Legendary Ghanaian music producer Fred Kyei Mensah has expressed very teary emotions after Highlife star Ofori Amponsah eulogized him on live television over the weekend.
Ofori Amponsah who was a guest on Nana Ama McBrown’s television talk show ‘United Showbiz’ chronicled his early days coming up as a musician and paid an emotional tribute to the veteran sound engineer Fred Kyei Mensah who is popularly known in the music circles as Fredyma.
According to the ‘Otolege’ hitmaker, Fredyma believed in him when no one did and being the first music producer to record him.
“This evening I shed some tears as I heard Ofori Amponsah’s recognition of me on United Showbiz on UTV hosted by Nana Ama Mcbrown as the first person to have recorded him and introduced him to Lumba,” parts of Fredyma’s Facebook post read.
The renowned sound engineer recounted how his decision to record Ofori Amponsah’s first single among others catapulted the musician to fame.
He said: “It was beautiful. He had always told me that, Daddy Lumba was his idol and knew where he stayed at Dome in Accra. I accompanied him one day in my Austin Morris Mini Minor car and went to Lumba’s house in the early part of 1993 when the National Theatre had just been opened.
“Ofori went back to school till somewhere in July 1993 when he came back home on holidays. The National Theatre had been opened then where a program for talent discovery called “THE SHOWTIME” was introduced by Nii Addukwei Moffat. I combined Ofori Amponsah and Selina Orleans Lindsay as my new acts and registered them for the program.”
Below
is Fredyma’s post
I have known Ofori Amponsah since he was born in our hometown
several years ago at Agogo Asante Akyem. His elder brother, Atta and sisters
are my contemporaries.
In 1992, whiles attending school at Konongo Odumasi Secondary
School, he came to me with a demo that he had done with a local gospel band at
Konongo. I was staying at Lartebiokorshie and working with Shell as a fuel
station manager in Accra and also had a small studio set up in my bedroom. He
was told to come to me by my uncle. Ebenezer Asiedu-Wadada, a friend to him,
Ofori.
We needed a particular keyboard to do a fresh demo. I asked him
to accompany me to Okaishie where I bought a fresh keyboard Yamaha PSR series
with the little savings I had made. It was at the time Ghana was transitioning
from a military to a civilian rule. It costs about today’s 5000 ghc. I made him
carry the keyboards.
We kept wake that very night I bought the keyboards and we
programmed “Odo mmra fie”.
It was beautiful. He had always told me that, Daddy Lumba was
his idol and knew where he stayed at Dome in Accra. I accompanied him one day
in my Austin Morris Mini Minor car and went to Lumba’s house in the early part
of 1993 when the National Theatre had just been opened.
The tears continue to flow as I reminisce the past and now.
Sometimes in my soliloquy, I ponder on the number of people who have benefited
from my benevolence and largesse and I give glory to God.
Daddy Lumba received us warmly in his home at Dome, Accra and
promised to come and visit me in my house. He stuck to his words and paid me a
visit to my house at Lartebiokorshie in 1993. I had a gospel singer who stayed
close to my house whom I had discovered and adopted as my younger sister. She
is Selina Orleans Lindsay now domiciled in the UK. Fortunately that day, she
happened to be there and was also introduced to Daddy Lumba.
This story is going to end in part 5. Daddy Lumba promised to
help and produce both of them. He left for Germany and said we will hear from
him.
Ofori went back to school till somewhere in July 1993 when he
came back home on holidays. The National theatre had been opened then where a
program for talent discovery called “THE SHOWTIME” was introduced by Nii
Addukwei Moffat. I combined Ofori Amponsah and Selina Orleans Lindsay as my new
acts and registered them for the program. The first audition took place at the
National Museums and Monuments Board restaurant. It was a Saturday. Now guess
those that came for the audition.
