Francis Bebey

Who are they?

Officially born in 1929 in the Akwa district of Douala, the son of a pastor who introduced him to music. After studying in France, he became a radio journalist, then joined UNESCO, where he ran its music programme, before devoting himself fully to his own songs in the 1970s.

What made them famous

A guitarist, singer and composer, he combined traditional African instruments — sanza, mouth bow, pygmy flute — with electronic keyboards, and is described as the first African musician to bring synthesisers and drum machines into his music. His witty songs, such as “Agatha” and “La Condition masculine”, sit alongside an equally acclaimed body of writing.

Key facts

• His first novel, “Le Fils d’Agatha Moudio” (1967), won the Grand Prix littéraire d’Afrique noire in 1968.
• Sacem awarded him its Prix de la chanson française in 1977.
• He composed the score for Idrissa Ouedraogo’s “Yaaba”, a film that won an award at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
• He died in Paris in May 2001; he was posthumously awarded the Grand Prix de la Mémoire of the Grands prix des associations littéraires in 2013.