Zeki Müren(1931-1996)

Zeki Müren (6 December 1931 - 24 September 1996) was a Turkish singer, composer, songwriter, actor and poet. Known by the nicknames "The Sun of Art" and "Pasha" he was one of the prominent figures of the Turkish classical music. Due to his contributions to the art industry, he was named a "State Artist" in 1991. He was the first singer to receive a golden certification in Turkey and throughout his career recorded and released hundreds of songs on cassettes and phonograph records.

Müren was born in the Hisar district of Bursa, at the wooden house number 30 on Ortapazar Road as the only child of Kaya and Hayriye Müren. His family were originially from Skopje. His father was a timber merchant. He was a small and impatient boy. At the age of 11 he was circumcised in Bursa.

Müren went to the Bursa Osmangazi School (later Tophane School and Alkinci School). When he was at school his musical ability was discovered by his teachers and he started to have a prominent role at school musicals. His first ever role, was the character of a shepherd in one of these musicals.

He finished his secondary school in Bursa and then asked his father to let him got to Istanbul. There he attended the Istanbul Bogaziçi High School. He finished the school and ended up as the number-one student. After passing his exams he was enrolled at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts (now Mimar Sinan University).

In 1950, while he was a university student, he took part at TRT Istanbul Radio's music competition and ranked number-one out of 186 contestants. On 1 January 1951, he had his first live performance on Istanbul Radio which was praised by critics. During theis performance he was accompanied by musicians Hakki Derman, Serif Içli, Sükrü Tunar, Refik Fersan and Necdet Gezen. Hamiyet Yüceses subsequently called them program and congratulated him on his performance. In those years, TRT Ankara Radio was the most listened radio in Anatolia, and Istanbul Radio could not be heard clearly from all parts of Anatolia. At the same week, the clarinet artist Sükrü Tunar, took Müren to his own recording studio in Yesilköy and he recorded his song "Muhabbet Kusu" on phonograph record. Thanks to this record, Müren became known all over Anatolia.

After the success of his first live performance and his first record, Müren began to perform different songs on Turkish radios. His radio programs went on air for 15 years, most of which included live performances. Müren subsequently focused on giving concerts and recording new songs. He had his first live concert on 26 May 1955. He would usually wear his self-designed cloths on stage. He brought various innovations such as dressing uniforms and using T podium.

Together with Behiye Aksoy, he performed at Maksim Casino for 11 years. In 1976, he became the first Turkish artists to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Throughout his career, Müren recorded 600 cassettes and phonograph records. His first song recorded on a phonograph was "Bir Muhabbet Kusu" by Sükrü Tunar. With his song "Manolyam" in 1955, Müren became the first Turkish artist to receive a golden certificate. In 1991, he was chosen as a State Artist.

In 1965, he published a poetry book called "Bildircin Yagmuru", which contains nearly 100 poems. Among the poems featured on this book are Pembe Yamurlar, Bursa Sokagi, Ikinci Sadik Dost, Çim Makasi, Son Kavga, Bu Bestecikler Sana, Alinyazim, Kazanci Yokusu and Kendimi Ariyorum'dur.

Zeki Müren never married. In 1950s, with his special patterns of behavior, dressing and his performance on stage, he managed to keep people's interest constantly on top. In the early years of his career, he chose to wear ordinary clothes and hair styles, but later showed a favor for feminine-styled clothes, and performed with new hair styles and make-up. He never commented on his sexual orientation and occasionally his name appeared alongside that of women. The general opinion was that he was homosexual.

He was known to speak Turkish with a viscous accent. Referred to as the "Pasha of Music", in 1969, after his Aspendos concert, for the first time, he started being favored by the people of Antalya. He explained that although he was delighted because of their support, he still did not know why he was that much favored. He served as an assistant officer in Ankara Infantry School (6 months), Istanbul Harbiye Representative Office (6 months) and Çankiri (3 months) in 1957-1958. Onur Akay's suggestion on TRT Music, Müren's date of birth 6 December, has been celebrated as the Turkish Art Music Day since 2012.

During the last 6 years of his life, Müren was away from the scenes and the media due to heart disease and diabetes. He was retired in his house in Bodrum. He described this period as a time for "listening to oneself". On 24 September 1996, during the ceremony held for him at TRT Izmir Television, he had a heart attack and died. His funeral ceremony was attended by a large number of people. His body was taken to his birth place, Bursa, and buried in Emirsultan Cemetery.

He left all his assets in his will to the Turkish Education Foundation and Mehmetçik Foundation. TEV and Mehmetçik Foundation built Zeki Müren Fine Arts Anatolian High School in Bursa in 2002. In a statement on 24 September 2016, TEV Bursa Branch President Mehmet Caliskan said that the Foundation had helped 2,631 students with the Zeki Müren Scholarship Fund over tha last 20 years.

After his death, the house in which the artist lived in Bodrum for the last years of his life was transformed into Zeki Müren Art Museum by the order of the Ministry of Culture and was opened to the public on 8 June 2000.[