ISTANBUL — Kayahan, one of Turkey’s most popular singers and songwriters, died here on April 3. He was 66.
The cause was lung cancer, which he had since 1990, Acibadem Maslak Hospital said in a statement.
Kayahan, whose full name was Kayahan Acar, released his first album in 1975 and went on to release nearly two dozen more. Best known for his love songs, he built his musical legacy on his use of idiomatic Turkish to describe emotions. Many of his songs are considered pop classics.
His many hits, which he often sang with Nilufer, one of Turkey’s leading female singers, made him one of the best-selling Turkish musicians of all time. His concerts, including some that were fund-raisers for environmental causes, drew large crowds at home and abroad. One concert, in Ankara, drew more than 170,000 people.
Kayahan was born in Izmir, Turkey, on March 29, 1949. He first won global recognition at the 1986 International Mediterranean Music Contest in Antalya, a Turkish Mediterranean town, and in 1990 he represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest with his composition“Gozlerinin Hapsindeyim” (“I Am Entrapped by Your Eyes”). The song did not win, but it became a hit at home.
His last memorable public performance was an open-air Valentine’s Day concert in Istanbul in February. He got out of his sickbed to sing with his wife, Ipek Acar, and Nilufer.
Besides his wife, Kayahan’s survivors include two daughters, Beste and Asli Gonul.
“We are in grief over losing Kayahan, who contributed to Turkish music with countless compositions and marked a generation with his songs,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Twitter.
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Kayahan Açar, stage name Kayahan, (29 March 1949 – 3 April 2015) was a Turkish pop music singer-songwriter. He was an accomplished composer, consistently ranking among the best-selling Turkish musicians of all time. Kayahan composed all of his own material and released more than eight best-selling albums during a career spanning three decades.
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[hide]Early years[edit]
Kayahan Açar was born in İzmir, Turkey on 29 March 1949.[1] He spent his childhood and young adulthood years in Ankara before moving to Istanbul.[2]
Career[edit]
Kayahan released three singles, one LP and eleven compact cassettes and CDs so far. He became known for his songs "Geceler" ("Nights"), "Kar Taneleri" ("Snow Flakes"), "Esmer Günler" ("Brunette Days"), which were sang by Nilüfer, all becoming later classical.[2]
His album "Yemin Ettim" ("I Swore"), released on 3 June 1991, became a bestseller. He coined a motto "Yolu sevgiden geçen herkesle bir gün bir yerde buluşuruz" (One day, we will meet everyone somewhere, whose path goes through love". He wrote and composed also songs for children, and appeared in television shows for children.
On 30 April 1992, he released the album "Odalarda Işıksızım" (Lightless in the Rooms). Ten songs of Kayahan in the album titled "Son Şarkılarım" (My Last Songs), released by the label Raks Müzik in March 1993, became very successful. He continued his career with the albums Benim Penceremden (From My Window), released in January 1995. The song "Allah'ım Neydi Günahım" ("God, What Was My Sin?") has been sung by many singers, and brought him great success. With this album, he introduced to the music world a new, young and talented singer, İpek Tüter, whom he married later in 1999.[2]
Kayahan^'s 1996 album, Canımın Yaprakları (Leaves of My Life) had eight songs and expressed "Allah kimseyi sevgisiz bırakmasın" ("May God not leave anyone without love!"), emphasizing the concept "love" with "Sevgisiz hiçbir şey yapılmaz. Herşeyin başı sevgidir" (Nothing can be done without love. The beginning of everything is love). The next year, he released the album Emrin Olur (Your Call). His ninth album "Beni Azad Et" (Set Me Free) came out in April 1999, and featured nine songs, some of them becoming hits. Among them was a song, "Gömeç", the name of a seaside resort in Balıkesir Province, where he has a residence with a special music studio and where he spent most of his summer time.[3] The album Gönül Sayfam (My Soul's Page), released 26 November 2000, contains the songs "17 Ağustos" ("17 August") commemorating theEarthquake of 17 August 1999 and "Ninni" ("Lullaby") for his new-born daughter Aslı Gönül. In Ne Oldu Can (What Happened Dear?), released 17 December 2002, Kayahan emphasized the importance of the musicians and artists with his song "Bugün Aslında Bayram" (Today Is Indeed Feastday), he wrote in memory of the late singer-songwriter Barış Manço.[2]
