Barış Manço is one of my favorite Turkish musicians. Born in the 1940s, he started his music career in the late 50s and early 60s, before emerging in 1970 as one of the most successful Turkish artists of all time. Manço’s contemporaries include Queen, ABBA, and Led Zeppelin, and while his music is not directly influenced by them, he shares a common root in various pop and rock bands that dominated the music scene at the time. However, he, along with other artists of the time, combined the European and American influences with traditional Turkish music styles to create the beginnings of Anadolu Rock, Anatolian Rock. Manço continued in popularity eventually culminating in the show 7’den 77’ye (from 7 to 77), which is similar to the Tonight Show in the United States, a talk show with musical, travel, and children's parts. He travelled to nearly 150 different countries and as a result gained significant popularity outside Turkey, including in Japan where he released a live album in 1996. Eventually, Manço died in early 1999, which came as a massive shock to Turkey. He was buried in Istanbul. To this day, tribute bands and albums as well as his own music continue to be popular throughout Turkey and abroad.
Anlıyorsun Değil Mi (you understand, don’t you?)
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