Bio
The son of an itinerant carpenter, Isaiah Kehinde
Dairo was born on January 6th, 1931 in Kwara State, Nigeria. The
death of his twin brother Taiwo, according to Dairo, was caused
by his mother's refusal to heed the oracle's revelation that the
twins wished her to take them along the street with song and dance
(a Yoruba tradition for the birth of twins). Because his father
did not believe much in formal education, Isaiah Kehinde attended
school for only three years. When his father left his carpentry
job with the Nigerian National Railway in 1937, he took all of
his 12 children back to his farm in the Ijebu-Ijesa area of Oyo
state. Shortly before they left, the father, drawing on his carpentry
skills, made a drum for his son. I.K. was so fond of his drum
that he wouldn't part with it. Whether at mealtime, while going
to fetch water or any other activity, his drum was always with
him. As a youth, I.K. apprenticed and trained as a barber, but
used all of his free time to play drums. He spent evenings watching
his predecessors of Juju music (Orioke, Oladele Oro and others)
in action. Using knowledge he gained from his father, I.K. began
to make his own drums. Not long after (in 1946) he gathered up
enough young friends to form his first band. For the next fifteen
years I.K. sojourned through many professions including cloth
peddler, road worker, cocoa farm laborer, construction worker
(carrying cinder blocks on his head) and even a carpenter. I.K.,
however, never left his drum far behind. During the day he labored,
and at night he played with early Juju masters like Ojoge Daniel
based at Ibadan. Weary of all his wandering, financial success
having eluded him, I.K. returned home in 1954 with only a sixpence,
a guitar and his carpentry tools. In 1954, with no more than sheer
confidence, I.K. formed the ten member Morning Star Orchestra.
I.K. Dairo and the Morning Star Orchestra began to play at the
usual range of available venues, weddings, naming ceremonies,
burials and so forth, and their reputation grew. In 1961 they
were invited to compete with 15 other Juju bands at a WNBS/TV
contest. I.K. Dairo and the Morning Star Orchestra took first
place and so began their rise to international fame. It was during
this period that the name was changed from Morning Star Orchestra
to I.K. Dairo and his Blue Spot Band. When Nigeria became a republic
in 1963, I.K. Dairo became a knight of Imperial Britain. Queen
Elizabeth, on her tour of Nigeria bestowed upon him the title
Member of the British Empire (M.B.E.) and he became the first
African musician to receive such an honor. I.K.'s star continued
to shine as that decade brought him success after success. The
band traveled all over the world, representing Nigeria in the
Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar in 1965 (where I.K. and the Blue
Spots stole the show from O.K. Jazz), and in the World Music Festival
in Tokyo in 1972. They performed widely in Europe and recorded
in London where I.K. dazzled the studio engineers at Decca Records
by recording two full LPs and two singles in one day (DWAPS #33
& 34).
In 1958 I.K. amicably parted ways with the original
Blue Spots (who went on to form their own group) and gathered
up a new band, even sharper than the original Blue Spots. It was
during this era (1957-75) that I.K. Dairo had an immeasurable
impact on Juju music and the Nigerian music industry. He introduced
numerous instruments to Juju music, including "talking drum"
and accordion and he made guitar its staple instrument. He pioneered
the use of the "hook" (short memorable refrains) in
his songs as well as singing in regional dialects. his clarion
voice and a knack for eloquent lyrics, coupled with his deep involvement
in the church earned him the title Baba Aladura (Father of Blessings).
In 1975 his career took a sudden downturn. In his own works, "Record
dealers who used to sleep at my doorstep refused to sell my records.
I built two hotels. One at Ondo (town) was called Parkland Hotel...If
I walked into the hotel and noticed that there were many people
around, I might decide to play for them. But once I'd pick up
the guitar, they'd all leave in anger. If (Ebenezer) Obey, Sunny
(Ade) or any other artist come, the whole place would be filled
up. So I just stopped playing" A deeply religious man, I.K.
Dairo increasingly devoted his time to the Cherubim and Seraphim
church movement in which he was already a prominent figure. He
preached regularly in the church built at his primary residence
on Kehinde Dairo street, one of several streets named after him
in Lagos, and integrated Juju music into his services. When the
Lord revealed to him that his hotels and nightclubs were dens
for thieves and prostitution he closed them down (including Kakadu
nightclub, one of Lagos best known hot spots). After a stormy
decade of preaching and several unsuccessful forays into the business
world, I.K. Dairo MBE came back to what he knew best, music.
culled from http://www.worldmusicportal.com/Artists/African/Nigerian/i__k__dairo.htm
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