How I bought my first guitar at 16 – Sunny Ade

King Sunny Ade said he bought his first guitar when he was 16 years old with personal savings and hid the instrument from his family who did not want him to go into music.
The 73-year-old foremost Juju singer, songwriter and multi- instrumentalist disclosed this in Lagos when he met a nine-year-old fan, Temidara Onafuye.
Onafuye, a primary school pupil based in North Carolina, USA, visiting Nigeria for the Christmas and New Year, had said she craved to see Sunny Ade because of her love for his music.
Fielding questions from the young girl, KSA who visited Onafuye at her family’s residence, said while he could play other musical instruments he had special passion for guitar.
“Apart from singing. I play guitar, keyboard, different percussion instruments including talking drum, “Sakara”, “Omele’, “Konga”;. all these make African music stand out.
“I have passion for guitar, I see it as my baby and I cannot do without it.
“Couple of years ago, I was rated 69th best guitarists in the whole world,” KSA, with original name, Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye said
He continued: “I decided to learn how to play guitar on my own and I bought my first guitar when I was 16 years old.
“I saved money and bought the guitar for myself.
“All my family members did not want me to play music because they believed that musicians at that time were not serious people.
“Eventually, when I bought the guitar I hid it under the staircase.
“I was afraid to tell anybody that I wanted to go into the city for music training where I would be exposed.
Luckily for me, I chose my keys and my style of music which is known as “Juju”.
Juju music is a fusion of traditional Yoruba vocal forms and percussion with Western rock and roll and KSA is acclaimed to be in the vanguard of the development and international popularisation of the genre.
The internationally renowned musician recalled how he played music with the late comedian, dramatist and actor, Moses Olaiya, popularly known by his stage name, “Baba Sala”.
“Hardly do people know that Baba Sala was a musician. He played guitar, talking drum and his music was like that of IK Dairo.
“When he floated the Baba Sala Travelling Theatre, I was the one in charge of the music section,” he said.
KSA who disclosed that he had composed more than 3, 000 songs said all his songs were his favourite because “each of them serves a purpose”.
On retirement, the Juju music maestro said he would play music till his death.
“I wanted to retire sometime ago, but my fans all over the world did not allow me.
“They said if I retire, what will I be doing.
“Juju music is in my blood, I cannot retire from music, I can only retire from stage.
“Even at 100 years, God willing, I will still be singing,” he said.
KSA disclosed that he was working on a project of building a standard music school and a museum to document and preserve all genres of music, particularly the early ones.
“I have started building my own school and by the grace of God in few years, there will be something on ground for people to see.
“I did not study music anywhere and was not trained by anybody but I have passion for music.
“I look around the entire nation; we do not have a standard music school.
“Most of the Nigerian musicians of note are self made.”
KSA said the museum would archive all genres of Nigerian early music, images and relics of musicians for young ones like Onafuye to visit and study.