Murat Göğebakan

Murat Göğebakan — Biography

Murat Göğebakan was a Turkish singer in the Anatolian rock and original-music vein who, from the late 1990s, reached a wide audience with songs of love and separation. His best-known record is Ayyüzlüm, which won the MÜYAP best-selling album award. After years of illness with blood cancer he died in Istanbul in 2014, and his life story later became the television film Kalbim Yaralı.

He came to music through formal training: he graduated from the Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory, worked as a lecturer at Çukurova University, gave guitar lessons and played in bars. He moved to Istanbul in 1995. His first album, Ben Sana Aşık Oldum (1997), won him best breakthrough male artist at the Kral TV Video Music Awards. He then left Prestij Müzik for Sindoma Müzik and released Sen Rahatına Bak, Tek Suçum Seni Sevmekmiş and Merhaba. Ayyüzlüm (2002) marked his peak, and he gave concerts in almost every part of the country; Yaralı, Sana Olan Aşkım Şahit and Sevgiliye followed.

He was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2010 and, once treatment ended, released Aşıklar Yolu (2010) and Aşkın Gözyaşları (2012). He interpreted songs by Cem Karaca, Barış Manço and Zülfü Livaneli, and published a book, Hasan'dan Olma Hatice'den Doğma Murat Göğebakan. He was buried at Buruk Cemetery in the Sarıçam district of Adana.