He was Turkey's Elvis: 9 years have passed since the death of Erol Büyükburç

9 years have passed since the death of Turkish pop music artist Erol Büyükburç, who made a name for himself with the innovations he brought to Turkish pop music and won the admiration of music lovers with his song titled 'Sevemem'.

The artist, whose date of birth is stated as March 22, 1936, in various sources, said in an interview with journalist Seral Cumalı: "I was born on August 8, 1936, in Adana. My father is a Caucasian Turkmen. On my mother's side, I descend from the lineage of Giray Khan. My father, Suphi Bey, was a cashier on the southern line of the State Railways."

'WE USED TO LISTEN TO HAFIZ BURHAN'

The artist, who began his education at Frere Maristes in Aleppo due to his father Suphi Bey's job and continued at Adana Kemal Paşa Primary School, described those days with the following words:

"I was going to the French school called Frere Maristes in Aleppo, and I would come to Adana during the holidays. My mother would play the violin and oud for her own pleasure, and my older sister would play the piano and sing French songs. On my father's side, everyone played an instrument and sang beautifully. A 'fasıl' (musical gathering) would be held at home, and they would perform the songs so beautifully, just like radio performers.

I would listen to them and be inspired. When I was born, my grandfather gave my mother a gramophone. We used to listen to records by Tino Rossi, Caruso, Mozart, Hafız Burhan, and Münir Nurettin from the stone records brought by my grandfather and father.

I used to sing the songs I listened to very well. When we moved to Istanbul, I would climb onto the garden wall during breaks in middle school at the insistence of my friends and sing."

HE FORMED HIS FIRST MUSIC GROUP DURING HIS HIGH SCHOOL YEARS

The artist, who attended Fatih Gelenbevi Middle School in Istanbul, graduated from Sultanahmet Commercial High School, which he started in 1951. During his high school years, he played music at Florya beach with his first group, which he formed in Istanbul with Şevket Uğurluel, Kanat Gür, Salim Ağırbaş, and Metin Ersoy.

Erol Büyükburç took vocal lessons from Alis Rosental while simultaneously attending the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Conservatory.

The artist, who studied in the Higher Commerce department of the Istanbul University Faculty of Economics and Commerce, left school in his third year.

The successful artist became a pioneering practitioner of various musical genres in Turkey with his first orchestra, the Erol Büyükburç Vocal Group, which he founded under his own name. The artist, who recorded his composition "Little Lucy" in 1961, later signed his name to compositions titled "Kiss Me", "Lover's Wish", and "Memories".

HE PARTICIPATED IN THE BALKAN MELODIES FESTIVAL IN 1964

Büyükburç began interpreting foreign compositions with English lyrics in the 1950s and later produced folk arrangements.

The artist, who participated in the Balkan Melodies Festival held in Belgrade in 1964 with the National Orchestra, said in a statement regarding his different style of dress: "The emergence of Anatolian pop is a process that began with my arranging folk songs. I wanted to be different. Zeki Müren and other singers were singing on stage in black tuxedos. I said, 'There is no need for that much seriousness.' I applied the glitter of Las Vegas and Hollywood to my stage shows and was very daring with my outfits."

Until 1992, the artist wrote songs for children's songs as well as for the puppet characters and puppet shows he prepared himself; from 1990 to 2007, he produced tango broadcasts for TRT and wrote and interpreted Turkish lyrics for foreign songs.

The artist, who brought his first album "Sevgi Çiçekleri" to music lovers in 1975, released "Sen Varsın" in 1981, which included his song "Sevemem". He gained fame with the song Sevemem on the album.

The artist, who passed away at his home in Istanbul on March 12, 2015, was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

NEARLY 200 AWARDS

The artist, who produced 6 stone records, 5 long plays, 75 45-rpm records, and 9 cassettes, including works such as "Kırık Kalp", "Yasemin", "Hop Dedik", "Dünya Durdukça", "Karakaş Gözlerin Elmas", "Ağlarım", "Aşk Yolunda", and "Zeynebim", also appeared in 20 photo-novels.

The artist, who is also referred to as Turkey's Elvis, was deemed worthy of nearly 200 awards in his career and interpreted around 1800 songs.

Some of the films the artist acted in, having played in 33 films throughout his life, are as follows:

"Neşeli Aşıklar", "Kızılcıklar Oldu mu?", "Gençlik Türküsü", "Sus Sus Kimseler Duymasın", "Menekşe Gözler", "Turist Ömer Arabistan'da", "Kavanoz Dipli Dünya", "Kader Rüzgarı", "Kurban Olayım", "Nerdesin Firuze", "Hababam Sınıfı Merhaba", and "Hırçın Kız Kadife"