Bagayoko was born in 1954 and became blind at the age of 15 due to cataracts. He studied music at a school for the blind, where he also met his wife Mariam Doumbia. The couple formed the duo Mali's Blind Couple in 1980 and began to make a name for themselves locally. Bagayoko also played in the legendary Mali band Les Ambassadeurs during the 1970s.
In 1985, Amadou & Mariam broke through outside the country's borders. They moved to the Ivory Coast and later to Paris. In 1998, they got a radio hit with the song "Je pense à toi" and five years later, they were picked up by the Spanish-French artist Manu Chao, who produced the album "Dimanche à Bamako" with them, featuring himself as a guest on several tracks.
Singer Damon Albarn of Blur was also a big fan of the duo and guest-sang on the album "Welcome to Mali" from 2008. The song "Sabali" became the most played French-language song that same year.
Amadou & Mariam toured the world as an opening act for, among others, Blur, Coldplay, and Scissor Sisters. In Sweden, they played, among other places, at Hultsfred in 2006 and Way Out West in 2009.
They last performed at the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.
The family tells AFP that Amadou Bagayoko passed away after a period of illness. He was 70 years old.
