Adnan Şenses

Adnan Şenses — Biography

Born on 21 August 1935 in the Kumyaka village of Bursa's Mudanya district, Adnan Şenses was the youngest child of a family that moved to Ankara for his father's army posting and later to Istanbul's Karagümrük neighbourhood, where he finished school. Steered by his family toward carpentry, he was drawn away by his own voice and left for Beyoğlu in 1956 to pursue music, taking his first lessons from Suzan Yakar Rutkay, the film producer who later became his wife. After sixteen years at Ankara Radio he moved to Istanbul's leading music halls, becoming one of the first singers to headline at Maksim Gazinosu after Zeki Müren and Bülent Ersoy. On screen he debuted in Fakir Şarkıcı (1960) and appeared in 47 Yeşilçam films, among them Boğaziçi Şarkısı (1966), O Ağacın Altında (1972) and Lunapark (1993), plus the series Taş Plaktan Bugüne (1989); he was also among the first to record songs such as Tövbeler Tövbesi and Sabır Duası, and won two Kral TV Music Awards and four Golden Butterfly Awards. In 2013 he released the album Adnan Şenses Bir Efsanedir, with songs given to him by Sezen Aksu. He died 25 December 2013 in Istanbul of respiratory failure after three years with stomach cancer, and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery after prayers at Teşvikiye Mosque.