Ebo Taylor (born Deroy Taylor; Jan. 6, 1936) was a Ghanaian guitarist, composer, bandleader, record producer, and arranger known for highlife and afrobeat. Taylor died on February 7, 2026. He was 90.
Taylor was born in Cape Coast, Ghana, and began piano at age six. He became a central figure in Ghana’s music scene for more than six decades. During the late 1950s, he worked with leading highlife groups, including the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band.
In 1962, Taylor brought the Black Star Highlife Band to London and collaborated with Nigerian musician Fela Kuti and other African artists. After his return to Ghana, he produced recordings for artists such as Pat Thomas and C. K. Mann, while also developing solo work. His 1970s releases combined traditional Ghanaian material with afrobeat, jazz, and funk. He also served as an in-house guitarist, arranger, and producer for Essiebons, founded by Dick Essilfie Bondzie.
International interest in Taylor’s catalog grew in the 21st century, including frequent use by hip-hop producers. He met Berlin-based Afrobeat Academy musicians in 2008, a connection that led to Love and Death via Strut Records in 2010, his first internationally distributed album. That same year, Usher sampled Taylor’s “Heaven” on “She Don’t Know” featuring Ludacris. Other samples of his work appeared in songs by the Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Rowland, Jidenna, Vic Mensa, and Rapsody.
Taylor returned to Berlin to work with Afrobeat Academy again in 2011. Strut followed Love and Death with the retrospective Life Stories: Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973–1980 in 2011 and released Appia Kwa Bridge in 2012, an album that incorporated Fante songs and chants, children’s rhymes, and personal stories.
Taylor received a Life Time Achievement Award at the 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Highlife Music Awards, and Music Legend of the Year at the 2019 Ghana Business Awards.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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