Azer Bülbül

Azer Bülbül — Biography

Known as the “Trembling King” and the “Trembling Artist” for the quiver in his voice when he sang, and for a fatherly “Baba” persona, Azer Bülbül sang, wrote lyrics and composed across arabesk, fantezi and Turkish folk music. Born Subutay Kesgin, he broke through in Turkey with the album Ben Babayım, reported to have sold 1.4 million copies. Years after his death in 2012, his songs are still played at weddings and marriage proposals.

His music began in Arpaçay, with lessons from the folk bard Güney Yıldız when he was young. After his family moved to Germany he worked wedding halls, where Yıldız Tezcan noticed him and gave him the stage name Azer Bülbül. His first album, Garip Yolcu, came out in 1984, and the following year he appeared on screen for the first time in the film Mavi Mavi Masmavi. With folk-meets-arabesk albums such as Esmerin Adı Oya, Ben Sana Vurgunum and Dağlara Yolculuk, he became known among Turkish listeners in Germany in the 1980s.

In the mid-1990s Ben Babayım, released by Barış Müzik, carried him to a mass audience in Turkey; Yaralandın mı Ey Can and Dokunmayın Çok Fenayım drew great interest. Ağıt, Zordayım and Kör Kurşun followed, and he recorded together with Müslüm Gürses. Kalemin Kırıldı followed in 2007. In cinema he appeared in Bedel and Arkadaş. He released 24 studio albums in all; while performing in Antalya to promote the last, Duygularım, he died in his hotel room on 6 January 2012, aged 44.