Kayahan received his first important award "Altın Portokal" (Golden Orange) with the song "Geceler" (Nights) at the 1986 International Mediterranean Music Contest. He represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 with his song "Gözlerinin Hapsindeyim" ("Captive in your eyes"), which came 17th. In 2003, he was honored with the Altın Kelebek (Golden Butterfly), and the "MÜYAP" (Music Producers Association) award for the bestselling-success of the album Ne Oldu Can. He released "Kelebeğin Şansı" ("The Luck of the Butterfly") in 2005, and "Biriciğime" ("To My One and Only") on 15 March 2007.[2] He performed many concerts in Turkey and abroad. For his open-air concert held at Kızılay Square in Ankara on the occasion of the Republic Day in 1992, a crowd of about 160,000 people came together. Kayahan performed many relief benefit concerts in order to create or increase awareness about the environment.[2]
Personal life[edit]
Açar was married three times. He made his first marriage to Nur in 1973. From this marriage, which lasted 24 years long, he became father of a daughter Beste (Turkish for music composition), born in 1975. Beste was runner-up for Miss Turkey in 1995. Kayahan remarried to Lale Yılmaz in 1990. The couple divorced in 1996. In 1999, at age fifty, he remarried to his third and current wife 1976-born İpek Tüter. In August 2000, İpek gave birth to their daughter Aslı Gönül.[2]
Illness and death[edit]
In 1990, Kayahan was diagnosed with soft-tissue cancer. He caught the same disease in 2005 again. The illness repeated in 2014, and he was under treatment for cancer.[2]
Kayahan died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome on 3 April 2015, aged 66, in a hospital in Istanbul. He had been battling small-cell lung cancer since one-and-half years. He had overcome the disease twice before. After a Valentine's Day concert he lately performed with Nilüfer on 14 February 2015, he bid a public farewell to his fans.[1]
He was laid to rest in Kanlıca Cemetery, which overlooks Bosphorus, following a memorial ceremony in Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, and the religious funeral service at Teşvikiye Mosque, attended also by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and numerous renowned musicians. He was survived by his wife İpek Açar, and daughters Aslı Gönül and Beste.[4][5]
Albums[edit]
- 1975 - Bekle Gülüm - Ateş (Wait, My Rose - Fire!)
- 1978 - İstanbul Hatırası - Neden Olmasın (A Souvenir from Istanbul - Why Not?)
- 1981 - Canım Sıkılıyor Canım (I Get Bored)
- 1987 - Merhaba Çocuklar (Hello Kids)
- 1988 - Benim Şarkılarım (My Songs)
- 1989 - Benim Şarkılarım 2 (Siyah Işıklar) (My Songs Vol. 2: Black Lights)
- 1991 - Yemin Ettim (I Swore)
- 1992 - Odalarda Işıksızım (Lightless in the Rooms)
- 1993 - Son Şarkılarım (My Last Songs)
- 1995 - Benim Penceremden (From My Window)
- 1996 - Canımın Yaprakları (Leaves of My Life)
- 1997 - Emrin Olur (Your Call)
- 1999 - Beni Azad Et (Set Me Free)
- 2000 - Gönül Sayfam (My Soul's Page)
- 2002 - Ne Oldu Can? (What Happened? My Dear)
- 2004 - Kelebeğin Şansı (The Luck of the Butterfly)
- 2007 - Biriciğime (To My One and Only)
- 2011 - 365 Gün (365 Days)
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Kayahan Açar, stage name Kayahan, (March 29, 1949 – April 3, 2015) was a Turkish pop music singer and songwriter. He was an accomplished composer, consistently ranking among the best-selling Turkish musicians of all time. Kayahan composed all of his own material and released more than eight best-selling albums during a career spanning three decades.
Kayahan was born in Izmir, Turkey, on March 29, 1949. He spent his childhood and young adulthood years in Ankara before moving to Istanbul.
Kayahan, whose full name was Kayahan Acar, released his first album in 1975 and went on to release nearly two dozen more. Best known for his love songs, he built his musical legacy on his use of idiomatic Turkish to describe emotions. Many of his songs are considered pop classics.
He first won global recognition at the 1986 International Mediterranean Music Contest in Antalya, a Turkish Mediterranean town, and in 1990 he represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest with his composition "Gozlerinin Hapsindeyim" (“I Am Entrapped by Your Eyes”). The song did not win, but it became a hit in Turkey.
Açar was married three times. He made his first marriage to Nur in 1973. From this marriage, which lasted 24 years long, he became father of a daughter Beste (Turkish for music composition), born in 1975. Beste was runner-up for Miss Turkey in 1995. Kayahan remarried to Lale Yılmaz in 1990. The couple divorced in 1996. In 1999, at age fifty, he remarried to his third wife,1976-born İpek Tüter. In August 2000, İpek gave birth to their daughter Aslı Gönül.
