Chief Udoh Essiet was born in Nigeria in 1959. He joined Dr. Victor Olaiya's highlife band in the 1970s and was the congo soloist with Fela Anikulapo Kuti's band in the early 1980s. He then focused on afrobeat music while in Paris. In 1989, Essiet formed the group Afrobeat Blaster. He has since returned to playing more traditional highlife.

Emmanuel Tettey "E.T." Mensah (1919-1996), trumpet player, saxophonist, and vocalist, was one of the most influential musicians in Ghana. He revitalized highlife, relying more on African sounds.

He founded the Accra Rhythm Orchestra and later was a charter member of the Tempos. They toured Britain in the 1950s and he toured worldwide in the 1990s.