime’ in Vanguard, interviewed him in April 1985, four years before his death, where Roy reminisced about his early days in music.
The interview took place at the Chicago Club on Modeke Street, off Ojuelegba Road in Surulere, Lagos. At that time, Roy was 50 years old and had transitioned from being a highlife star to a committed beer seller, performing various bartending tasks.
Learning Curve
Roy Chicago’s association with music began in elementary school, where he led the school band in Sapele. This role allowed him to master several instruments, particularly the trumpet. After finishing school in 1946, he became a teacher and continued to nurture school bands in Sapele and what is now Ondo State. His professional music career started after he left teaching and joined Hubert Ogunde’s band in 1959. He later played with Bobby Benson’s Jam Session Orchestra, formed the Green Springers for Green Spring Hotel in Ibadan, and eventually started his own band, reflecting a challenging yet enriching learning curve.
Roy’s Music
After Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Roy Chicago gained widespread success with hits like “Iyawo Pankeke,” “Are Owo Ni Esa Yoyo Gbe,” and “Keregbe Emu.” He and Victor Olaiya, both alumni of the Bobby Benson Orchestra, led two of Nigeria’s foremost highlife bands, with Roy being credited for introducing the talking drum into highlife.
Roy Chicago combined the trumpet and saxophone with vocals, performing various music styles, including ballroom dance, highlife, fox trot, tango, waltz, quick step, jive, and Latin American music. His notable sidemen included tenor sax player Etim Udo and trumpeter Marco Bazz. Roy’s highlife style was heavily rhythm-focused, incorporating Nigerian folksongs and showcasing blue notes in his saxophone parts, aligning more closely with traditional Yoruba music than conventional highlife.
Fall of Highlife
The Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) contributed to highlife’s decline as many of the top bands were run by Igbos from the breakaway eastern regions. This shift allowed Yoruba-derived Jùjú music, led by artists like Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade, to dominate. Jùjú music, characterized by guitar melodies and rooted in Yoruba traditions, evolved significantly from the 1930s to the 1980s, seeing a resurgence with Shina Peter’s “Ace” album.
During a low point in Roy Chicago’s career in the 1970s, Bobby Benson supported him by providing musical equipment. Roy, an indigene of Ikare-Akoko in Ondo State, had two children, Bolajoko and Kayode Akintola. Unlike Victor Olaiya, who drew from Ghanaian melodies, Roy’s music was deeply rooted in Nigerian indigenous themes and folklore.
Legacy
Roy Chicago’s band was a training ground for notable musicians, including trumpeter/vocalist Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson and tenor sax player Peter King. Jimi Solanke, the playwright and folk singer, also performed with his band, and guitarist Alaba Pedro played with Roy until the band disbanded in 1969 due to the civil war. Alaba Pedro praised the band for its discipline and versatility, emphasizing its specialty in highlife music infused with Nigerian rhythms. Roy Chicago’s influence persisted as his former band members continued to shape Nigeria’s music scene.
