The popular vernacular music of Turkey today borrows from a myriad of sounds including Western, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Balkan, while deftly upholding the rich musical traditions of Anatolia (Asia Minor). The region has always been a hotbed of cross-pollination and experimentation in arts and culture due to its ethnically diverse populations and civilizations. This fact is reflective in the different styles of Turkish Pop Music that swept the country in the nearly past 50 years.
The roots of Turkish Pop Music are traced back to the late 50s and early 60s when Western styles like jazz, tango and light/vocal music gradually made their way into the popular consciousness. Influenced by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and jazz & pop standards, pioneering artists like Erol Buyukburc and Ilham Gencer sang popular Western songs leaving the English lyrics intact. Realizing the potential reach of these songs to a wider audience if sung in Turkish, visionary lyricists of the era Fecri Ebcioglu and Sezen Cumhur Onal sharpened their pens writing catchy lyrics to popular melodies, which eventually resulted in a wave of new "arrangements," as they became widely known. Ilham Gencer's "Bak Bir Varmis, Bir Yokmus" from 1961 (the Turkish version of Bob Azzam's"C'est Ecrit Dans Le Ciel"), which Ebcioglu wrote the lyrics to, is considered to be the first Turkish pop song sung in the native language. Erol Evgin's "Iste Oyle Bir Sey," penned by prolific songwriting duo Cigdem Talu and Melih Kibar, who wrote over 200 songs together for many pop singers of the day, was certified with a Golden Record award in 1976 for its commercial success.
The 1970s were the pinnacle of Turkish Pop Music as it saw the emergence of captivating personalities like Ajda Pekkan, MFO, Sezen Aksu, and Nilufer, who actively record and perform even today. These artists produced many of the popular classics with modern arrangements. Ajda Pekkan, a.k.a. "The Superstar," chose to work with Ebcioglu bringing famous pop songs and chansons to Turkey, which led her to perform alongside Enrico Macias at the Olympia in Paris in 1976. Sezen Aksu, who honed her skills as a songwriter, composer and performer during much of the 70s, churned hit after hit, rightfully claiming the title "Queen of Turkish Pop Music." Her Midas touch also helped others achieve popularity in the past 35 years and she is celebrated as Turkey's most cherished pop singer alive today.
Turkey also caught rock & roll fever, particularly in the late 60s and throughout the 70s, with the emergence of Anatolian Rock—a genre that took its influence equally from the folklore of Anatolia, as well as the emerging international counterculture. The new wave of artists, Baris Manço & Kurtalan Ekspres, Erkin Koray, Cem Karaca, and Mogollar, used traditional poems, epics and themes to create psychedelia, giving birth to a new form of Turkish progressive music.
During the Turkish Pop Music boom of the 70s, a new type of music referred to as simply arabesk started to pick up stream among the working class people. Few knew it would drastically change the face of pop music so fast. Immigration from the East and Southeastern part of Turkey to major cities like Istanbul created a market that preferred to hear "oriental" Arabic motives in their music, not the Western influence that was so prevalent. The subject matter of arabesk songs also found a voice among the broken hearted, deserted and the oppressed—those who had come to Istanbul with high hopes of making it in the city whose "soil and stones were of gold." Fans of Orhan Gencebay, Ferdi Tayfur, Ibrahim Tatlises and Muslim Gurses referred to their heroes as Baba (father) or Agabey (older brother), signs of their respect and loyalty. When Western-influenced pop music started to lose its appeal in the early 80s, it was arabesk that took over the reigns as the most popular form of music in Turkey.
It would take another decade for Turkish Pop Music to rebound. An industry in a downward spiral bounced back miraculously in the early 90s due to new technological advancements in music technology and particularly because of the proliferation of private radio and TV stations in Turkey. Almost overnight, newcomers like Askin Nur Yengi, Kenan Dogulu, Yonca Evcimik, Mustafa Sandal, Serdar Ortac, became pop icons on local music TV stations Number One TV and Kral TV. However, it was one name that stood tall above all after the dust settled on the "pop explosion of the 90s": With several platinum-selling albums in Turkey already under his belt, Tarkan became an unexpected pop phenomenon in Europe in the late 90s. With a little help form Sezen Aksu, who penned the songs "Simarik" and "Sikidim," he topped the charts in several European countries – without singing in English – and had massive success in France, Belgium and Germany. In Russia he became the largest-selling non-Russian pop artist. His star power continues to shine bright to this day.
It would not be wrong to say that the Eurovision Song Contest had a major influence in the development of Turkish pop music by encouraging new talent to produce pop compositions to represent their country in a pan-European contest that produced artists like Abba and Celine Dion in the past. Sertab Erener, another protégée of Aksu, won the contest in 2003, setting a milestone in Turkey's 30+ year adventure in the contest.
Although much of the pop music of the new millennium incorporates a cookie-cutter formula of dance pop and oriental sounds (alaturka), a new type of cultural synthesis is giving way to explorations in pop and global music. Ethnic and underrepresented genres such as Gypsy and Sufi music have been updated by the likes of Husnu Senlendirici and Mercan Dede, while Turkish hip-hop has found its star in Ceza. These artists not only became part of the popular music parlance by selling in large quantities, but they also brought much-needed change to the new pop sound proving their music is not merely a flash in the pan. Documentaries like "Crossing The Bridge," directed by acclaimed Turkish-German director Fatih Akin, is proof once again that the Turkish Pop Music scene has much to offer and is as vibrant as ever. —Mehmet Dede
