Another giant has fallen. Amadou Bagayoko, who toured the world to acclaim with his wife Mariam as the duo Amadou and Mariam, has died of undisclosed causes at age 70. Afropop first encountered the duo in the early '90s, purchasing cassettes in Bamako of Le Couple Aveugle du Mali, The Blind Couple of Mali. The two artists first met at a school for the blind in Bamako. Amadou was an accomplished musician who performed with Les Ambassadeurs du Motel. His guitar style was as much influenced by his Bambara heritage as by international rockers and bluesmen.

Amadou's musical pairing with Mariam may have seemed a novelty at first, a blind couple composing and performing their own songs. But word of their striking chemistry and paradoxically joyful spirit spread quickly among African music aficionados. Then in 2004 their album Dimanche à Bamako, produced by Manu Chao, hit the streets and they became major pop stars, in demand at festivals and concert halls around the world. From there came star turns with the likes of Damon Albarn, Pink Floyd's David Gilmore, U2, the Blind Boys of Alabama and others, and a kind of international caché carried them along from one triumph to the next.

In 2024, they performed they performed the Serge Gainsbourg song, "Je suis venu te dire que je m'en va" at the closing ceremony for the Summer Paralympics. (Image in banner above)

Amadou's brilliant and idiosyncratic guitar playing was always a hook in A&M shows, which found a sweet spot between Malian folklore and rock 'n roll. For all their international fame, they were most loved at home in Mali, where thousands attended Amadou's funeral on April 6.

Read Amadou's NYTimes obituary here.