Ghana is a song that was written by musician and composer Dorothy Masuka to celebrate the wave of independence that spread across Africa in the 60s lead by Nkrumah in Ghana.
Kwame Nkrumah was a visionary leader who came to power in Ghana in 1957 after the British left. His belief in Pan African independence as well as the indepence of Ghana meant that he gave hope and inspiration to other nations striving to escape colonial rule. He was put in prison for campaigning and organising for equal rights for all. While he was still in prison in 1951, his party was elected by a landslide, a year later he became Prime Minister and in 1957 he lead Ghana to independence.
During his leadership he set up free education, free health-care, hospitals were built, as was the infrastructure for the industrialisation of Ghana. Get more info on wikipedia and also see interview with Gamal Nkrumah (Nkrumah’s son) talking about his father and Ghanain independence.
Find out more about Dorothy Masuka’s life and music and listen to Ghana on last.fm
The song also features on:
More Great Moments in Vinyl History
and makes the Guardian “Readers recommend: the A-Z of all songs ever listed”