Gnonnan Sossou Pierre Kouassivi, known by the stage name Gnonnas Pedro was a singer and musician from

Lokossa Lokossa is an arrondissement, commune, and the capital city of Mono Department in Benin. The name Lokossa translates into English as "underneath the iroko Iroko (also known as in Igbo language, '' in the Urhobo language of Southern Nigeria, a ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. He is perhaps best known as the lead singer of

Africando Africando is a musical project formed in 1992 to unite New York-based salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. Musicians from other African countries were later included under the name Africando All Stars. Salsa has been a hugely popular style in ...

between 1995 and his death in 2004, but had been well known in his home country of Benin and beyond since the 1960s. Pedro led his own bands Pedro y Sus Panchos, later reforming as Gnonnas Pedro and his Dadjes Band, before joining the long-lived Orchestre Poly-rythmo de Cotonou. As a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and dancer, Pedro embraced many styles of music including highlife and juju. Pedro is credited with updating the traditional Agbadja style of his home region, creating Modern Agbadja. He sang in many different languages, including Mina, Adja,

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

, French, English, and Spanish. Pedro produced the song "Feso Jaiye",Accessible a
Golden days highlife #13
13 minutes into MP3, accessed 30 March 2008 which became a hit and was performed by many bands at the 2nd All-Africa Games in 1973.

Death

Gnonnas Pedro died on 12 August 2004, age 61, from prostate cancer in a hospital of

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

, Benin.

Discography

Solo

* Dadjes: The Band Of Africa (1975) * Gnonnas Pedro (Disco Stock, 1979) * El Cochechivo (Ledoux, 1981) * Agbadja (Syllart, 1999) * Irma koi (Syllart, 1999) * The best of Gnonnas Pedro (2003)

With Africando

* Gombo Salsa (Stern's Africa STCD1071, 1996) * Baloba (Stern's Africa STCD1082, 1998) * Mandali (Stern's Africa STCD1092, 2000) Credited to Africando All Stars. Released in France as Betece * Live! (Sono CDS8907, double CD, 2001) Out of print * Martina (Stern's Africa STCD1096, 2003) * Ketukuba (Stern's Africa STCD1103, 2006) Released after his death.

References

External links

Obituary, The Independent (UK)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedro, Gnonnas 2004 deaths Beninese male singers 1940s births English-language singers French-language singers Spanish-language singers Yoruba-language singers Deaths from prostate cancer 20th-century male singers 21st-century male singers