Babatunde Olatunji

Pictures

Listen to, buy or share

Buy

Buy on Amazon Amazon Expand purchase options
  • Digital download
  • Amazon Amazon
  • 7digital 7digital
  • iTunes iTunes
  • Physical media
  • Amazon Amazon Search
  • eBay eBay Search
  • 108,072
    scrobbles
  • 20,275
    listeners

Tags

Everyone’s tags

More tags

Biography

Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist and recording artist. Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, a small town near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. A member of the Yoruba people, Olatunji was introduced to traditional African music at an early age. He read in Reader’s Digest magazine about the Rotary International Foundation’s scholarship program, and applied for it. He came to the United States of America in 1950. Olatunji won a following among jazz musicians, notably creating a strong relationship with John Coltrane and Columbia Records A&R man John Hammond who signed him to the Columbia label in 1957. With Coltrane’s help, he founded the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem. This was the site of Coltrane’s final performance.

In 1959 Olatunji released his first of six records on the Columbia label, called Drums of Passion. In 1969, Carlos Santana had a major hit with his cover version of this first album’s “Jin-go-lo-ba,” which Santana recorded on his debut album, Santana, as “Jingo.” Olatunji favoured a big percussion sound, and his records typically featured more than 20 players, unusual for a percussion based ensemble. Drums of Passion became a major hit and remains in print; it introduced many Americans to world music. Drums of Passion also served as the band’s name. Notable band members included; Clark Terry, Bill Lee, Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, Sikiru Adepoju and Charles Lloyd, among others.
Read more… Edit bio

Top Albums

Listening Trend

20,275listeners all time
108,072scrobbles all time
Recent listeners trend:

Start scrobbling and track your listening history

Last.fm users scrobble the music they play in iTunes, Spotify, Rdio and over 200 other music players.

Create a Last.fm profile

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up.

Top Listeners