Esmat Bagherpour Baboli ( fa, عصمت باقرپور بابلی ; 26 February 1925 – 1 September 2004), better known as Delkash ( fa, دلکش ), was an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

singer and occasional actress with a rare and unique voice.

Biography

Delkash was born in

Babol Babol ( fa, بابل, , known as "Orange Blossom City" , also Romanized as Bābol; formerly known as Barfrouch) is the capital of Babol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Babol is divided into two metropolitan areas (under Iranian law). At the 20 ...

, and was the daughter of a cotton trader who had nine other children. She came to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

to study (where she stayed until her death in 2004), but she was discovered soon and was introduced to the music masters of the time,

Ruhollah Khaleghi Ruhollâh Xâleqi ( fa, , born 1906 in Kerman, Iran – 12 November 1965 in Salzburg, Austria), also spelled as ''Khaleqi'', was a prominent Iranian musician, composer, conductor and author. He was the father of the first Persian women conducto ...

and Abdolali Vaziri. She was named ''Delkash'' by Khaleghi. Delkash started public singing in 1943 and was employed in

Radio Iran Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

in 1945, only five years after the establishment of the program. There, she worked with the composer Mehdi Khaledi for seven years, until 1952. The best of her songs were written by

Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi ( fa, رحیم معینی کرمانشاهی, February 6, 1923 – November 17, 2015) was an Iranian poet and lyricist. He is one of the pioneering songwriters in the history of Persian traditional music. Biography Mast ...

, Iranian lyricist, and

Ali Tajvidi Ali Tajvidi ( fa, علی تجويدی; November 7, 1919 – March 15, 2006) was an Iranian musician, composer, violinist, songwriter, and music professor at the School of National Music and Tehran University. He composed more than 150 songs and ...

, Iranian composer, from 1954 until 1969. Besides Persian, Delkash sang several songs, such as Kija and Banu, in her native Mazandarani language. She also worked as a songwriter under the pen name of Niloofar (Persian: نیلوفر) and played in a few Iranian movies, including '' Sharmsaar'', ''Maadar'', '' Farda Roushan Ast'', '' Afsoungar'', and '' Dasiseh''. She worked with singer and electric guitar musician

Vigen Derderian Viguen (born Viguen Derderian, fa, ویگن دردریان, ''Viguen Derderyân''; hy, Վիգէն Տէրտէրեան, ''Vigen Tērtērian''; 23 November 1929 – 26 October 2003), known as "King of Iranian pop" and the "Sultan of Jazz", was an ...

''Sultan of Jazz''. Their duet "Delam Mikhast" can be heard on YouTube. Delkash died in September 2004, at the age of 80, in

and was buried in

Emamzadeh Taher Emamzadeh Taher ( fa, امامزاده طاهر ), located in Iran in the town of Karaj, is one of the most famous cemeteries in Iran.Karaj Karaj ( fa, کرج, ) is the capital of Alborz Province, Iran, and effectively a satellite city of Tehran. Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the county is rugged mountain. The urb ...

References

External links

Yade Man Kon یاد من کن by Delkash
* * Photograph of the graveside of Delkash at

Emamzadeh Taher Emamzadeh Taher ( fa, امامزاده طاهر ), located in Iran in the town of Karaj, is one of the most famous cemeteries in Iran.Mehrshahr Mehrshahr () is a wealthy and luxury area located south-west of Karaj city in Alborz province, Iran. History In 1960s the area was mostly made up of large apple orchards which was designed and built by Ali Saroukhani and owned by the members of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delkash 1925 births 2004 deaths People from Babol Iranian folk singers Iranian women singers Caltex Records artists Taraneh Records artists Persian-language singers Iranian classical singers Burials at Emamzadeh Taher 20th-century women singers 20th-century Iranian women singers