[10] The first of four sons born to Ganyinurra (Daisy), of the Gumal clan, and Nyambi "Terry" Yunupingu, a Gumatj clansman,[11] Yunupingu was born blind in Galiwin'ku, Elcho Island, in 1971,[12] situated off the coast of Arnhem Land in northern Australia, about 530 kilometres (330 mi) east of Darwin.

[8] His friend, spokesperson, and collaborator Michael Hohnen described his early musical experiences as follows: "Gurrumul was educated by immersion, cultural immersion—from his aunties, parents and grandmothers, with love and lullabies; from his uncles, fathers and grandfathers through ceremony songs and storytelling, much of it through music.

"[13] He later sang hymns in the mission choir and also enjoyed Western pop music, particularly Dire Straits, Cliff Richard, and Stevie Wonder.

[13] In 1989, at the age of 18, Yunupingu joined Yothu Yindi as a multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist, notably contributing to their 1991 album, Tribal Voice.

He left the group in 1995 to live full-time on Elcho Island and later co-founded and co-led the Saltwater Band, which was active from 1999 to 2009.

[19][20] He did not generally give interviews, instead relying on Hohnen to speak for him, following a Yolŋu custom that dictated that Yunupingu's role was only to sing, while his elders spoke publicly.

In a 2009 interview with him and Hohnen, Yunupingu said that he was generally shy but more comfortable playing music, and went on to say: "I don't have much to say to people when I talk.

"[29] In 2012, Yunupingu was one of the contributing vocalists on Gary Barlow's commemorative single "Sing" for Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee celebrations, which features artists from across the Commonwealth.

He performed "Sing" live at the Diamond Jubilee Concert on 4 June 2012 together with many of the song's contributing artists.

[35] Yunupingu died at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, at about 5:00 pm on 25 July 2017, aged 46.

[8] He received tributes from the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, fellow musician Peter Garrett, and Anna Reid, the dean of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

[10] In December 2020, Yunupingu was listed at number 33 in Rolling Stone Australia's "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.

[40] In the same year, a species of frog from the Wessel Islands, Northern Territory, was named Uperoleia gurrumuli (Gurrumul's toadlet) in honour of Yunupingu.

[41][42] On 8 November 2024, an album with the Prague Metropolitan Orchestra, conducted by Jan Chalupecky, titled Banbirrngu - The Orchestral Sessions will be released.

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia.