Edip Akbayram is one of the most underrated Turkish musicians of all time. With his ever smiling face, he tried to spread peace and unity messages around the country but he was banned by TRT (Turkish Radio And Television Corporation, which was the only television channel in Turkey until ’90s), beaten by fanatics and threatened to be murdered many times. Apart from his message, he also was a true leader in his own league. Especially with his first two albums, he sang traditional Turkish songs in traditional vocal styles while combining it with complex psychadelic tunes and his pain-filled voice. He was later celebrated to come up with a distinctive combination of east and west.Edip Akbayram was born in Gaziantep (one of the biggest citties of Eastern Turkey) in 1950. He lost his ability to walk when he was only 9 months old because of the infantile paralysis (Polio) he suffered. He couldn’t walk and he had to be carried to school by his family and teacher. His family could afford a prosthesis only after primary school as they were very poor.He formed his first band Siyah Orumcekler (Black Spiders) in Gaziantep and recorded his first bunch of singles in his lycee years but he was first introduced to music business in Istanbul. He won the “Golden Mic Competition” with a song he wrote with lyrics from Asik Veysel (a well known Turkish poet) in 1972. With the attention of public on him, his singles Aldirma Gonul and Eskiya Dunyaya Hukumdar Olmaz sold gold and he won numerous prices.In 1974 he formed his most-famous band, Dostlar Orkestrasi (meaning Orchestra of Friends). His debut album Nedir Ne Degildir was published in 1977 after which he had to be put to silence because of the political turmoul going on. He has always been an active leftist and revolutionist so he was also one of the targets of political fights. It was the early ’80s that his songs were banned by TRT and he couldn’t find any arenas to play live. Yet again he published 4 albums in ’80s. It was not until mid-90s that he was re-discovered with the Turkuler Yanmaz album. With this album he continued his tradition as he used lyrics of valued Turkish poets.Edip Akbayram continued to release albums every one or two years later on. His latest two releases in 2004 and 2005 are the parts of a compilation series named “Dun ve Bugun”. He was mainly criticised for making the same kind of music for so long, but as 21st century begun, he was far away from the success and musicality of his first two efforts. He lives in Istanbul with his wife and two kids and he’s an active figure in political arena.
Source: http://whyfame.com/celebrities/singers/rock_alternative/edip_akbayram_51963.php
