Ginger Baker & Fela Kuti: How Two Neurotic Musicians Made The Best Music Nobody Heard
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2019
- In the 1970s, English Drummer Ginger Baker drove across the Sahara Desert to meet Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. What followed were some of the most incredible jazz & rock recordings of all time, as well as some heartbreaking setbacks.
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7:09
"...nearly beating Fela to death..."
Well, you left out the craziest part. Not only did the soldiers have Fela beaten to an inch of his life, but they actually THREW HIS MOTHER OVER THE TWO-STOREY BALONY OF THEIR HOME - KILLING HER EVENTUALLY.
To get the full picture of how dark this incident was, you need to know who Fela's mother was - Olufunmi Ransome-Kuti. She was one of the handful of Nigerian legends who earned Nigeria her independence. As far as amalgamated Nigeria is concerned, it really wouldn't be farfetched to call her the nation's mother. That was the woman Nigerian soldiers saw fit to toss over a two-storey balcony like a ragdoll.
ALBIONS suffer the DELUSION of thinking their "OPINES" carry "WEIGHT" NOTHING can be Farther from the TRUTH!! LOL!!
NOOOooo...his mum died months later.
LOL OLD PEOPLE ARENT REAL
“In 1978 Ransome-Kuti was thrown from a third-floor window in her son Fela's compound, a commune known as the Kalakuta Republic, when it was stormed by one thousand armed military personnel. She lapsed into a coma in February of that year, and died on 13 April 1978 as a result of her injuries.”
John The King Robinson nah. but you do.
More than a generous dose of “artistic license” has been applied to this piece. 😂😂😂
For starters, Fela who was classically-trained at the Trinity College of Music in London had already toured the US and recorded an album at EMI’s Abbey Road studios in London before hooking-up professionally with Ginger Baker in Nigeria. Furthermore, Fela was already an EMI artiste with several albums under the label (such as “Open and Close” and the epic “Shakara”) before a public falling out (reportedly over the length of Fela’s songs and new equipment for an upcoming tour, among other related issues), following which Fela then signed on with Decca (WA) Records under its Afrodisia label. Meanwhile, the tale that Fela never played his recorded music in concert is entirely a MYTH. He did - not just on tour, but at the weekly “jumps” at the Shrine.
Fela was not some “local” musician waiting/hoping for “discovery”. Rather, many of the world’s best musicians (from Stevie Wonder to James Brown) beat a furious path down to the Shrine.
And that's the reason why Ginger Baker traveled to get to know him
This. Pretty sure there’s a video of Paul McCartney on YT talking about going to the Shrine.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Ginger Baker was actually related to Rasputin.
You are too kind, this video feels like a buzzfeed article tbh, as in, a load of unresearched bollocks.
Moral of the story: Never let a drum full of weed get you down.
Or maybe, never let a drummer full of weed plan anything? After he lost Paul McCartney which doomed the studio in a struggling to find their own identity former British colony he decided to um...take up polo? Fucking unbelievable. Organized a tour from Africa to Europe but relied on a drum full of smuggled weed to finance it? Oh. My.
Hats off to him for reaching out and helping to bring the beauty of African music to the attention of the western world, but he really should have made room for a manager on that Land Rover.
Or never get down with a drum full of weed.
it was a bongo not a drum
Man...That's the name of your first album right there
@@wolfganginvasion a bongo is a type of drum
Fela is one of the most influential and powerful artists of all time. Wildly under appreciated
Man, I feel so fortunate to have seen Fela once. It was 3 decades ago. Still the best concert I've ever attended.
My Nigerian friend got up and started dancing when I told him I stumbled upon Fela Kuti
Ginger Baker as a close approximation I can make is the musical Hunter S Thompson. A truly undomesticated individual. A true free spirit, and a force of nature.
It's important for parents to socialize their children at the earliest opportunity. Or is that dogs?
And a dick
@@robertbrowne7880 if you ask a sociologist and/or many "psychologists", they would look at humans just as if they are animals as children.
And a little wanker.
Mirokuofnite and a damn fine drummer throughout his life!!
Excuse me, but someone DRIVING from Europe to Nigeria could be it's own video entirely, holy shit.
If I was Land Rover I'd pay them and use that fact in advertising.
