“The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning.” ~John Lee Hooker
Ali Farka Touré was born near Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa in 1939. He’s known for his electric guitar style which was his own unique blend of Malian folk styles and American blues. He had a hypnotic droning style often compared to John Lee Hooker, though I find him more similar to the style of North Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough. Below I’ve included videos from both. The world lost Ali in 2006, but his spirit lives on through his music, musicians he influenced, and his son Vieux Farka Touré, who while carrying the seeds of his father’s music, is forging his own musical identity.
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