Steve Rhodes has two sisters, Olga, 85 years-old who was a member of Steve Rhodes Voices and Gloria Rhodes Senior, now 84. Steve is 82. Some things are quite interesting about these two sisters: God gave them a very long life, same with Steve. Secondly, the two of them, just like Steve, were pioneer Nigerians: Olga, the first Nigerian female Radiographer and Gloria, first female Court Registrar. In this interview, the both spoke on their younger brother, his music and their contributions to his success.

When you were all growing up, did you ever imagine your small brother would rise to become the music icon he has become today?
Olga : I could not remember imagining him becoming a musician because when he was young, one of the things I remember him do was putting his shoes on the floor and dragging it round the room as a car. I think it was later in life that his interest in music grew though our father, who was a lawyer, would have loved him or any of his children to become a lawyer. So I can't remember fathoming him becoming a musician until he was older, ready to go abroad.

Gloria: I can remember that when he was very young, we had a gramophone at home which plays some music and when that gramophone stops for whatever reason, Steve would cry himself out until the gramophone starts playing again. I remember that distinctively. So may be his interest in music germinated then.

He told me he inherited music from home and that mother played the piano…
That is very true. Mother had this little singing group. She had a good voice but I can't remember her play the piano. The person who did them was Justice Jibowu (now late). They all used to sing to amuse themselves once in month and that they took to different homes.

When he returned to Nigerian and you saw him in musical circles, did you have any apprehension because Nigerians then believed that musicians were never-do-wells?
Well I never had any apprehension because there were so many things Nigerians thought couldn't make people successful. But I did not see anything. He came back qualified and prepared to go into music. I did not see anything wrong.

You were one of the first set of people he gathered to form the Steve Rhodes Voices. First of all, how would you say your interest in music began?
Well, music was in our home and when I went to England to school, my mother insisted that we should do some music. I was more into singing than playing the piano. That was the route I followed but I did not take it as a profession. I remember writing home telling them that I wanted to go into music and acting. My father said I should go ahead but if I came back home, I wouldn't have a place to make a profession of it because our people are not interested in that kind of profession yet. So I had to jettison that and went for other things. So coming back home, finding my brother then at Nigerian Broadcasting Service, he got me interested once more by inviting me and I went in.

How did he get you enlisted in the group?
What happened was that I was with some friends in Italy , watching a programme on TV in the evening. One evening, I saw one American group doing some singing. I was stunned. I said this is what my brother can do because I knew he composes and arranges. The friend said well, if I was sure, when I returned I should tell him. And when I returned, I did and he tried to find out more about the people and he got some of us together, his wife, myself, his two daughters, his cousin, the Tunde Lawrence family and that was how it started.

I can tell you that it was a hard work; he was a hard task master. We could go along with him because he knew what he was doing and you could see when in the choir what he was achieving, So when he said that note was wrong, since he wrote the piece, he knew what he wanted. So you better take that correction, because he is not going to accept it. But now, he is not as fierce as he used to be. We were all terrified. You dare not make mistakes nor come late nor sing the wrong note. It was the discipline in that group that made it what it was.

What profession were you in when you joined?
I was working with RT Briscoe, in charge of housing for them. When you finished work, we had rehearsals. At weekends, we still went. It was a safe period where you were not afraid of the nights as it is now.

As his eldest sister, you would be the oldest in the group, was there not the feeling that he could not discipline you…?
Never. That was what I was trying to put across. That was because I knew and respected his ability, I had to respect him and be a role model for others. As the oldest person, when he corrects me and I accepted, it was a kind of lesson for the younger ones who would cringe that if his elder sister could take corrections from him, they too have to fall in line. He did not care. If he wrote a piece of music, if you did not do it according to what he wanted, he would tell you off. That made you realise that you don't go there to play but to work, he would not allow you to do rubbish. You got to do it as he wanted it. When I was there, it was the discipline he inculcated in us that made us what we were.

