Georgette Adjoavi Bellow (Tsévié, Togo, 1 January 1945 – 10 December 1973) better known as Bella Bellow was a
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
lese singer, who created an international career and recorded several albums. She died at the age of 28 in a car accident in Togo.
She was born in Tsévié, Togo, to a Togolese father of Nigerian descent and a Ghanaian-origin mother.
Bellow's first international performance was in 1966, when she represented Togo at the
First World Festival of Negro Arts in
Dakar, Senegal
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
. Her first album, named ''Rockya'', came out in 1969. In the album , she was accompanied by Camerounian band made up of
Manu Dibango, on saxophone, keyboards and arrangement, Jeannot Madingué on bass,
Slim Pezin on the guitar and Ben's on drums
She performed at the
Paris Olympia
The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...
and recorded with
Manu Dibango.
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960), known as Angélique Kidjo, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ...
and
Afia Mala have been influenced by Bella Bellow.
Discography
Albums
*1968: ''Rockia'' live in Paris
*1977: A compilation album of memories on Sonafric label, specializingin African music.
Songs
(Selective)
*1968: "Zelié"
*1968: "Bléwu" (Patience)
*1968: "Nye dzi" (My Heart)
*1968: "O senye" (My destiny)"
*1969: "Rockia"
*1969: "Bouyélé"
*1969: "Bem bem"
*1977: "Lafoulou"
*1977: "Denyigban" (Motherland)
References
1945 births
1973 deaths
Road incident deaths in Togo
Togolese people of Nigerian descent
Togolese people of Ghanaian descent
Togolese women singers
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