In July 1970, a group of Mfantsipim students led by guitarist Emmanuel Lartey—now the Rt Rev Prof Emmanuel Y Lartey of Emory University—formed Noise of Joy. Joined by peers Joseph Quist, Kwame Kyeretwie Ofori, Henry Badoo, TVO Lamptey and James Walton, and girls from Wesley Girls’ High School, the ensemble began to blend Beatles‑style guitars with piano‑led melodies that echoed the Edwin Hawkins Singers. The group’s sound was described by Professor Joe‑Nat Clegg‑Lamptey as “like dynamite.”
Noise of Joy’s first public affirmation came in September 1970 when Youth For Christ’s Teen Team visited the campus. Rather than suppress the new style, the school embraced it, with tutors such as W Paul Grimble and E John Watson encouraging performances at services and gatherings across Cape Coast. Clarice Garnett of Wesley Girls’ also guided the group, reinforcing the idea that “Methodism was born in song.”
In 1972, Noise of Joy merged with the Evangels, a group led by Adisadel keyboardist Emmanuel Kweku Frimpong. The union produced Joyful Way, a ministry that toured nationally during the 1972 Nationwide Love Mission and appeared on GBC radio. By 1974, Joyful Way had launched the Explosion of Joy concert on Boxing Day, a show that still draws about 4,000 patrons a year and may be Africa’s longest‑running contemporary gospel concert.
Joyful Way’s influence rippled beyond the school. In December 1976, Rev Spencer Duncan founded Calvary Road Singers after a Joyful Way programme at Adisadel in 1972. The ministry combined music with drama, prayer and preaching, and under the guidance of Dr Kwame Owusu Dapaah‑Afriyie it grew into a network of campus ministries. Rivalry between Joyful Way and Calvary Road at Mfantsipim was friendly; as former Deputy Headboy Kojo Folson (Borax) recalls, “we did not necessarily compete with each other; we completed each other.”
From Joyful Way emerged TVO Lamptey, a leading gospel tenor; Patrick Osei‑Hwere, Ghana’s first recorded gospel rapper; and songwriters such as TVO Lamptey (Wonjie Oyi) and the article’s author, Wahenni. Calvary Road produced award‑winning musicians Nii Okai and the late Kofi Dua‑Anto. The ministries also inspired churches like Lighthouse Chapel and Living Streams, and the 2023 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards winner Perez Music.
Although Joyful Way closed its branches in 1985 and Calvary Road’s independent music ministry waned, the legacy endures. Today, young men rehearse in Mfantsipim’s Assembly Hall as Joyful Way, unaware of the history that shaped their music. Churches that once resisted contemporary gospel now routinely use the style in worship. As Mfantsipim celebrates its 150th anniversary, the school’s contribution to Ghana’s gospel sound—and to how faith is expressed—remains a proud chapter in the nation’s musical heritage.
