SINGER

King Sunny Adé

1946 - Today

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Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye (Yoruba: Sunday Adéníyì Adégẹyè; born 22 September 1946), known professionally as King Sunny Adé, is a Nigerian jùjú singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is regarded as one of the first African pop musicians to gain international success and has been called one of the most influential musicians of all time. Sunny Adé formed his backing band in 1967, eventually known as his African Beats. After achieving national success in Nigeria during the 1970s and founding his own independent label, Sunny Adé signed to Island Records in 1982 and achieved international success with the albums Juju Music (1982) and Synchro System (1983); the latter garnered him a Grammy nomination, a first for a Nigerian artist. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 16 different languages on Wikipedia. King Sunny Adé is the 2,642nd most popular singer (down from 2,567th in 2024). (down from 4,823rd in 2019)

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Among SINGERS

Among singers, King Sunny Adé ranks 2,642 out of 4,381. Before him are Sara Tavares, Bhad Bhabie, Dennis Edwards, Kevin Gates, Lee Sung-min, and Shahzoda. After him are Ken Chu, Jessy Matador, Jerry Nelson, Angela Aki, Nâdiya, and Ksenija Pajčin.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1946, King Sunny Adé ranks 797. Before him are Sandy Duncan, Mark Metcalf, Pacita Abad, Debbi Wilkes, F. Drew Gaffney, and Allen Lanier. After him are Bill Forsyth, Malcolm Rifkind, Mike Doyle, Ian Porterfield, Suresh Oberoi, and Bob Seagren.

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