8. Babatunde Olatunji (1927-2003)
PHOTOGRAPH BY WILLIAM JAMES WARREN/SCIENCE FACTION/CORBIS
Fascinated by African music from a young age, Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji helped pave the way for African music in the West. As a young man, he received a Rotary International Foundation scholarship that allowed him to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. At Morehouse, he organized a small group to play African music at school social events. After graduating as president of the student body, he studied public administration at New York University, where he started a small percussion group. Due to a lack of funds, he withdrew from the university and began to focus on music and give concerts, which led to him getting a job playing drums in a Radio City Music Hall production. It was not long before he was spotted by a Columbia Records producer and began releasing albums featuring traditional African music and hybrid compilations, winning him the enthusiastic acclaim of other jazz musicians. Olatunji was also a social activist, known for using the performance hall as his platform.
