Tribute to Gacheru, ‘Mwendwa Wakwa Mariru’ hit maker
Albert Gacheru during an interview with the Nation on June 1, 2011.
The death on Monday evening of veteran Gikuyu Benga star Albert Gacheru Kiarie marked the end of the career of one of Kenya’s most prolific music producers. He doubled as a crusader against copyright infringements.
The Mwendwa Wakwa Mariru hit maker had other great songs such as Mumunya (his debut hit song), Hurry, Hurry Waithera and Ya Ruanio.
Speaking to the Saturday Nation, fellow musician Peter Kigia eulogised Gacheru as one who always stood up for others during the hard and good times.
Kigia (Wa Esther) recalled how back in 1986, Gacheru had allowed him to use his music store in downtown Nairobi to sell his wares.
“I had just started my music career but he proved very useful as he was willing to assist me by not only supporting me financially but also allowing me to sell my things from his shop,” he said.
Those days, artistes used to sell their music in vinyl disc records form before the advent of cassettes. In the mid 90s, artistes started to produce their music on compact discs (CD).
Gacheru would allow Kigia and his colleague Kimani Thomas to sell their wares in his music shop off River Road in Nairobi. “Kimani Thomas and I owe our gratitude to Gacheru for having supported us in music,” Kigia said.
Some of their contemporaries include Simon Kihara ‘Musaimo’, Wahome Maingi, Sam Muraya, John De Mathew, Jimmy Wayuni and Timona Mburu.
Notably, most of their counterparts were from Gatanga , Kangema and other regions in Murang’a County. The legendary Joseph Kamaru and Daniel DK Kamau are among the music greats from Murang’a.
Despite taking a low profile lately due to failing health, Gacheru, who was in his late 50s, had left a great legacy as a former director of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya .
The producer, who died at the Kenyatta National Hospital after a long illness, will be buried today at Boiman village in Ol-Jororok, Nyandarua County.
Family members are appealing for assistance to offset a Sh5 million hospital bill.
In a twist of fate, his elder brother, Basilio Ngunjiri, died on Wednesday morning — just two days after his demise — at the JM Memorial Hospital in Nyandarua where he had been hospitalised for some days.
Musician Kamande wa Kioi recalled being a backup guitarist in Gicheru’s Wamaitu Band from 1997 to 2000.
Kamande said Gacheru was a perfectionist. “During rehearsals, he took more time to ensure perfection during recordings and live concerts,” he said.
Kamande is known for hit songs such as Karanga Chapo and Mathenge Bandia.
At the time, the Sheikh Karume Road, River Road and Luthuli Avenue area was often packed with standby backup session artistes.
Gacheru’s Wamaitu Productions record label had top musicians like Queen Jane, John De Matthew, gospel singer Mary Wambui and Shari Martin.
In 1997, Gacheru made a return to releasing new songs after an almost seven-year break when he unveiled General Friend.
Inspired by the desire to fight for the rights of fellow musicians, he enrolled for a law degree course at Mount Kenya University in 2012. Through it, he was able to broaden his knowledge of copyright law, which was useful in fighting piracy and copyright infringement.
Them Mushrooms Band leader John Katana lauded Gacheru’s efforts in the fight against music piracy. “His fight against piracy was an eye-opener for many other artistes,” Katana said.
It wasn’t an easy battle for Gacheru, whose business premises on River Road had on a number of occasions been vandalised or burnt down by unknown people.
This did not deter Gacheru, who used to travel to Uganda and Tanzania on the same mission.
