Ghanaian highlife pioneer Ebo Taylor has died at the age of 90, according to statements shared by his family and Ghanaian media on February 8, 2026. A Facebook post from his son Kweku Taylor described him as “a colossus of African music” and said he died on February 7, 2026, shortly after events linked to a new Ebo Taylor music festival and about a month after his 90th birthday. Tributes across social media and local outlets have highlighted both his role in shaping modern Ghanaian highlife and the longevity of a career that spanned more than six decades.
Born in 1936 in Saltpond in Ghana’s Central Region, Taylor became a central figure in highlife as a guitarist, bandleader, composer and arranger, first gaining prominence with groups including the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band before studying in London in the early 1960s and working in the same scene as Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti.
His 1970s recordings fused highlife with soul, jazz and funk and were later championed by DJs and reissue labels, helping introduce his work to new audiences worldwide. A detailed look at his career and late‑life resurgence can be found in this New York Times feature, “At 90, the Ghanaian Highlife Pioneer Ebo Taylor Finds a New Voice”.
After experiencing renewed international attention in the 2000s and 2010s, Taylor released new music with labels such as BBE Music and the Jazz Is Dead collective and received honors including a lifetime achievement award at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards and the Kwame Nkrumah African Genius Award. In recent years he continued performing with a Ghana‑based band and mentoring younger artists, and memorial posts from broadcasters and fans describe him as a “giant,” “legend” and “guiding light” whose influence on highlife, afrobeat and contemporary African music is expected to endure long after his death.
