Born the nephew of the seminal Ghanaian musician Sam, Kwame Asare (composer of the classic song "Yaa Amponsah," which would become the anthem of guitar highlife and palmwine guitar) learned the two-finger picking styles of his uncle and took them to heart to become one of the most popular Ghanaian musicians in the years following World War II. He produced a huge volume of 78s during the 1950s (some estimates put the number around 500), and was thoroughly copied by other guitarists in Ghana. After the '50s, Kwaa withdrew somewhat, but resurfaced in the 1970s during a brief U.S. tour with Wulomei, a group of Ga roots musicians. He produced one full-length album in 1975, Wawo Christo, and died in 1991.
Born the nephew of the seminal Ghanaian musician Sam, Kwame Asare (composer of the classic song "Yaa Amponsah," which would become the anthem of guitar highlife and palmwine guitar) learned the two-finger…
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