US pressing of the highly influential 1974 LP Drums of Passion, with sleeve signed to verso by the Nigerian percussionist, social activist and recording artist. The album was the first recording to popularize African music in the West, becoming immensely successful and selling over five million copies.  Columbia Records CL-1412 . Light wear and toning to sleeve, else in fine condition.  Record has not been playtested but appears to be NM+. 

Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji enjoyed a rich musical legacy during his lifetime. He is credited as being one of the first musicians to bring genuine African music to Western ears en masse, having burst on the scene in 1959 with his debut, Drums of Passion. It was the first known album of traditional West African drumming and chants to be recorded in the United States (Olatunji moved to Atlanta in 1950 before relocating permanently to New York City), and was released during a high tide of political and cultural change-- including appearing alongside epochal jazz recordings by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and Ornette Coleman. As listeners were exposed to different styles and the collective interest in world music and jazz continued to grow in popularity, Olatunji helped turn people's attention away from the corny melodies that dominated the exotica genre fad by offering authentic, captivating songs from his native homeland. (pitchfork.com)