Fatai Rolling Dollar was born on July 22nd, 1928 at Isale Eko on Lagos Island but hails originally from Ede, Osun State, Nigeria. In the late 40s, Fatai started out as a sign-writer for the Nigerian Railways and applied his trade right up to 1952. He began his musical career in 1953, playing the Agidigbo (a music box with a semi-circle broad metal played with the thumb to create resonance), with Queen Mary Orchestra. From there he joined Isa Jubril (first highlife musician from Northern Nigeria who played in Ghana with the Black Beats) where they had a hit song called Buduruwa.

In 1954, Fatai joined the Ishola Willie Payne group at the Alakija Café  (opposite Western Hotel, Mushin) with the guitar maestro J. O. Araba, and Seni Tejuoso on bongos, where they established the music style of Palmwine music. The group was known all over Lagos in those days where they played Palm-wine music at every function you could think of. The music was a party type and had songs for all occasions such as house warming, naming ceremonies and praise songs, etc. They had a lot of hit songs such as Easy Motion Tourist, lyawo ma pa mi, etc. Palm-wine music is a two-chordal movement that one could say was the origin of modern Lagos Juju Music today made popular by the likes of King Sunny Ade, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. Ebenezer Obey played under Fatai’s guidance for many years before starting his own group in the late sixties. Fatai Rolling Dollar at 82 waxed several new hits among which are ‘Won kere si number, She go Run Away’, etc. Fatai also made a successful trip to Morocco in the year 2003 where he thrilled many of his fans with his guitar mastery. He passed on in 2013 at the age of 85.