Ghanaian jazz-rock fusion and progressive rock legends Osibisa have confirmed that founding member, vocalist and saxophonist Teddy Osei has died at the age of 88.
In a statement on their Facebook page, the band wrote: “The members and management of Osibisa mourn the death today of our dear comrade and friend Francis ‘Teddy’ Osei.
The whole world knew him as the leader and founder of Osibisa, the groundbreaking Afro-rock formation. He was a gifted, passionate man and a musical mentor to many. He was a saxophonist, drummer and vocalist, and with his bands, above all with Osibisa, he found both success and fulfillment.”
Born in Ghana, Osei used Osibisa to bring the grandeur and expressive power of the Afro-beat sound to the world. In the early seventies it quickly won over prog rock fans, especially thanks to the band’s early studio albums.
The legendary Roger Dean created the band’s distinctive logo, at the time when he was also working on the logo for British prog rock icons Yes. That’s why the two logos remind you of each other. Dean also made the covers for the band’s first two albums: “Osibisa” from 1970 and “Woyaya” from 1971. Both covers feature flying elephants, which gradually became the band’s trademark.
In Britain, Osibisa broke through with the 1975 single Sunshine Day (from the album “Welcome Home”), which reached number 17 and also showed up in Richard Linklater’s 2014 film Boyhood.
Francis Osei, born in 1939 in Kumasi in Ghana’s Ashanti region, was named after an Ashanti king (Osei Tutu). He grew up in a musical environment. He learned to play the saxophone while attending college, and as the anecdote goes, he more or less forced himself into it after the saxophonist who had agreed to come to rehearsals with the band Osei was putting together at the time didn’t show up. Osei then decided to just teach himself to play the sax.
In 1962, Osei went to London with his band Comets, where he studied music and drama on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government and formed the soul band Cat’s Paw. In 1969, Osei, together with his brother Mac Tontoh and Sol Amarfio from Cat’s Paw, founded Osibisa, joined by Antiguan Wendell (Dell) Richardson (lead guitar and vocals), Nigerian Lasisi Amao (percussion), Grenadian Roger Bedeau, also known as Spartacus R (bass), and Trinidadian Robert Bailey (keyboards).
The band’s early success faded at the start of the eighties, but that didn’t slow them down. They kept touring and recording diligently through that period too. Osei suffered a stroke in 2010 and had to cut back on touring, but he stayed active in the studio. Anyone who caught the band’s show in early September 2011 at the Okarina Ethno Festival in Bled will most likely remember that Teddy Osei was sitting in a wheelchair that night.
In 2020 the band released the album “Sunshine Day: The Boyhood Sessions”, and in 2021 came a new studio album, “New Dawn”, on which Osei and founding member Robert Bailey once again joined longtime member Gregg Kofi Brown.
Drummer and founding member Sol Amarfio died in December 2022 at the age of 84.
In the photo above: Teddy Osei during Osibisa’s performance on September 4, 2011, as part of the Okarina Ethno Festival program in the Bled sports hall (RockLine photo archive 2006-2025, all rights reserved). You can read the full RockLine review of that show HERE.
