His fans called him “9-9-2-4”, a nickname built from the sounds of his name. Nana Tuffour spent four decades singing highlife love songs, and for many Ghanaians his voice is the sound of romance in the 1980s and 1990s.
Early years
Tuffour was born James Kwaku Tuffour on 14 February 1954. He started in music as a keyboard player, working with the highlife star Alex Konadu. He then joined the Wanto Wazuri Band as a pianist and later fronted the Waza Africo Band.
Nigeria
Like many Ghanaian musicians in the hard economic years of the 1970s, Tuffour went to Nigeria, where the music industry was richer. He worked with King Sunny Ade, the juju superstar, an experience that sharpened his skills as a performer and arranger.
Highlife Romance
In 1979 he released his debut album, Highlife Romance. The title described what he would be known for: smooth, romantic highlife with polished arrangements and a warm voice.
The hits
Over his career he recorded about twenty albums. His best-known songs include “Abeiku”, “Me Yere Dada”, “Owuo Sei Fie”, “Adeepena” and “Manu Me Ho”. Many are still played at parties, funerals and on radio programmes devoted to old highlife.
A gentle style
Tuffour’s highlife was gentle rather than raucous. He sang about love, loyalty, longing and life’s sorrows. His voice and keyboard-led arrangements set him apart from the guitar band highlife of the previous generation.
Later years
Tuffour remained active into the 2010s. His final album, Sausage, came out in 2018. He was regularly honoured as a highlife veteran and performed at tribute concerts.
His death
Nana Tuffour died at his home in Kumasi on 15 June 2020, aged 66, after a short illness. His death came during the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited public gatherings, and fans mourned him largely through radio tributes and social media.
Highlife’s keyboard era
Tuffour belonged to a period when highlife was changing. In the 1980s, many Ghanaian musicians moved abroad, to Nigeria, Germany and Britain, and the music absorbed new sounds: synthesisers, drum machines and the polished studio production associated with the “burger highlife” made by Ghanaians in Germany. Tuffour’s keyboard background made him comfortable with these changes. His records sound smooth and modern for their time, without losing the melodic warmth of older highlife. That balance helped his songs travel between generations: parents who loved the old guitar bands could enjoy them, and so could younger listeners raised on electronic sounds.
Highlife produced many great romantics. Nana Tuffour was one of the most consistent, a singer who spent forty years making love songs that Ghanaians still know by heart.
