Malian music icon Amadou Bagayoko dies at age 70

Photo : Reuters

Famous singer and guitar player Amadou Bagayoko from Mali has died. He was 70 years old. He was part of a music team called Amadou & Mariam, known around the world.

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Mali’s Culture Minister, Mamou Daffé, shared the sad news on TV. He said Amadou died on Friday in Bamako, the capital city of Mali, where he was born. The minister did not say more about how he died.

Amadou was born in 1954. He became blind at the age of 15 because of an eye problem he had since birth. He went to a special school for blind children. There, he met his future wife, Mariam Doumbia. Both loved music. They started singing together and made their own band in 1980. People called them Mali’s Blind Couple.

Their music mixed African sounds with rock, blues, and pop. Many people around the world liked their songs. They made more than 10 music albums. In 2005, they won a big music prize in France for their album Dimanche à Bamako. They won another prize in 2013 for the album Folila. In 2006, they also won an award  

Their album Welcome to Mali came out in 2008. It was chosen for a Grammy award in the U.S. for world music.

Amadou’s last big performance with Mariam was at the closing event of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Amadou’s music and life touched many hearts. He showed that even with problems like blindness, one can still shine bright. His songs and story will be remembered by many people across the world.