Belkıs Akkale

Belkıs Akkale — Biography

Belkıs Akkale, known affectionately as "Türkü Bacı", is a Turkish folk singer with a stage life of more than four decades. She has performed a broad repertoire of regional songs, served as a state soloist, and appeared on the big screen in the second half of the 1980s. Her family roots lie in Malatya.

She began singing very young, when her teacher noticed her voice, and after primary school took seven years of folk music lessons from Sadi Yaver Ataman. She first appeared on stage in 1974, worked at Ankara Radio for about six years as an outside artist, and in 1980 passed the TRT examination to join its staff. Her recording career had begun with 45 rpm singles in the 1970s; the album Dadey (1982) brought her wide recognition, after which she left TRT to work independently. Over the following decades she made more than twenty records, among them Güvercinim, Gönül Telinden and Barış Türküsü, as well as joint projects with İzzet Altınmeşe and Arif Sağ. In 1990 she became a state soloist at the Ministry of Culture.

Beyond music she also turned to cinema, appearing in about nine films including Güvercinim, Gelin Oy, Tırpan, Sultan and Ana Yüreği. She has also served on the board of MÜYOBİR, the professional association of music performers.