The audition was packed with the legendary Kwame Yeboah and
his Amazing 6 band a youthful band with an average age of 15 years which could
be compared to the Musical Youth of the 80’s group, Chairman General, Kwame
Sefa Kayi of Peace FM for comedy, the late Kofi Ani Johnson whom I came to
manage later and others. We all sailed through the audition perfectly. Thanks
to my instrumentalists at that time namely Pastor EB, Rev Jose Addo,Moses
Ampofo, Derek and Jeff Quaye (JQ)all members of the Resurrection and Living
bread Church at the then Globe Cinema in Accra. Later, I brought all these
groups under my production and sponsored them.
It was there that Chairman General, Kwame Sefa Kayi and I
became very close where Ofori Amponsah was also introduced to him. He would
come to my office at the Ring Road and we will move together to the premises of
Ghana Films now TV3 and enjoy the hot afternoon fufuo and soup prepared by
Pampanampa, a jovial lady. Awwww, akom ko!
In the song I wrote for my lovely daughter, Celestine Donkor
II,” Adekye3 mu nsem” who is also a product from Fredyma Studios, I
said “no one knows the future except God”.
Considering what Ofori Amponsah went through from November
1993 till 1997, you will appreciate that, there is time for everything as
espoused in Ecclesiastes.
I had married officially in August 1993 after dating for 4
years. My wife had taken seed of my talented son, Kyei Mensah. Ofori will pass
by the house normally on Saturdays and help me with the household chores
including the pounding of fufuo and do some few studio sessions. Lol. See how
humble this guy was and still is?
In November 1993, we had a performance at the National Theatre
again this time with Selina Orleans Lindsay, Daughters of Glorious Jesus and
the late Kofi Ani Johnson. Ofori was in school and probably might have heard of
the program being advertised on GTV the only tv channel in Ghana at that time.
The show was on a Saturday so as narrated to me by Ofori
Amponsah, he sought permission from school to go home that he was sick. He came
to Accra on Friday and the next day, we were at the National Theatre
performing. He backed Selina Orleans Lindsay with his scintillating defined
pitch. I never knew this very gig was going to change the narratives.
Unknowingly, GTV carried it LIVE and as told me by Ofori, the
school headmaster saw him performing in a close up shot on TV whiles he had
been excused from school because he was sick. He was suspended leading to his
sack from Konongo Odumasi Secondary School. We pleaded with the headmaster to
reconsider his decision. He wouldn’t budge. He thought he had destroyed the
life of this would be star. Adekye3 mu nsem! Agye onyame nkoaaa na onim.
Later on in life, it was the same headmaster who was begging
Ofori Amponsah for help. You see how God works. I helped him get a private
tuition from Extra Mural Academy and encouraged him that, that was not going to
be the end of his education and life. He was confused and dejected. Lumba came
down the Christmas of that year and promised to take us to the studio as soon
as the Christmas festivities were over.
He booked CHM (Combined House of Music) studios where the
likes of great sound engineers like Sami Helwani, Zapp Mallett, Nii Ayite
Hammond,later Charter House and the late Kroppa Akufo used to work. We had then
done the initial music programming at my studio and Pan African Orchestra
studios owned by the late Nana Abbeam Danso and managed by Bobby Ayisi. It was
done together with other songs by one great programmer named Kofi Essel now
domiciled in the USA.
A day before the birth of my handsome, talented son Kyei
Mensah, 13th February, 1994, “Odo mmra fie” was finally recorded
together with Selina Orleans Lindsay songs at the studios of CHM, Mataheko
Accra. God bless Daddy Lumba.
With determination, failure can never dismantle the flag of
success. After the recordings with Daddy Lumba, he left for Germany with the
hope that he was going to release Ofori and Selina’s album. We waited in vain
the whole of 1994 to 1995 and it was never released.
Apparently it was alleged that Lumba was angry with Ofori
that he was going round saying “he Lumba had stolen Ofori’s songs
“which was a palpable falsehood. We had to beg him through the likes of
Abraham Adjetey of the copyright office that Ofori had stood nowhere to accuse
him of stealing his songs. Still the music wasn’t released.
