XHIBITION & MUSEUM Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation 
(BAPMAF) Highlife Photo Exhibition and 
Museum has opened to the public in Accra. 
Materials include over 100 photographs, rare 
documents, posters, record sleeves - as well as over 
400 hours of recorded music; include 700 old 
Highlife songs on shellac 78 rpm record. 
The central focus of the display is the Golden 
Years of Highlife Photo Exhibition, which was 
outdoored at the joint Goethe Institute/BAPMAF 
Highlife Month held in Accra during February 
1996. Organisations which were involved or 
supported the very successful Highlife Month 
include the Dubois Centre (Ebo Hawkson, 
Director), the National Theatre (Dr. Kolma 
Amoako , Director) MUSIGA Poe Mensah, President), 
the University of Ghana (Prof. Kofi Agovi 
and Dr. Kwesi Yankah), the Ghana Copyright 
Administration (Betty Mould-lddrisu, Director), the 
Ghana National Folklore Boards (Colonel Amuzu, 
Chairman) and the African Heritage Library (Kofi 
Ghanaba, Director). The Padmore Library was 
also supplied materials from the photo exhibition 
for its archives. 
Musicians and music producers who 
attended or were involved in the Highlife Month 
were: Koo Nimo, OscarmoreOfori, King Bruce, 
Kofi Ghanaba, the Grassroots and Ankobra 
bands, 'Opia', Mr. Oppong and Mr. Mensah 
of the Ghana Concert Party Union, members of 
Mau Mau Muziki, Jimmy Beckley, Dick Essilfie- 
Bondzie, Kojo Donkor and members of the Jaguar 
Jokers concert party. 
Bokoor African Popular Music Archives 
(BAPMAF) is a non-governmental organisation 
established in 1990 by Dr. John Collins, King 
Bruce, KooN'imo, E.T. Mensah, Jimmy Beckley, 
(of Jimmy s Jazz spot), 'Opia' (i.e. Mr. Y. B. 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts •mm 5 
i v 2.\<> 3 1 GLENDORA ...„
The Jaguar Jokers before a campaign. 
Title-page photo: Musician Victor Uwaifo {left) v/ith John Collins 
Bampoe of the Jaguar Jokers), Professor A. A. Mensah, 
Edinam Ansah (Volta Region, MUSIGA) and the late Kwaa 
Mensahand BeattieCasely-Hayford: Thecoreof the BAPMAF 
music achieves are materials collected by its Acting Director, 
Dr. John Collins, over the last 26 years. Materials have also 
be contributed by King Bruce, E.T. Mensah, 'Opia', Professor 
Mawere Opoku (Legon), the late Kwaa Mensah, and Robert 
Sprigge (ex History and ex Red Spots Band) including T. O. 
Juzz, Oscarmore Afuri. 
BAPMAF has donated books, materials and music to 
the DuBois Centre, the Padmore Library, the Institute of African 
Studies, Legon, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the 
Ghana Musicians Union (MUSIGA), the International Centre 
for African Music and Dance, Legon, the Ghana National 
Folklore Board of Trustees and the John Tei and Saint John's 
Schools. 
BAPMAF is also associated with the Gramophone 
Research Museum at Cape-Coast and the African Heritage 
Library, Samsan. 
Golden Years of Highlife Photo 
Exhibition 
The materials of the exhibition are organised into 14 
separate categories - each accompanied by an information 
sheet. These categories are: 
1) Fife and Brass Bands. Emergence of brass band 'adaha' 
highlife music in Cape Coast in the 1 880's. Its spread and 
offshoots - like Konkoma highlife. 
2) Palmwine music. Early coastal guiter/ accordion 
music. Importance of Kru seamen. Fanti Osibisaaba. First 
Highlife recordings (in 1928): Yaa AmposahandOdonson 
GLENDORA r.»* 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts 
Vol. 2/No. 3 
(Akan 'blues') 
3) High-Class Dance Orchestras. Elite 
dance orchestras from 1914 to 1940s. 
Origin of term 'Highlife'. i.e high-class 
life. 
4) Highlife Dance Bands. Impact of 
World War 1 1. Postwar appearance of 
jazzy dance-band highlife in Ghana. Its 
spread to Nigeria in the 1950s. 
5) E.T. Mensah, The King of Dance Band 
Highlife. The life of the pioneer postwar 
leader of the Tempos Highlife dance-band. 
6) King Bruce and the Black Beats. The 
story of another important Highlife danceband 
leader and manager of the Black 
Beats Bands. 
7) The Concert Party. Overview of the 
concert party profession from 1 903 to the 
present. 
8) The Jaguar Jokers Concert Party. The Comedian 'Opa' 
(Y.B. Bampoe) and his Jaguar Jokers group formed in 1 954. 
9) Guitar Bands. The transformation of 'palmwine' music 
into guitar-band music after World War 1 1. The crucial role 
of E.K. Nyame. 
10) Fusion music. Emergence of various musical blends 
created by highlife musicians. The Afro-jazz of KofiGhanaba 
(Guy Warren), the Afro-beat of Nigeria's Fela Anikulapo- 
Kuti, Osibisa's Afro-rock, 'Burgher' highlife. 
11) Rise of Women Artists. Explosion of female popular 
musicians and concert actresses since the 1 960s. Important 
role .of local gospel music in feminishing popular dance 
music. 
12) Black-To-Roots. Indigenisation/acoustic trends in highlife. 
Kpanlogo drumming. Wulomei and the Ga 'cultural groups'. 
Koo Nimo's updated palmwine music. 
13) Ghanaian Musicians Unions. Ghanaian music unions 
since 1956. MUSIGA 
14) Highlife Diagram/Tree. Large easy to read at glance, 
diagram of the evolutionary tree of highlife and its many 
offshoots. 
BAPMAF is situated at Bokoor House/Music Studio, Mile 8 
Accra-Nsawam Road. Diagonally opposite Taifa Junction 
and next to MUUS (3 miles North of Achimota). 
Postal address: P.O. Box 391, Achimota. Tel: (23321) 
400334