Aboubacar Demba Camara (1944 – 5 April 1973) was a

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

n singer and songwriter. He led the band

Bembeya Jazz National Bembeya Jazz National (originally known as Orchestre de Beyla) is a Guinean jazz group that gained fame in the 1960s for their Afropop rhythms. They are considered one of the most significant bands in Guinean music. Many of their recordings are ...

from 1963 until his death.

Biography

Aboubacar Demba Camara was born in 1944 in

Conakry Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...

French Guinea French Guinea (french: Guinée française) was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, ...

to a family from Saraya, a station of Kouroussa. He attended the Coléa primary school until 1952, when he transferred to a school in Kankan. In 1957 he returned to Conakry to finish his primary studies before going back to Kankan where he enrolled in a vocational school and earned his certification as a cabinetmaker. In 1963 he moved to the town of Beyla in southern Guinea to work. Demba Camara joined the band

in 1963. He became its leader, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter. At the height of his popularity, Demba Camara was declared the top African singer by the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

Death and burial

In March 1973 Bembeya Jazz National was sent to Senegal by the Guinean government for a performance tour. The band was warmly received at Dakar-Yoff Airport on 31 March, where they departed in a caravan for Dakar proper. At an intersection in front of the

Deux Mamelles Deux Mamelles, Collines des Mamelles, or simply Mamelles are twin hills located in Ouakam, a suburban commune of Dakar, in the Cap-Vert peninsula, Senegal. These hills are of volcanic origin and they are the vestiges of a plateau from the early ...

, the

Peugeot 504 The Peugeot 504 is a mid-size, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive automobile manufactured and marketed by Peugeot from 1968 to 1983 over a single generation, primarily in four-door sedan and wagon configurations – but also as twin two-door coupé ...

car carrying Demba Camara, guitarist Sékou Diabaté, and secondary vocalist Salifou Kaba was involved in a collision. Demba Camara was crushed under a door and was taken along with the other two to Dentec Hospital, where doctors determined that he had suffered a fractured skull, compressed rib cage, and several lacerations. In spite of the doctors' efforts, he died from internal bleeding at 01:00 on 5 April. Upon the announcement of Demba Camara's death, a delegation of the Guinean government and central committee of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée assembled under Minister of Education Mamadi Keïta to retrieve his body. It landed at Dakar-Yoff Airport at 16:20, where it was met with a large crowd of mourners and a Senegalese Government delegation led by President of the National Assembly Amadou Cissé Dia. Cissé Dia declared that the Senegalese Government had spared no expense in its attempts to save Demba Camara. At 19:00 the Guineans landed in Conakry and Demba Camara's body was brought to the Palais du Peuple via truck where it was received by thousands of mourners. President

Ahmed Sékou Touré Ahmed Sékou Touré (var. Sheku Turay or Ture; N'Ko: ; January 9, 1922 – March 26, 1984) was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who became the first president of Guinea, serving from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was am ...

and his wife bowed before the coffin. Demba Camara was given a state funeral which was attended by members of the Guinean and Senegalese governments. One hundred thousand people dressed in white followed his body to the Camayenne cemetery in procession, led by the Camp Boiro military band as it performed ''Boloba'', a Manding song traditionally played in honor of warriors.

Citations

References

* * * * {{Authority control 1973 deaths 1944 births