​Happy Holidays! 

By the time this song was recorded, trumpeter and band leader Emmanuel Tetteh Mensah had taken a group of military musicians from playing local dances to mainstage concerts throughout Ghana and nearby Nigeria.

“Calabar O” was recorded in December of 1958 and was the first song from their second Decca release, A Star Of Africa.   It’s a short, sweet and infectious number that showcases a variety of musical styles, and the sound that made E.T. Mensah & His Tempos Band so popular.
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We lost Mensah in 1996, but his influence on Ghanaian and Highlife music will never be forgotten.  ​

It’s been said that we should listen to our youth, as their advice, although innocent in nature, is often intuitive and insightful. Such is the case for Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s first single from their self-titled debut album.

“Lucky Man” was released in December of 1970 and quickly stormed the charts around the world. It’s an acoustic, almost medieval ballad that tells the story of a man who essentially had everything, then decided to go off to war and die. It was written by Greg Lake shortly after he was given a guitar by his mother and learned some basic chords. He was only 12 years old.
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I always loved this song, not just for its wonderful production and musicianship, but for its poignant lyrics, which when juxtaposed with the war in Vietnam, make them even more meaningful.