15 Facts About Francis Bebey

Francis Bebey was born in Douala, Cameroon, on July 15,1929.

Francis Bebey moved to the United States and continued to study broadcasting at New York University.

In 1957, Francis Bebey moved to Ghana at the invitation of Kwame Nkrumah, and took a job as a broadcaster.

Francis Bebey was the first African musician to use electric keyboards and programmable drum machines which he set alongside off the traditional African instruments.

Francis Bebey released his first album in 1969 and would go on to release over 20 albums on Ozileka, between 1975 and 1997.

Francis Bebey's music was primarily guitar-based, but he integrated traditional African instruments and synthesizers as well.

Francis Bebey's style merged Cameroonian makossa with classical guitar, jazz, pop, and electronics, and was considered by critics to be groundbreaking, "intellectual, humorous, and profoundly sensual".

Francis Bebey had a major role in popularizing the n'dehou, a one-note bamboo flute created by the Central African pygmies.

Francis Bebey conducted field research among pygmy tribes, focusing especially on their musical traditions.

Francis Bebey wrote novels, poetry, plays, tales, short stories, and nonfiction works.

Francis Bebey began his literary career as a journalist in the 1950s and at one time worked as a journalist in Ghana and other African countries for the French radio network, Societe de radiodiffusion de la France d'outre-mer.

Francis Bebey died of a heart attack in Paris on 28 May 2001.

Francis Bebey's survivors include his children Patrick, Toups, and Kidi, and his wife.

Francis Bebey was awarded the Grand Prix de la Memoire of the GPLA 2013 for his literary legacy.

Francis Bebey was awarded the Grand Prix Litteraire De L'Afrique Noire in 1968 for his first novel Le Fils d'Agatha Moudio.