Ofori found another producer and collaborated with one guy
who was part of the Keysoap Concert Party, Daddy Ahuofe. We recorded a new
album at the Ghana Films but the executive producers didn’t pull their weight
so it never got anywhere.
Ofori retired to the rural areas in the Afram Plains and
started a business in the salt industry forgetting his music dreams. Between
1994 and 1996, Ofori Amponsah was nowhere to be found on the music radar. I was
then training Jeff Quaye (JQ) as a sound engineer later to be followed by Don
Waxi , Appietus Appiah Dankwah , some Liberians and other Ghanaians like Bishop
Mantey, Samuel Sackey, Charles Robert Quaye, Joe Palopa Palopa, King Kanada etc.
In 1996, I had left the fuel business on the 15th January,
ready to concentrate fully on my music business. I had expanded my studio and
bought new equipment. Business was booming. Jeff Quaye(JQ)was still under
training when another good guy by name Tetteh Odamten(Don Waxi)also approached
me to study sound engineering including Pastor Seth Lamptey.
One day in the early part of 1996,we were programming for
Suzzy and Matt with JQ, William Sarpong, Bishop Yaw Owusu-Ansah of Adom fm, Rev
Eb De Noble Choice, Jose Addo etc when Ofori Amponsah walked in my studio after
almost a year and half. He told me that, he has changed his music career from
highlife to a gospel singer and that he wanted to record a gospel album. I was
a bit surprised but encouraged him. He was a member of the Tesano Baptist
Church and a member of their choir. He introduced me to a gentleman par
excellence, James Quartey, also a member of the church. We recorded two albums,
one for himself and the choir.
The gospel album was released but the promotion wasn’t the
best since the only radio at that time were, GBC, Joy FM, Radio Gold and Vibe
FM. The picture below is the cassette cover of the album.
Then the greatest news and breakthrough came! Finally, Daddy
Lumba decided to produce Ofori Amponsah’s long awaited hit “odo mmra
fie” including other tracks. They were released around 1997.
In 1997, something interesting happened. Appietus was under
training and he had done some 3 months of training. I made JQ teach Appietus
some techniques in recordings because JQ was the senior at that time. Prior to
that, my first sound engineer I recruited was Hector De Graft Johnson, an old
student of Adisadel School who was a brilliant programmer, keyboardist and a
studio engineer. He was working both at my place and Ghana films under Mr
Kwaakye, Wilson, Adjetey, Samson Quainoo, Lakai and Ben Clottey.
I told Ofori Amponsah that, I was going to allow Appietus to
program one of his songs for him but he wasn’t pleased at all because he
thought Appietus was an apprentice and a novice BUT in the latter part of
Ofori’s career, Appietus and JQ gave him the greatest hits. You see the
rejected stone becoming the cornerstone? A strange world.
After a successful relaunch of Ofori, Daddy Lumba took Ofori
abroad for further recordings and concerts. The doors to success for Ofori Amponsah
had been opened.Kofi Bee was then a studio session guy in my studio who backed
artiste. I entreated Ofori Amponsah to aslo give an opportunity to Kofi Bee.
The resultant effect was the release of his “Mmoborowa” album.
Fredyma has done some. Lol
Later, Ofori Amponsah promised to let me accompany him on his
numerous foreign trips as an appreciation of what I have done in his music
life. It NEVER materialized. Still waiting. Who knows?
Though I have never benefited immensely from his largesse
financially and materially, showing appreciation to me in public is enough for
me.
I appreciate the “small” gifts I received from him long
time ago.
In summary and ending, I entreat people to help others
without much expectations from them. Like the bible story of Jesus healing the
lepers, it was ONLY one who came to show appreciation. Has Fred Kyei Mensah
(Fredyma) been appreciated by the numerous people he has helped financially or
otherwise? Some have! They know themselves. Time will tell. I am out.
The other picture is the flood that erased permanently the
vintage archival materials of Fredyma Studios.
