African Contribution to Modern Music


The African / Caribbean Inventive & Innovative Musical Influence on Britain.
In music, the African contribution to the UK is both rich and historically embedded. It's a contribution, which can still be heard, felt and seen to this present day. Most likely music of some sort (be it humming using the human voice or tapping stones together) has been around for as long as man has inhabited this planet.

A more recent movement of African Music, from the Americas to the UK
....With travel to the UK from America and the Caribbean during the 1800s (as slave trade was coming to an end) and in particular the 1900s especially after the emancipation both in Americas and Caribbean England would gain a plethora of African diasporian music styles. If we look at post Windrush (circa1948), we find it was the Africans that introduced Rock n Roll to England. Many English people thought they new what Rock n Roll was when they heard the likes of Bill Haley, Pat Boone and Elvis Presley, until the likes of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Little Richard, were unleashed on them. It was at this point doing the 1950s and 60s that many British acts (that went on to be internationally famous and making billions of pounds over their combined musical careers!) were studying and copying African America / Caribbean music inventions, innovations and styles. 

You only have to listen to some of the biggest artists to ever come out of the UK on what they have to say about their influences therefore the Tommy steele, Cliff Richard, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, Dusty Springfield, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Lulu, etc. just to name but a few. So you must be able to see from this paragraph that if Elvis Presley is known today as the king, then African musicians of that time were the king makers...”  Extract from Black Scientists & Inventors in the UK: Millenniums of Inventions & Innovations - © Williams & Amalemba, 2014.

We are the drum, the Americas to the UK we are the drum..” - Williams. (adopted from the Sound of Blackness)


Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. The original boy band, that could write their own songs. Inspired boy bands in the US, UK and around the world.

The Osmon Brothers with 
an RnB tune.






Little Richard the architect of Rock n Roll.
The Beatles covering Little Richards Long Tall Sally




Little Richard's Tutti From starts on 2.26 mins.
Pat Boone covering yet another
Little Richard Track  "Tutti Frutti"



Prince Buster a pioneer of Ska and inspired a new generation of UK artist.
Popular 80s and 90s UK Band name their band Madness and have a huge hit with the same title.



Junior Murvin, a now iconic song that has become part of British culture.
The Clash cover Junior Murvin's hit "Police & Thieves"



Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers harmonise with “Foot Steps”.

Boy Zone copy an Osmons track.
All inspired from Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers.

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