At the time he teamed up with Daudi Kabaka, with whom he recorded three songs - "Safari Tanganyika", "Bachelor Boy" and "Nyumba za Tobacco".
As a result, president Jomo Kenyatta feted him and his Air Fiesta Matata band, and Emperor Haile Selassie invited him to perform in Ethiopia.
As of 2009, he had performed at the Westlife Club in Kakamega, and was still making music at the time of his death.
[3] In 2009 he was among four pioneering Kenyan showbiz people given Head of State Commendation awards by president Mwai Kibaki.
Others were John Katana (band leader Them Mushrooms), David Ndung'u and Conrad Karukenya (aka Tiger Power).