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Michael Babatunde Olatunji
the Nigerian drummer, bandleader and teacher who was a tireless
ambassador for African music and culture in the United States,
died on Sunday April 6, 2003, just ten days after being admitted
to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (Salinas, California), of
complications due to his long struggle with the effects of diabetes.
He was 76 and lived at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
Olatunji had a profound impact on everyone who knew him and
everyone who had been touched by his love for the drum and the
African culture that nurtured that love.
Olatunji, with over 3,000 performances
to his credit, accumulated numerous awards and accolades. A few
of his outstanding achievements include being presented with The
Key to New York City from Mayor Ed Koch and several honorary
degrees, leading the World Drummers March for Peace at the
National Black Arts Festival and having a pre-recorded positive
message for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. In 2002 he
opened the ceremonies and was inducted in The National Black
Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Harlem. He was featured
in the WTBS television special "The Arc of the Spirit"
with Avery Brooks as well as several other related films and
videos. Babatunde Olatunji's autobiography is projected to be
published by Temple University Press in the near future.
.
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1927 -- Born in the small
village of Ajido, Nigeria, about forty miles from Lagos, the
capital
of the country. As a child, Olatunji accompanied his great aunt
Tanyin to hear the
drums - hollowed out from trees and covered with the skin of
goats - punctuate the
lives of his people. The drummers celebrated every occasion,
proclaimed the
coming of local politicians, evoked the dreams and aspirations
of their people. The
drumbeat of his childhood became the life blood of his adult
experience as Olatunji
grew and traveled throughout the world popularizing the music of
his Yoruban
heritage.
1950 -- Olatunji and his cousin were each
awarded a scholarship and were on their way to America to attend
school in Atlanta, Georgia
1954 -- After graduating
from Atlanta's Morehouse College with a degree in Diplomacy,
Olatunji moved to New York City to begin a
Political Science postgraduate
program in Public Administration at New York University.
To cover his expenses
he started a small drumming and dance groupInsights on the
cultural divides
between black and white Americans were the motivating factor
that brought
Olatunji to begin performing the drumming of his Yoruba
ancestors.
1957 -- Columbia
Records producer John Hammond heard Olatunji performing at Radio
City Music Hall at with a 66-piece orchestra. This meeting led
directly to the
recording of Drums of Passion
1959 -- Olatunji's first
album Drums of Passion, first album to bring genuine
African music
to Western ears, released by Columbia
Records. It became an unprecedented,
worldwide smash hit, selling over five million copies and
remains a popular
recording.
1963 -- Join Martin Luther King for his March on
Washington
1964 -- Olatunji
performed at the African Pavilion at the New York World Fair
where he
was able to raise enough money to open the Olatunji Center for
African Culture
(OCAC) in Harlem, offering classes in African dance, music,
language, folklore,
and history. The NEA help to fund Olatuni's OCAC teacher and
student training
programs which went to all over the schools in the New
York tri-state area, all the
way to Long Island.
He drummed at civil rights rallies along side Martin Luther King
Jr. and Malcom X and Nelson
Mandela, but his musical activism also crossed racial identities
as Mickey Hart stated, "He got
us white folks into the magical music of Africa. It was
irresistible."
1968 (April 6) -- Rudy meets Olatunji along with Queen
Mother Moore in Harlem
1993 -- Awarded the
All One Tribe Drumming Education Award for his commitment to
children,
interracial harmony and education.
1996 -- Cultural
ambassador Baba Olatunji manifested another of his goals by
inviting thousands of
drummers to congregate at the Washington Monument, prior to
Clinton's Presidential Election
to participate in Drum Dance and Pray for Peace.
1997 -- Love Drum Talk, is last CD
released was nominated for a Grammy Award.
2003 (6 April) --
Passed over to Ancestors. He is survived by his wife, Amy
Bush, one son, two
daughters, many grandchildren, nieces and nephews, with family
here and in Nigeria including
his best friend and cousin Professor Akiwowo, as well as a
world of devoted friends and fans.
* * *
* *
The list of people Olatunji played with included Carlos
Santana, John Coltrane, Tony Vacca, Madou Dembele, Sanga of the
Valley (Anthony Francis), Sikiru Adepoju, Gordy Ryan, James
Cherry, Arthur Hull, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart who
co-founded the musical troupe Planet Drum with Olatunji and
credits him as a major influence. They shared credit for the the
Best World Music Album Grammy Award in 1991 for the CD Planet
Drum.
* * *
* *
"The spirit of the drum is something that
you feel but cannot put your hands on,
It does something to you from the inside out . . .
It hits people in so many different ways.
But the feeling is one that is satisfying and joyful.
It is a feeling that makes you say to yourself, '
I'm glad to be alive today! I'm glad to be part of this
world!"
---Babatunde Olatunji * * *
* *
updated 16 May 2008 |
