Legendary singer, William Onyeabor, who was famous in the 1970s and ‘80s with his futuristic, synth-heavy electronic music has died.
The singer was the toast of Nigerians with his smash hit singles, ‘When the going is smooth and good’ and ‘Fantastic Man’.
According to his Italy based son, Charles, William died peacefully on Monday January 16, 2017 at his Enugu palace.
In 2013, William was ranked in TIME Magazine’s Top 10 of Everything list. In the article which can be found here, Time’s Douglas Wolk wrote of the legend, “Between the late-’70s and the mid-’80s, William Onyeabor released eight albums on his own Wilfilms label in Nigeria. Then he dropped out of public view altogether, and the peculiar genius of his percolating, synthesizer-centered grooves was lost to everyone but fanatical record collectors. This long-overdue career survey is riveting and unfailingly funky; you can hear the inspiration of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, and sounds that would turn into new wave a few ye ars later, but Onyeabor mostly sounds like nobody else on the planet.”
He is survived by 4 children and 4 grand-children.