Bako Dagnon

Early life Bako Dagnon was born in the little village of Golobladji, around 20 kilometers away from Kita in a family of griots and n'goni players. The origins of her family can be traced back to the time of Sundiata Keita. In her birth village, she learned the songs from Ségou from her grandmother and those from Guinea from her mother, while her grandfather who had fought with Samori Ture taught her battlefields songs.

Her mother died when Bako Dagnon was seven years old, her father sent her into the care of a childless wife of a griot in Kita. Following these successes she performed regularly with the Regional Orchestra of Kita. In Bamako, she sang on weddings and gained popularity.

In the 1990s, Bako Dagnon continued giving public and private concerts. She did no recordings until the beginning of the 2000s when she also managed in gaining popularity outside of Mali. She participated on the albums Mandekalou (2004) and Mandekalou II (2006) of the Mandika griot collective of the same name of Ibrahima Sylla. She also appeared on the song Donso Ke on the album Electro Bamako (2006) by Marc Minelli.

Sidiba, her seventh album, was released two years later. The song Le guide de la révolution was the only song in French and was released as a single.

On 14 January 2009, Bako Dagnon was made a knight of the National Order of Mali.

Death

Bako Dagnon died on 7 July 2015 at around six in the morning at the Hospital of Point-G in Bamako after a long illness. Her funeral was organised the following day in the neighbourhood Hamdallaye ACI 2000 where she had been living. The funeral took place in the presence of numerous personalities, including members of the government and Keïta Aminata Maiga, the First Lady of Mali from 2013 to 2020.

Discography (incomplete) 2004: Mandekalou: The Art and Soul of the Mande Griots I (Album as part of the griot collective Mandekalou) 2006: Mandekalou: The Art and Soul of the Mande Griots II (Album as part of the griot collective Mandekalou) 2007: Titati (Solo album) 2009: Sidiba (Solo album) 2010: Le guide de la révolution (Solo single)