Ebo Taylor, born Deroy Taylor, was born in Cape Coast in the then Gold Coast colony on 6 January 1936. He began playing the piano at the age of six.

In the late 1950s, Taylor became active in two influential highlife bands, the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band.

In 1962, he travelled to London with his group, the Black Star Highlife Band, where he collaborated with Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and other African musicians.

After returning to Ghana in the 1960s, Taylor worked as a producer for leading musicians such as Pat Thomas and C. K. Mann, while also developing his own solo work.

During the 1970s, he created a distinct sound by blending traditional Ghanaian music with afrobeat, jazz, and funk rhythms. He also served as the in-house guitar player, arranger, and producer for Essiebons, founded by Dick Essilfie Bondzie.

In 1992, Ghetto Concept included his afrobeats in their music.

In 2008, Taylor met the Berlin-based musicians of the Afrobeat Academy, including saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff. This led to the release of Love and Death in 2010 through Strut Records, his first internationally distributed album.

Also in 2010, American singer Usher sampled Taylor’s song “Heaven” on the track “She Don’t Know” featuring Ludacris. Over time, his music was also sampled by artists such as the Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Rowland, Jidenna, Vic Mensa, and Rapsody.

In 2011, Taylor collaborated again with the Afrobeat Academy in Berlin. The success of Love and Death led Strut Records to release the retrospective album Life Stories: Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973–1980 in 2011.

In 2012, Strut released Appia Kwa Bridge, which showed that at the age of 77, Taylor remained highly creative. The album blended traditional Fante songs and chants with children’s rhymes and personal stories.

In 2017, his Ghanaian funk anthem “Come Along” became popular among DJs.

In 2025, at the age of 89, Taylor received renewed attention in the United States through the label Jazz Is Dead, after many years of being an often under-recognised force in West African music.

In 2015, Taylor performed at the annual Stanbic Jazz Festival alongside Earl Klugh, Ackah Blay, and others.

1. 2014 – Life Time Achievement Award, Vodafone Ghana Music Awards
2. 2019 – Lifetime Achievement Award, Highlife Music Awards
3. 2019 – Music Legend of the Year, Ghana Business Awards

7. Selected Discography

1. 1976 – My Love and Music
2. 1977 – Ebo Taylor
3. 1978 – Twer Nyame
4. 1979 – Me Kra Tsie – Ebo Taylor & Saltpond Barkers Choir
5. 1980 – Conflict – Ebo Taylor & Uhuru Yenzu
6. 1980 – Calypso "Mahuno" and High Lifes Celebration – Pat Thomas & Ebo Taylor
7. 1982 – Hitsville Re-Visited – Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas & Uhuru Yenzu
8. 2009 – Abenkwan Puchaa
9. 2010 – Love and Death
10. 2012 – Life Stories: Best of Ebo Taylor 1973–80
11. 2012 – Appia Kwa Bridge
12. 2018 – Yen Ara
13. 2019 – Palaver
14. 2025 – Ebo Taylor JID022

Ebo Taylor died in Saltpond, Ghana, on 7 February 2026. After his death, a delegation from the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), led by its president Bessa Simons, paid a condolence visit to his family in Saltpond.