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His Biggest Hit Sold More Copies Than Any of the Beatles'. So Why
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His Biggest Hit Sold More Copies Than Any of the Beatles'. So Why
Haven't You Heard of Him?

In a life bookended by tragedy, Prince Nico Mbarga poured joy into
music, including the most popular song in African history. But his
own story has never been told -- until now.

Sami Kent
Jun 26, 2017
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His Biggest Hit Sold More Copies Than Any of the Beatles'. So Why
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Photos by Sami Kent | Edited by Brendan Spiegel

Twenty years ago the man who recorded one of the most successful
songs of all time was thrown off a motorbike by a car in Calabar,
Nigeria. He hit his head on the road and was rushed to the hospital,
where he lay for two weeks, in and out of consciousness, but
deteriorating all the time. On June 24, 1997, Prince Nico Mbarga was
pronounced dead. "Sweet Mother," his 1976 one-hit wonder, had sold at
least thirteen million copies across the African continent - more
than The Beatles' bestseller "I Want to Hold Your Hand." But no
global media outlet thought to cover the life and death of the artist
behind Africa's most popular song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
3mecNrIaWOA   Today, the only internet accounts of his life reach
around four paragraphs and bookend Mbarga's career with two big
political events of the time: the Biafran War in 1967 that saw him,
at 17, flee across the border to Cameroon, where he mastered the
guitar; and the expuls...

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