LIVE ON, SALLY YOUNG
O. Jason Osai pays tribute to Daniel Iriferi, highlife musician of note
From PUNCH Online, Dele Ogunyemi reports that the
legendary Urhobo musician, Chief Daniel Iriferi, (aka Sally Young) is dead; he died at the age of 91. A native of Abraka in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, Young reportedly died on Sunday, February 11, 2024, after a brief illness. While PUNCH Online periodized the reign of Sally Young to “the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s” during which he released such hit songs as ‘Oko Oko’, ‘Weji Vwe Vwo’ and many others, my recollection of the exploits of the music maestro predates the 70s.
In the sixties, Sally Young released the super hit single “We must Live”, which he rendered in the mixed linguistic grill of his native tongue Urhobo and pidgin English. He was one of the early musicians of the Highlife genre that adopted bilingualism, which was in vogue at the time for the dual purposes of effective communication and commercial success in the multilingual Nigerian society. Performing with the Busy Bees, Sally Young clobbered the Highlife chats in the 1960s with “We must live”, which is, doubtlessly, an evergreen of the Highlife genre in its traditional form.
“We must live” is a song of strong resolve, dedicated determination and passionate supplication to Oghene (God) for protection from evil doers that abound in the Nigerian society. This is abundantly reflected in the assertion “take our name to Jericho…take our name to native doctor, we must live”.
Generally delivered in Urhobo language of Delta State, Nigeria with an occasional tinge of English language, the intensity of the vocals of “We must live” demonstrated the requisite resolve, strength and force in the expression of the supplicatory essence of the song. By mentioning the names of members and associates of the band in the song, Sally Young exhibited the camaraderie that characterized traditional highlife musicianship of that epoch in the song.
In the delivery of the song, the guitarist displayed mastery of the art of playing his instrument. With palpable confidence reflected in his delivery, he gladly remained in the core while providing the musical pivot around which the song revolved. With obvious contentment, he laced the song with supportive and affirmative guitar licks that complimented the essence and motif of the vocals; one wonders what might have been if he was given space for a solo. Incidentally, he demonstrated artistic similarity with the guitarist in Rex Lawson’s “Akaso Inyingi” and the contentment of Gregg Rollie’s simple and supportive organ, which is devoid of solo or anything flashy yet playing a supremely important role in “Song of the Wind”, taken from the 1972 album, Caravanserai, by Santana Band.
In a seeming combative yet obviously collaborative music motif, the fiddle bassist consistently expressed his artistic individuality while effectively and melodiously complimenting the guitar in furthering the beauty and consistent tempo of the song. Like the guitarist, he demonstrated a mastery of his instrument. Also contended with being at the background, the drummer consistently maintained the tempo while promptly cuing in the singer and every other instrumentalist to maintain the rhythmic flow and tightness of the song.
The alto saxophonist effectively captured the lamentation mood of the song in the interlude during which he displayed expressive similarities with Franco Oviebo, Rex Lawson’s legendary altoist. In the exit segment, the trumpeter, with his muted wind instrument, reminded the listener of the handiwork of bandleaders of old in the mold of Bill Friday, Eddy Okonta, Zeal Onyia, Victor Olaiya, Rex Lawson, etc., as they led the happy pack to the melodious and victorious end of each track.
In reaffirming and emphasizing the resolve to survive and succeed, Sally Young eulogized the then newly created Midwest State (which included his native Delta State and Edo State) singing that “one with God is perfect”; here, he expressed absolute belief and faith in the protective propensities of God thus emphasizing his invocation of Oghene in the song.
The delivery and masterly engineering of “We Must Live” make it a timeless masterpiece even in its brevity. In all, Sally Young and the Busy Bees came across as a tight-knit band of exquisite instrumentalists all demonstrating obvious mastery of their instruments. Sadly, efforts to identify the artists in their individual capacity did not yield the desired result; God bless their souls whoever they are and wherever they may be for bequeathing on humanity such a splendid song.
The artistic contributions of Chief Daniel Iriferi (aka Sally Young) to the music and sociocultural identity of the Urhobo people during his life time of nine decades added profound depth and meaning to the sociocultural heritage of the Urhobo ethnic nationality of Delta State. This clearly established him as an iconic figure in the mosaic of Nigeria musical landscape.
Live on, Sally Young.
Professor Osai, PhD, DSSRS, writes from
Rivers State University, Port Harcourt
