JOHANNESBURG — Pioneering drummer Tony Allen, the driver of the Afrobeat sound, has died in Paris at age 79.
Allen died Thursday night at the Pompidou Hospital of an aortic aneurysm, his manager Eric Trosset confirmed to The Associated Press.
In an influential career that spanned decades and continents, Allen started drumming in Nigeria’s Lagos in the 1960s and formed a partnership with Fela Kuti, composer, singer, bandleader and saxophonist. They are credited with launching the catchy Afrobeat dance music featuring prominent guitars, complex brass harmonies and poly-rhythmic drumming.
With a prolific output throughout the 1970s, Allen and Kuti gained sales and fame throughout Africa, Europe and North America.