Dr. Orlando Owoh has enjoyed a durable popularity that has cut across generational lines in his home country and beyond.
Owoh was born Oladipupo Owomoyela in Nigeria’s Oyo state. Owoh’s father was a carpenter who was known around the town of Osogbo as a good part-time musician, but he greeted his son’s growing interest in music with little enthusiasm.
The family moved frequently from place to place, but Owoh sought out musicians and formed bands in each place they landed. Owoh’s father insisted that Owoh learn a trade as a condition of being allowed to work on his music, and Owoh obediently apprenticed himself to a carpenter.
Owoh’s first break came when he was hired as a musician by Nigeria’s Kola Ogunmola Theatre Group, one of the country’s first theatrical troupes. Owoh played drums and sang with the group when England’s Queen Elizabeth visited Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1956, and he continued to perform plays mounted at the University of Ibadan. Owoh realized that music in West Africa was developing in a new direction, and sought out lessons on the electric guitar from musician Fatai Rolling Dollar.
It’s a thrill for any musician to hear his or her record being played on the streets for the first time, but Owoh’s experience was more thrilling than most. “I almost died the first time I heard my record,” he told Ajirire. “I was passing along Idi Oro in Mushin and suddenly I heard my record being played in a shop across the road…. Without looking at both sides, I dashed across the road and ran towards the shop. I heard a car screech to a halt; it almost crushed me to death.” The enraged driver pursued Owoh into the shop, but calmed down when Owoh pointed out that he was the musician heard on the recording.
In 1972 he played in London, England, at a graduation ceremony for Nigerian law students, and went on to perform on a larger bill that included South African legend Miriam Makeba. “I played at the African center on October 1, 1972. That was where I was honoured with the doctorate degree in music,” Owoh told the NigeriaArts website. From then on he was often known as Dr. Orlando Owoh.
Owoh toured the United Kingdom and appeared in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy. He also performed in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s
Owoh named his backing group His Young Kenneries, a term that later changed to His Africa Kenneries International, or His African Kenneries Beats International. The word “Kennery,” also spelled Kenery or Cannery, seemed to be related to the word “canary.” “They say my voice is unique like that of a bird called Cannery,” Owoh told Ajirire. “And in truth, if you see Cannery, it has the colour of a rainbow and its voice has different tunes.”
Owoh released at least a dozen albums between 1990 and 2005
Orlando Owoh’s iconic status in Yoruba and Nigerian music history has cemented his legacy as a musical icon. His timeless songs continue to be celebrated and sampled by contemporary artists, reflecting his enduring influence on Nigerian music and culture. The reverence for his work among the current generation showcases the lasting impact he has had on the music industry in Nigeria.
