African Legend Ali Farka Toure Dies

One of West Africa’s most celebrated musicians, Ali Farka Toure passed away on March 7 at his home in Mali after a battle with bone cancer. Nicknamed the "Bluesman of Africa,” the cowboy hat-sporting Toure was a renowned guitarist who earned a name playing the gurkel and blending traditional African music with the blues music of the Southern U.S. A collaborator with the likes of blues legends such as Ry Cooder and John Lee Hooker, Toure was a proud Malian who rarely left his home, not even to collect his two Grammys, the second of which was presented in February for his 2005 album In the Heart of the Moon. He was 67.