Hear a Full Retrospective of "The Golden Voice of Africa" Pat Thomas’ Ghanaian Highlife & Afrobeat Classics
Strut Records compiles 'Coming Home,' a career-long retrospectives of Pat Thomas' Ghanaian highlife and afrobeat classics 1964-1981.
At 65 years-old, Pat Thomas is a highlife legend.
<p>Now, <a href="http://www.strut-records.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Strut Records</strong></a> is compiling <a href="https://strut.lnk.to/PatThomasComingHomeAW" target="_blank"><em>Coming Home</em></a>, a career-long retrospectives of the Ghanaian singer’s highlife and afrobeat classics. It spans from Thomas’ 1960s big band recordings to his contributions to Berlin’s “buger highlife” scene of the ‘80s.</p><p>Known as “The Golden Voice of Africa,” Thomas started building his reputation as a vocalist and songwriter early in his teenage years under the mentorship of his uncle, <strong>King Onyina</strong>—a guitarist well-known for his own work and collaborations with <strong>Nat King Cole</strong>.</p><p>His break came in 1967 when he forged a partnership with another highlife legend, <a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/tag/ebo-taylor/" target="_blank"><strong>Ebo Taylor</strong></a>.</p><p><div class="preroll-video"></div><ora-player></ora-player></p><p>Thomas and Taylor played together in several noteworthy groups—<strong>Blue Monks</strong>, <strong>Broadway Dance Band</strong>, and <strong>Sweet Beans</strong>—and the new highlife sound they created helped cement the songwriters as a major force in 1970s Ghanaian music.</p><p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7b7VrV7O1HdrHHIoVXnaxI" width="300"></iframe></p><p>Thomas’ first solo record, <em>False Lover</em> (1974), further established the vocalist across Ghana and made him a radio favorite.</p><p>“The album, <em>False Lover</em>, was the first under my own name and my first for <strong>Gapophone,</strong>” Thomas mentions. “Reggae was 'on' at that time—<strong>Jimmy</strong> <strong>Cliff</strong> was the guy—so I tried reggae fusions and brought in some soul.”</p><p>In the late ‘70s, he moved to Berlin, where he stuck to his Ghanaian roots and helped spark the “burger highlife” movement.</p><p>“In Ghana, people ex-pats living in Germany called themselves ‘burgers,’ so the scene became ‘burger highlife.’”</p><p>After Berlin, Thomas had stints Togo and London, before settling in Canada. “I ended up there for ten years playing for universities, Ghanaian societies and festivals,” he says.</p><p><div class="dfp_atf-slot" data-not-loaded="true"></div><script type="text/javascript">
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</script></p><p><a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Pat-Thomas-art.jpg"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMDQwMTI3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDI5NzI5Mn0.1jJo6pGwU7w3wloctLdWCEnLhsjHjyFmvEoAmdVziWc/img.jpg?width=980" id="d34b2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fd0c12705c3216910b03f1ec274405af" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></a></p><p>Last year, Strut released <em>Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band</em>, Thomas’ first recording in over a decade.</p><p>The vocalist has since been touring and playing the album with Kwashibu Area band across the globe.</p><p>“Today, highlife has become the world's music and I am proud to still bring it to so many people,” Thomas mentions.</p><p>Stream our premiere of Pat Thomas’ <em>Coming Home: Original Ghanaian Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1967-1981</em> above and <a href="https://strut.lnk.to/PatThomasComingHomeAW" target="_blank">pre-order a copy of the compilation</a>, due Sept. 30.</p><p><strong>Tracklisting:</strong></p><p>CD 1</p><p>1. BROADWAY DANCE BAND – GO MODERN</p><p>2. OGYATANAA SHOW BAND WITH PAT THOMAS – YAA AMPONSAH</p><p>3. PAT THOMAS & THE BLACK BERETS – OBRA E YEBO YI</p><p>4. PAT THOMAS & THE BIG ‘7’ – EYE COLO</p><p>5. PAT THOMAS – AWURADE MPAEBO</p><p>6. PAT THOMAS & THE SWEET BEANS – MEREBRE</p><p>7. PAT THOMAS & THE SWEET BEANS – REVOLUTION</p><p>8. PAT THOMAS & MARIJATA – WE ARE COMING HOME</p><p>9. PAT THOMAS & MARIJATA – LET’S THINK IT OVER</p><p>10. PAT THOMAS & MARIJATA – BRAIN WASHING</p><p>11. PAT THOMAS & THE SWEET BEANS – SET ME FREE</p><p>12. PAT THOMAS & MARIJATA – I CAN SAY</p><p>13. EBO TAYLOR feat. PAT THOMAS – NO MONEY, NO LOVE*</p><p>14. EBO TAYLOR feat. PAT THOMAS – SACK THE DEVILS*</p><p>CD 2</p><p>1. PAT THOMAS & EBO TAYLOR – MA HUNO</p><p>3. PAT THOMAS – YAMONA</p><p>4. PAT THOMAS – MEWO AKOMA</p><p>5. PAT THOMAS – GYAE SU</p><p>6. PAT THOMAS AND MARIJATA – I NEED MORE</p><p>7. SUPER SOUNDS NAMBA – WHO’S FREE</p><p>8. PAT THOMAS – MPAEBO</p><p>9. PAT THOMAS – CAN’T YOU SEE</p>
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