Geraldo Pino

About Geraldo Pino

Geraldo Pino formed The Heartbeats in Freetown in the early 1960s, starting out on American hits and Congolese rumba covers before building a hard, organ-driven funk sound of his own. The band became one of the highest-earning acts in West Africa and toured Ghana and Nigeria, where their shows made a deep impression on Fela Kuti. Afro Soco Soul Live, recorded in concert and released in 1972, captures the group at full strength, and Let's Have A Party followed in 1974. Pino spent his later life in Nigeria, chaired the Rivers State branch of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, and died in Port Harcourt in 2008.