As many people continue to mourn deceased highlife singer, Victor Olaiya, his essence as a committed artiste is playing out.
Here are some of the things peculiar to him:
Although he waster based in Lagosian, he was born in Calabar.
His parents were from Ekiti State.
They were very rich.
They asked him to study Civil Engineering abroad but he defied them, studied music at Howard University.
He used to be a member of Sammy Akpabot and Bobby Benson’s bands.
He formed his own band, Cool Cats in 1954, later renamed as All Stars Band.
Before Babangida was nicknamed the Evil Genius, media great, ALhaji Alade Odunewu had described Olaiya the ‘Evil Genius of Highlife.’
He was also involved in the importation of musical instruments.
He owned the Stadium Hotel, Surulere, Lagos.
His music was influenced by James Brown.
….
Meanwhile, enjoy this love poetry video
