[1924-1993]

Born Michael Kofi Amissah on the 13th of June 1924 in Aboso, Western Region of Ghana, Lord Bob Cole was a household name in the 1950s.  At a tender age, Michael Amissah was involved in music, becoming a soloist in the church choir and the fife band leader at his school in Tarkwa.  This was a Catholic school and by eighteen he knew how to play the French horn and euphonium whilst a member of the Gold Mines Little Orchestra. Around the year 1958, Michael was at the Kumasi College of Technology studying music under prestigious music professors such as Ephraim Amu and C.E. Graves .  At some point the music department of the college was moved to Winneba.  Michael received a diploma and enrolled on the newly formed two-year diploma course on African Music at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.  He then travelled to Rome for further studies and gained a BA in Sacred Music and a Masters in Music.   Michael composed many sacred songs and also composed choral and chamber music.  The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation used his music as signature tunes.  He worked for many years at the now Arts Centre which was then a theatre performing on stage and venturing into film with the classic production I Told You So, directed by Dr Chris Tsui Hesse.  His songs were popular for humour, storytelling and moral lessons.

Reference: Wikipedia