Ali Farka Toure was born Ali Ibrahim Toure in 1939 in the Timbuktu region in Mali, Africa. He was the 10th child born to his mother and the first one to live - thus nicknamed Farka (donkey) because he was 'stubborn enough to survive'.
Ali Farka Toure never had any ambitions to become a 'star', in spite of touring widely in Africa. His musical inspiration has always come from his life on the banks of the Niger river, at the edge of the Sahara desert, and this is where he still thinks his music belongs. It is not just entertainment to him, it is the communication with the spirits surrounding him.
This explains why he backed out from what could have been a blues superstar career after his 1994 album 'Talking Timbuktu', a collaboration with Ry Cooder. The album won a grammy in 1995 and Ali went on world tour, but he was quickly desillusioned by the 'chew-and-spit' cycle of Western audiences. He longed for home and gave up the tour, with no cares that he turned down the potential for more stardom, not to mention dollars.
He is a most respectful artist and his kind of music is just the way music should be. LIBERATED , SORROWFULL and PASSIONATE
Ali Farka Toure never had any ambitions to become a 'star', in spite of touring widely in Africa. His musical inspiration has always come from his life on the banks of the Niger river, at the edge of the Sahara desert, and this is where he still thinks his music belongs. It is not just entertainment to him, it is the communication with the spirits surrounding him.
This explains why he backed out from what could have been a blues superstar career after his 1994 album 'Talking Timbuktu', a collaboration with Ry Cooder. The album won a grammy in 1995 and Ali went on world tour, but he was quickly desillusioned by the 'chew-and-spit' cycle of Western audiences. He longed for home and gave up the tour, with no cares that he turned down the potential for more stardom, not to mention dollars.
He is a most respectful artist and his kind of music is just the way music should be. LIBERATED , SORROWFULL and PASSIONATE
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