Grammy-nominated singer Amadou Bagayoko dies aged 70 after ‘long illness’
He was one half of award-winning duo Amadou & Mariam.
Grammy Award-nominee Amadou Bagayoko has died.
The singer and guitarist, who was one half of duo Amadou & Mariam, died aged 70.
Mali’s Minister of Culture Mamou Daffe paid tribute to the renowned musician on state TV, saying that Bagayoko died on Friday in his birth city Bamako.
His son Youssouf Fadiga told AFP news agency that Bagayoko had been ‘ill for a while’, but did not confirm a cause of death.
His manager also said Amadou had been taken to a clinic after feeling fatigued, and died later that day.
Born in 1954, Bagayoko went blind aged 15 because of a congenital cataract.
Bagayoko died aged 70 after illness (Picture: Avenet Pascal/ABACA/Shutterstock)He studied music at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind, which is where he met his future wife Mariam Doumbia.
The couple formed their band in 1980 and went on to produce more than 10 award-winning albums, which scored them France’s Victoire de la Musique twice and won them the 2006 BBC Radio Awards for World Music.
Their 2008 album Welcome to Mali scored a Grammy nomination for best contemporary music album.
The duo won several awards and played at the likes of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize concert (Picture: SIA KAMBOU/AFP via Getty Images)In 2009, they played at the Nobel Peace Prize concert, when former President Barack Obama won the award.
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‘Barack Obama came to meet us. We talked a bit. Barack Obama told us that he liked our music. Malian music, too. We were very, very happy,’ they duo told AFP in a 2024 interview, as per The Guardian.
Bagayoko and Doumbia most recently performed at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
He is survived by his wife and children.
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