Health Sustainability of Popular Musicians in Ghana

In this study, I bring to the fore some prominent popular musicians whose careers were truncated due to ill health and have passed on recently as an attempt to stimulate a discourse towards the health sustainability of popular musicians in Ghana for a sustainable career and industry. Drawing on descriptive research design, document analysis, and interviews for data collection, I observed that only a few prominent Ghanaian popular musicians had sustained their careers for over five decades. At the same time, some are grappling to do so due to ill health. I conclude that the health sustainability of popular musicians is paramount to the sustainability of Ghana’s music industry. Therefore, popular musicians should prioritise their health as a matter of urgency in their quest to have a sustainable career. I hope this study serves as a moderate contribution to Ghanaian popular music scholarship, marks the beginning of a new direction, stimulates debates, and gives rise to similar research in other creative arts traditions.