Dr G Yunupingu, Australia’s Most Acclaimed Indigenous Musician Has Died

Acclaimed Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter Dr G Yunupingu has passed away in Darwin, aged 46, after a long illness. He is being mourned by family and friends as a "genius and wonderful human being".

Skinnyfish Music, the ARIA Award-winner's label said in a statement, "Today we mourn the loss of a great Australian, Dr G. Yunupingu who sadly passed away yesterday in Royal Darwin Hospital at age 46 after a long battle with illness.

"Dr G. Yunpingu is remembered today as one of the most important figures in Australian music history, blind from birth and emerging from the remote Galiwin'ku community on Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem land to sell over half a million copies of his albums across the world, singing in his native Yolngu language."

A key member of Yothu Yindi and the Saltwater Band before going solo, Yunupingu won an ARIA Award in 2008 for his eponymous album. The album went triple platinum in Australia, silver in the UK and charted in multiple countries. Yunpingu performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Barack Obama. He was also a community leader, and through the G. Yunupingu Foundation created opportunities for young people in the Northern Territory.

His death has been followed by a number of tributes from friends and musicians, including Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett and Briggs.

For cultural reasons images and the full name of the late artist are not being published.

Image: Skinnyfish Music