You haven't seen the film?? It was reissued sometime in the early 2ooo's (?) On DVD format
Mark Arandjus that's what Rovers do. Nothing special about that really... 🙂
@@thewhat531 to be fair, that's what SOME rovers do. MOST Rivera are mall crawlers now, and would lose their electrics and be inoperable within a week of hard use. In fact. Even the "good" ones break down. They were just easier to fix with simple tools on the side of the road, or middle of the desert, as it were.
It is its own video. It's called Ginger Baker in Africa.
It's more common than you think.
Mathew McConaughey needs to play Ginger Baker when they make a bio movie.
alright alright alright
Perfect.
And dave chappelle could play fela kuti
Christian Bale could do a decent job of portraying Baker - and, unlike McConaughey, Bale's an asshole. So he would easily get into character.
@@smoog yeah christian bale could do as he is already familiar with wearing capes and waving his hands
They lived a life that sounds like a movie.
I think it will happen.
“Nobody” is a stretch. Western music press doesn’t constitute the entire Universe of music listeners. Fela was huge here. In his lifetime. Going to guess from the video title that this is an American channel.
In Europe Fela Kuti is enough known, at least by over 40, also if he never had a large auduence here.
Everyone knows him here in Accra too! But that's not what he said. He's talking about the collaborative album, not Fela.
@Thomas Farrell she said "western music press"?!
@Thomas Farrell The amount of ignorance that goes into a statement like this is unfathomable.
@Thomas Farrell you're so irrelevant, nobody cares about your opinion. You should isolate your ass and let ppl live without the irrelevance of your existence
This is a biopic waiting to happen.
Micaiah von Walter they go into greater detail in the Ginger Baker documentary
‘Beware of Mr Baker’ 2012
I remember first learning about Fela in a music class in college. What a badass
We have known about Fela for about 15 years but thank you for introducing us to Ginger, it is good to spread the knowledge, his sons Seun and Femi are still really doing it.
The album they did together is fantastic.
Damn straight it is. I play it at work sometimes and it's universally enjoyed
RIP Ginger Baker - October 6. 2019
Dude, Fela Kuti is a musician I've been trying so hard to remember the name of
He didn't fly down. He drove to Africa in a Jensen.
I thought it was a Range Rover?
Jack Stone The first time?
I think it was a Range Rover... The Jenson was flown to Jamaica (Yep... Flown in a cargo plane ^-^) and he drove it off a cliff, surviving only because he wedged the car in a tree growing out the side of the cliff.
Allegedly :)
How u gonna go from playing Afro Beat music to playing Polo? Madman😂🔥
MsBizzyGurl True...
MsBizzyGurl Just saw an interview with ginger practically on his deathbed. He said "losing all that" was a really painful thing. Kinda feel bad for him now.
He sucked at Polo ...and that was just the mint with the hole !
That's Baker for ya😂
Two of some of my favourite artists and I never even realised they collaborated, thank you sir
Interesting video! Baker is a legend 😄
Fancy seeing you here.
They both are. That's kind of the point.
And fela's not?😂 wow..ok!!
Baker isn't a very good drummer.... Tony Allen is on another level.
I would have never heard of gb if it wasn't for FELA😂
Ginger only cared about one thing: drums. He was totally dedicated to the drums even above his own children. I think he could have played for 24 hours straight if he put his mind to it. If you haven't seen "Beware Mr. Baker" you should watch it. Ginger was the best drummer I ever saw in my 70 years and he was definitely one of a kind.
Probably why as a Fela Kuti devotee and Tony Allen feign I love the Ginger Baker album the best. Ginger’s jazzy skip style on that record drives me wild. Ye Ye De Smell sends me in a 60s teenager frenzy. Dem drums are AAAAAHHHH!!!
Thank you for this. Excellent work.
Thanks for making this! Great information about two of my musical heroes.
I never heard of this collaboration. Then I go to listen to this music.
If you haven’t heard the album “Zombie,” I strongly recommend it. Afro-pop, Jazz, and funk come together in a masterpiece of grooves, rhythm and virtuosity. What they didn’t mention is Fela’s incredible talent on the saxophone and his skills as an improvisational musician. Cool stuff.
Awesome video! I hope you keep on sharing these amazing stories- I really enjoyed watching this. Thanks for putting it out there for us!
After watching the video and reading some comments providing greater details, it sure makes me appreciate how difficult it is to synopsize a life--especially this relationship, and Fela Kuti most of all! I have to doff my hat to the fact you bothered to tackle it, and am very happy you did. Down the rabbit hole I go!