The highest point was when you came first at the Eisteddfod competition. Could you recount how it all happened?
It was his idea that we go abroad to show the world that Nigerians could do it better than other countries. The Eisteddfod competition was about traditional music from different countries. Steve took some of our indigenous music and arranged them for the choir. We had to raise a lot of money, we did fund raising, did all sorts of things, concerts, etc, so that people could support us. Even the Minister of Information that time, Anthony Enahoro supported us monetarily and the British Council also supported us with cheap accommodation because we had no enough to take hotels. We went to university halls because they would be on holidays when we were there.

We were not the first to be there as Hubert Ogunde had entered the competition before us. People looked on us as something strange. While there, he insisted we were in our national attire, buba and Iro and men in buba or danshiki , etc no matter how cold. Even when we performed, we appeared in our national attire.

The first time we went, we were new there. It was fun and we realised so many things having watched others, what it required to be there. We came eighth. The second time, we went and did well. Those were all fine but the third time, we had a feeling that we were going to do well on that occasion. We were just stunned, nervous when we won.

We were on the ground participating on different thing for one week. All the time it was rehearsal. There was no time to see the town or something. The group was run like an organisation. We had our secretary, etc. We achieved all we did through hard work and discipline. Without discipline, without doing what the leader said we had to do, there was no way to achieve that. When we returned home, we had several thank you concerts, dancing all over the place and all sorts.

Would you say the Nigerian government appreciated all you did on behalf of the country then?
That is a hard one for me to answer. Apart from the support we received from Anthony Enahoro, then minister for Information, I don't think they cared. Though there were individual Nigerians who did show appreciation for what we did.

Tell me when and why you leave the choir?
Well, you get on with life and let the younger ones to carry one. I left much after my 60th birthday.

What would you say Steve has contributed to Nigeria ?
I don't think like others would do, Steve had any feelings to abandon his country. He is a happy man because at his age he is still doing what he wants to do. He made a great a great sacrifice for Nigeria because if he lived in America, he would have gone farther in life and in music. He knew so many people there. He had played with so many of them who have gone to become great musicians in the US. He has worked so much with Nigerian music, especially the traditional music. I want to see him compile all his works so that he could sell internationally. He has done so much for the Nigerian music. They have the works of Akin Euba, Ayo Bankole and Fela Sowande. I want to see him on that level.

Going to Eisteddfod was no joke. For participating, you have to write the songs and arrange it. You have to put the song together because the organisers would be reading the songs as you perform. He took so many local songs, Edo , Calabar, Hausa, Yoruba, etc. The conductor and leader of the group had to write the songs and you have to tell the judges what the song is all about.

Do you think it was a minus that he did not go commercial with his music?
I don't know. I don't think that was what he was out for. But you can get his sheet music abroad. I am not talking about record. You can get what he has written, what he has arranged, you get it in any music shop and you can play if you are a musician. This will make him contribute to so many things not only in Nigerian but even outside there. My greatest fear is that Steve could pass on and all he has contributed would remain in a box in his studio. I'm so afraid of this.

Why were you not a member of the Choir just like your elder sister Olga?
Gloria: If you listen to my voice, you will like to be a hundred meters away from me. I never seem to have a good voice then. Moreover, not all of us would sing. That mother, Steve and sister sang does not mean that everybody should sing too.

What were your contributions to the group while others were singing?
Gloria: For one thing I was coordinating the group, collecting people for rehearsal. I was backroom all the time.

For the kind of support you were giving the group then, should it be a thing from private individuals or from government? What kind of institutional support do you think the government should give a body like Steve Rhodes Voices so they could be better run?
When I was involved, I was very sad because I saw that it was a waste of time to expect anything from the government. But there were people who had money and who could support such groups. There was one like the Punch proprietor, Chief Olu Aboderin of Punch Newspaper who gave us a boost. There were still more people. But these days, people want to put money down and make a hundred percent profit yesterday. A group like this was not a money making venture as they would want it.

But for such groups to have agencies like they have abroad there should be some kind of demand for this sort of thing. The agencies must be able to make a good living out of it. This can only happen if the return they will get will worth the while for their effort and also for the performers to get good returns which they could live on.