THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,531) Barış Manço — “Bebek”
This ’68 A-side by the legendary and beloved Turkish singer-songwriter Barış Manço takes a Turkish folk song and turns it into a haunting and riveting classic, “combining psychedelic elements with the mysticism of Anatolia”. (Wikipedia (courtesy of Google Translate), https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar%C4%B1%C5%9F_Man%C3%A7o)
Stephen Kinzer writes that:
The folk and pop singer Baris Manco . . . had great cultural influence in Turkey and became one of this country’s most beloved figures . . . . [When he died in 1999, t]ens of thousands of people, many in tears, turned out . . . for his funeral, which was broadcast live on national television. ”Today, we as a nation feel pain in our hearts for having lost a great artist and a good friend,” the Culture Minister, Istemihan Talay, said in his eulogy.
My Turkish Rock adds that:
Barış Manço . . . [was a] Turkish musician, poet/lyricist and singer, one of the founders of Anatolian Rock and modern Turkish rock. Also he was known as a television producer and show host . . . . He had an older brother, Savaş (in Turkish, Savaş means war, and Barış means peace[)] . . . . He graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium . . . . In 1966, he was in a car accident that left him with a scar on his face. To hide it, he began to wear a mustache. In the late 1960s, he formed several short-lived bands, and much of his musical style was then an imitation of American rock ‘n’ roll. At that time he found his image, which for Turkey in the 60s was a bit extravagant. He had very long hair, a huge number of rings, bracelets, chains and other jewelry, bright clothes with long capes, during performances special plasticity and gestures. . . . The real beginning of Manço’s musical creativity is 1970 and the song “Dağlar Dağlar” (“Mountains Mountains”), which immediately became very popular upon release . . . .
Wikipedia tells us of Manço in the 60s (courtesy of Google Translate):
Barış Manço left Turkey in September 1963 to study at the Royal Academy of Belgium . . . . While studying painting, graphics and interior architecture at the Royal Academy of Belgium, he also worked as a waiter and a car mechanic. During this time, he met the Belgian poet André Soulac. Thanks to Soulac, he improved his French . . . . Soulac wrote lyrics for Manço’s compositions. In 1964, Barış Manço, who wanted to continue his music career, signed a deal with the Rigolo record company and started working with the Jacques Danjean Orchestra. Barış . . . turned from Twist to Rock and Roll . . . . In September 1964, he released two EPs in French with four songs. . . . As a result of the success of the records, he was a guest on a pop music program . . . broadcast on French radio. When this EP came to Turkey, radio broadcasters thought Manço was a French artist . . . . On January 12, 1965, he performed at the Olympia concert hall in Paris before Salvatore Adamo and France Gall [see #36, 1,361] , singing his own composition . . . in French and English. . . . In 1966, he attracted attention by performing examples of Turkish music with the group The Folk 4 at a festival. However, a French musician who did not like Barış Manço’s accent and banned his records from being played deeply affected [him] and was one of the reasons that ended his European career. . . . In 1966 . . . he met the Belgian group Les Mistigris, which means “Wild Cats”, and started working with them. He gave concerts with the group in [Western and Eastern Europe]. Manço, who signed a deal with the Sahibinin Sesi company, releas[ing] singles . . . in 1966. In 1967, he had an accident in the Netherlands, which left a cleft on his lip and he began to grow a moustache. . . . Manço’s last recordings with Les Mistigris were . . . released in an EP towards the end of 1967. . . . includ[ing] Manço’s first Turkish composition “Bizim Gibi”, which would later be known as “Kol Düğmeleri” . . . . Manço and Les Mistigris parted ways due to visa and legal problems. The first psychedelic rock songs in Turkey belong to Manço and . . . Les Mistigris. . . . [H]e started working with the group Kaygisizlar in early 1968. . . . [His] English songs were left as they were, and the Turkish songs were re-recorded and released with Kaygısızlar. [T]his first [LP] that Barış Manço released from Sayan, [including] the song “Bizim Gibi” . . . re-recorded as “Kol Düğmeleri”. . . . achieved great popularity. Since Manço was continuing his education in Liège, the group was able to come together in the summer months and began to release their third single “Bebek”/“Keep Lookin” . . . . He created a unique East-West melody with Eastern music interspersed with psychedelic tones. The group, which released records at intervals, was influenced by the slowly rising Psychedelic music movement, known for its closeness to both Anatolian themes and Eastern motifs. One of Barış Manço’s 45’s with Kaygısızlar, “Ağlama Değmez Hayat”, sold over 50,000 copies in 1969, earning Manço his first gold record. Manço graduated from the Royal Academy of Belgium in June 1969 with first place and returned to Istanbul with his fiancée. Parting ways with Kaygısızlar at the end of 1969, 1970 was a year for Manço, when he moved from psychedelic rock to typical Anatolian pop waters. . . . Manço started working with a new group known in Turkey as “…Ve” and abroad as “Etc”. . . . In November 1970, Manço, who had used Western instruments until then, released “Dağlar Dağlar”. The song, recorded with Barış Manço’s guitar and . . . Cüneyd Orhon’s kemençe, was the beginning of [] own musical style . . . . The . . . record . . . sold more than 700,000 copies, earn[ing] Manço the only Platinum Record Award in his career. . . . [He] decided to join forces with Moğollar, who were already famous . . . . the goal of both groups was to become famous in Europe with Turkish music. Until then, Manço had been making music influenced by the West, while Moğollar was making music in the Anatolian pop style. . . . The first concert of the group called MançoMongol in Turkey took place in April 1971 at Manço’s Platinum Record award ceremony. . . . “İşte Hendek İşte Deve” . . . received great acclaim and was included among Barış Manço’s classics. . . . Mançomongol disbanded in June 1971 due to disagreements in the group and Barış Manço’s health problems.
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