Oliver de Coque Honoured with a Doodle on his 74th Posthumous Birthday
Google has celebrated Oliver Sunday Akanite, a Nigerian highlife musician and guitarist, popularly know as Oliver de Coque, with a doodle on his 74th posthumous birthday.
The Google doodle is a special alteration of the homepage logo on Google, to mark special holidays, events, achievements and people. The doodle was illustrated by Ohab Tochukwu Bernard Johnbosco AKA TBJ, a Lagos-based artist. It captures an image of the musical icon holding a guitar and clad in his typical Igbo traditional attire.
Crowned the ‘Highlife King of Africa,’ Oliver de Coque is widely revered as one of the continents most prolific recording artists. He was born on the 14th of April 1947, in the small town of Ezinifite, southeastern Nigeria. Oliver de Coque started his music career at the young age of 11 by playing the guitar. He soon rose to stardom after his impressive performance at a 1970 concert organized by Sunday Agaga and his Lucky Star band.
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The legendary highlife musician has gained wide recognition for infusing the modern West African highlife genre with a Congolese-influenced guitar style as well as the energetic dance elements of Igbo music to perfect a musical genre known as Ogene. In his prime, he was renowned for crafting this unique musical style that earned him a special place in the hearts of many listeners.
Beginning with his first solo release in 1976, Oliver de Coque’s music became popular in Nigerian and around the world as he continued to release album after album featuring his excellent guitar work.
Until his demise, the iconic musician successfully established himself as a household name in the African music landscape by bagging strings of awards and recognition to his credit.
In 1994, he was awarded an honorary decorate in music by the University of New Orleans, in recognition of his outstanding musical achievements.