	Home Toure Farka 1939 - 2006 (67) QUOTES
	Ali Farka Touré (1939 - 2006) was a musician from Mali whose music combines traditional Mali music with African American blues. He was born on October 31, 1939, in the village of Kanau, on the banks of the Niger River in the northwestern Tombouctou district of Mali. His family belonged to the Arma community, his father died while serving in the French Army in 1940. He was his mother's tenth son but the only survivor after infancy. It was customary in his homeland to give a strange nickname to a child whose brother had died, the nickname "Farka" means "donkey", an animal that is admired for its perseverance and stubbornness. In Mali society, the musical performance was the duty of a lower caste, Toure came from a higher caste and was banned from playing musical instruments. He ignored the ban and secretly made a tin string to play music with his friends. In the 1960s, Mali held national talent contests to bring together diverse groups of people living in the newly independent nation, such as the Bambara in the south, the nomadic Tuareg in the north, and the Fula and Songhay in the Sahel. Toure was very successful in these competitions and ended up in Bulgaria to represent Mali internationally. During this trip he bought his first guitar. Touré's first job in the music industry was as a sound engineer at Radio Mali. This job gave him the opportunity to use the recording studio of the radio station, which at that time was the only recording studio in Mali. Toure sent cassettes of his recordings to various record companies in France and eventually released a number of albums in the late '70s and early' 80s. In 1986, Toure caught the attention of the British market when hos songs were played on British radio by a DJ who discovered his records in Paris. After that, he become one of the most famous musicians on the African continent. On March 6, 2006, the Mali Ministry of Culture announced Toure's death at the age of 66 from bone cancer. His latest album, Savane, was released posthumously in July 2006 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Album".

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Toure Farka 1939 - 2006 (67)

QUOTES

Ali Farka Touré (1939 - 2006) was a musician from Mali whose music combines traditional Mali music with African American blues. He was born on October 31, 1939, in the village of Kanau, on the banks of the Niger River in the northwestern Tombouctou district of Mali. His family belonged to the Arma community, his father died while serving in the French Army in 1940. He was his mother's tenth son but the only survivor after infancy. It was customary in his homeland to give a strange nickname to a child whose brother had died, the nickname "Farka" means "donkey", an animal that is admired for its perseverance and stubbornness. In Mali society, the musical performance was the duty of a lower caste, Toure came from a higher caste and was banned from playing musical instruments. He ignored the ban and secretly made a tin string to play music with his friends.

In the 1960s, Mali held national talent contests to bring together diverse groups of people living in the newly independent nation, such as the Bambara in the south, the nomadic Tuareg in the north, and the Fula and Songhay in the Sahel. Toure was very successful in these competitions and ended up in Bulgaria to represent Mali internationally. During this trip he bought his first guitar.

Touré's first job in the music industry was as a sound engineer at Radio Mali. This job gave him the opportunity to use the recording studio of the radio station, which at that time was the only recording studio in Mali. Toure sent cassettes of his recordings to various record companies in France and eventually released a number of albums in the late '70s and early' 80s. In 1986, Toure caught the attention of the British market when hos songs were played on British radio by a DJ who discovered his records in Paris. After that, he become one of the most famous musicians on the African continent.

On March 6, 2006, the Mali Ministry of Culture announced Toure's death at the age of 66 from bone cancer. His latest album, Savane, was released posthumously in July 2006 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Album".