I was lucky for to see CREAM last concert. R.I.P Ginger.
Dude this video was fantastic, keep making more of these not enough content like this on UA-cam.
Thank you for this, it was a big learning experience. A great little documentary.
🎼🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I’m really happy I found your channel. I have a strong taste for obscure music and history so this is right up my alley.
Great story. Goes to show how far musicians will go to make music. RIP Ginger.
I can listen Tony Allen and Ginger Baker drum jam from that album like everyday
Beautiful video, thanks for sharing.
This is spectacular. Such good stuff. Such bad breaks. I had forgotten about lots of this stuff having happened.
I listen to Fela Kuti all the time.
This was both interesting and enjoyable. Keep em comin and i'll keep watching
This is awesome, thanks
Dude I love this idea as a channel! Keep it up, keen to see the next one.
Thank you, Peter Edward Baker...!!! RIP
Ginger turned me onto Fela. Been a fan ever since.
Funny, it was exactly the opposite with me.
This is gold. Thank you.
Fela Kuti & Ginger Baker’s Africa 1970 has been one of my favorite albums of all time.
"If truth be known," he continues, "I was the Stones' first drummer. We used to do the interval for Alexis Korner with Mick Jagger, who was like Korner's protege, and Brian Jones. I got on very well with Brian, so we formed a band. Then Charlie [Watts] left Alexis Korner so I could join, and I got Charlie into the Stones. But it was Brian who set the Stones on its path."
I'm kinda happy to hear about the very early stages of the stones were brought together due to circumstances surrounding ginger baker, cool stuff
@Ricardo D'Arcivar Does "everyone" know this? Or did you just make it up?
This was great storytelling. A video on the very similar antics of Captain Beefheart might be cool.
Cool Video, please keep them coming!
This is the channel I needed.
Nice video, keep it up 👍
Fela Kuti reminds me of Tyler Durden in Fight Club. He "stood against" this oppresive social hierachy but he treated his bandmates as less than human becoming a walking contradiction.
oh shit someone on the internet actually understood fight club
@@man.6618 what do you mean?
You just said complete rubbish....dont speak about an artist you do not know anything about...
@@Ebilehita Did you watch the video?
@@tangerinesarebetterthanora7060 I'm telling you its false
Love the way this is narrated.
Thanks for posting
This would make a good movie :)
This is such a well made video, makes me want to look more into Fela and Baker's work. (I'm into Cream, Blind Faith, and Airforce. Trying to explore more of Ginger's career.) Hoping your channel blows up!
Check out the album "Sunrise on the Sufferbus" by the Masters of Reality. Ginger played drums on that album and my god is it class, wish he made more music with them but I guess it wasn't his style to stick with any group for too long.
You have low standards I guess.
Make some more videos! I really enjoyed this 🙌🏻
This channel is great. So glad it popped up in my UA-cam algorithm today. I subscribed a few minutes into watching.
This video should have 50 million views....
Two true music legends, who people hardly know, even today.
Many people know the band Cream, but few know it was Ginger who founded that powerhouse trio.
And many people know the song ITT (International Thief Thief) without knowing that song, is by Fela....
I happen to own that Fela and Ginger live album, its one of my most priced possessions for sure, and very hard to come by these days, if you are lucky, you find it in a second hand record store, but i wouldnt get my hopes up too much, people who own this album, dont sell it.
Ty for highlighting this cooperation between these legends in music in this video, so happy i ran into this.
Someone have to make a movie about them!
Already done.
Beware of Mr. Baker.
Also, Fela had way bigger balls than James Brown. The allegations of fining musicians are wrong. When Brown showed up and Fela found out about Browns policy of fining musicians for getting high and playing wrong notes, he sent James to bed and forbid him from playing with Baker and the band.
Very entertaining, Well made and informative take on music history.
Thanks for this
They did some great work together. There was a band when I was in college called "Chicago Afrobeat Project" or something like that, and I discovered Fela through them. (weirdly enough I had already been listening to his son, Femi Kuti, for years prior as he was on the Jamband circuit for a while in the late 90's/early 00's, never knowing that his father was essentially the Marley of Africa, lol)
Went to my local record store and could only find a few Fela recordings on vinyl, the live album with Baker, Zombie, and a few other Africa 70 and one Egypt 80. I don't think they knew what they had as I was able to get them all, like 5-6 albums for about $50. Now they're $30-50 a piece for the Japan releases (which is what I found). Been a big fan ever since, though I really need to be in the right mood for Fela. Spring-boarded off Fela into Ali Farka-Toure and various Zam-Rock groups. Amanaz's "Africa" now being one of my favorite albums ever. Would love any suggestions of African rock/funk/jazz/blues as I'm always down to discover new artists.
