Francis Bebey

Cameroon suffered the abrupt loss of one of its most inventive talents when songwriter, poet, and novelist Francis Bebey succumbed to a heart attack on May 28, 2001. Bebey had already earned the Grand Prix Litteraire De L'Afrique Moudio for his debut novel, The Son of Agatha Moudio, in 1968 and later produced further novels along with numerous poems and songs. Still active in the months preceding his death, he marked his seventieth birthday by issuing the albums Dibiye and Mbira Dance. His pieces were later interpreted by John Williams and the Kronos Quartet. Stelio Farandjis, secretary general of the High Council of Francophonie, observed that “(Bebey's) voice, his flute, his guitar, and especially his heart and his faith, enchanted the large ones of this world like the humblest among the humble ones.” Born in Douala, Cameroon’s capital, Bebey pursued studies both at home and in the United States before obtaining a broadcasting license from Studi-ecola de la Radiodiffusion Outre-Mer in Paris. Although he worked as a radio journalist across Africa and France and served in UNESCO’s information department from 1961 to 1974, he never abandoned artistic pursuits and continued presenting guitar recitals alongside his professional duties. In 1974 he resigned from journalism to concentrate fully on music and writing. Among his other novels are Headstock Ashanti (1973), King Albert d'Effidi (1976), and The Minister And Griot (1992). That same commitment to documenting African traditions led him to publish the detailed study Musique Du Afrique in 1979. Accompanying himself on mbira, guitar, and percussion, Bebey performed with a quartet that included Patrick Bebey (vocals, mbira, flute, percussion), Toups Bebey (saxophone, percussion), and Papa Noel (bass).