A B Crentsil

Biography

Alfred Benjamin Crentsil Jr. was born in Prestea, Ghana, to the late Alfred Benjamin Crentsil Snr. and Esi Yaaba in 1943. He was always known as AB junior until his father died in 1984 and then he assumed the AB Crentsil name without the junior. His primary and middle school education was the Takoradi Methodist Primary and Rev Cleveland Middle School respectively. After his middle-school examinations, AB worked as an electrical apprentice under his father, who was Works Superintendent of the technical branch of Ghana Railways at Takoradi.

While in middle school, Crentsil was introduced to the guitar by a Mr Thedoh. Crentsil became proficient in playing guitar and started singing along when playing it. He was simultaneously working as an electrician and playing with the Strollers Band owned by one Kwesi Donkor. Crentsil has played with the El Dorados, Sweet Talks – who in the 1970s, under the joint leadership of Crentsil and Smart Nkansah, were the resident band at The Talk Of The Town Hotel in Tema, with Crentsil as lead singer — and then finally the Ahenfo Band.

Crentsil opened a 16-track recording studio in 1990. The Devil is Crentsil most well known song.

Crentsil continues to release new albums and to win the accolades that are awarded to top musicians in Ghana. As he always says: "When burger highlife came and everybody loved it, we all joined the train because we also wanted to make some money, but one that I realized is that, highlife will always be the original form of music for Ghanaians and we will always come back to it."

Family life

Crentsil and his wife Elizabeth have eight children.