Woah I just found out Ginger Baker died like 5 days ago when looking up how old he was.
I was on a Blind Faith video kick when he died.
ua-cam.com/video/PJJnA6zEcGk/v-deo.html
same! i also found out we had the same birthday. life's weird.
Jesus, WTF!
Ginger died from looking up how old he was? Crazy!
@@EasyFlows I guess he forgot.
great video, thanks!
Excellent! More please!
"Hard to imagine a band today dragging their van across the Sahara desert." You did an amazing piece on soviet music - check out Gazelle of death and Denis Alekseev. For 10+ years he drives bands to do gigs in the most remote places on earth
Great video essay! Would love to see a channel cover lesser known stories in music history like this. No shade to some other channels but im not really interested in a video essay like 'How the strokes were influential.' These are the kindve stories that are actually fascinating! Certainly not clickbait crap!
Wow. Thanks for this.. New music for me.
Wow. Great video!
damn ginger baker lived a full life!
the cover of Band on the Run has actor Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in LoTR. The reason the picture is like that is that they couldn't keep still long enough because they were laughing too much at being serious. They got this picture when they told them to just hold onto each other for a second
Despite some obvious missteps (which he attempted to address in one of the comments) I appreciate the effort it took to create this vid. Hope you keep at it.
Thank you for this...The Rest of the Story would be great too.
Fela is very well known in Ireland.
If you enjoyed this Watch beware of Mr Baker, a great insight into a crazy guy who Will be missed
We all have ya DICK
So cool! I knew about Paul recording band on the run in Nigeria but great video! Learned a lot more!
Great video with fantastic stories. Nicely done my friend
"Fell-ah" and "Lay-gos" but great video.
RIP Ginger 🙏
Very well done mini documentary.👍
Great vídeo dude!
Music does surpass everything else.
I love how people are whining about the title. Its incindiery, its attention grabbing, stop making such a big deal about it. It's a 1k sub channel that got more than 100k views, just golf clap and enjoy the content for what it is.
so... you whining about people whining? lol
"I LOVE how you're whining about people getting upset about the clickbait tittle... stop making such a big deal about it. just golf clap and enjoy the life for what it is."
@@elevatedaspirations ah ok, so you are whining about them whining about him whining about people whining then? ;)
Seemed a little too soon to assume
@@mcspongeicus no you killed it
A lot of people only watch videos so they can assert in the comments that they know more about the subject than the person who made the video. Because they're winners.
This was well informative and cool!
I listen to this album like twice a month I just love it.
The hypocrisy and double-standard we used to have for famous people’s shitty behaviour is crazy.
d0y0uwantm0re yup. Trump.
We still have it
You talk like this behavior has gone extinct 🤨, why?
Purr african talents...the great fela kuti made thr whole eager to his creativity..such a powerful intertpretation of the actual suffering in post colonial africa...rise on mama africa..shine on....
I saw Fela in San Diego, 1985? It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen.
45 seconds in and I know I’m subscribing
True story!
I hope that will make people listen to their music : )
Afrobeat is kept alive by Fella's sons : )
And baker was an excellent drummer.
@Tom Pryor So right . and Femi helped a lot of musiciens to keep their job (and keep up the flamme )after his dad"s too soon death . ...:
Seun & Femi Kuti.
Another amazing video. You have introduced me to so much. Please keep this stuff coming. The diversity of what you cover is very appealing and appreciated!
My new favourite channel on UA-cam :)
Great work on these videos man
Ginger played with more bands than just Cream and Blind Faith before he headed to Nigeria.
He even joined the air force!
Ginger Baker was very open minded. What a great musician
The music is really so great that I just found that these guys existed today.
Very cool vid! Kudos!
Some may say that he had no one but himself to blame, but it's hard and sad seeing someone, in this case poor Ginger, in the happy enthusiastic vital prime of his youth, become an embittered angry physically deteriorated man before his death.
"...raw musical passion....?" Adventure perhaps. He was a scoundrel, Baker, that looked for the next wall to break down.
GREAT JOB!
Thank you, very interesting!