Fikret Kızılok (November 10, 1946 – September 22, 2001) was a

Turkish rock Anatolian rock ( tr, Anadolu rock), or known as Turkish psychedelic rock, is a fusion of Turkish folk music and rock. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups became popular in Turkey. Most known members of this genre includes Turk ...

musician. He was a pioneer of

Anatolian rock Anatolian rock ( tr, Anadolu rock), or known as Turkish psychedelic rock, is a fusion of Turkish folk music and rock. It emerged during the mid-1960s, soon after rock groups became popular in Turkey. Most known members of this genre includes Turk ...

, a prolific songwriter, impresario, multi-instrumentalist, and an early

experimentalist Experimentalism is the philosophical belief that the way to truth is through experiments and empiricism. It is also associated with instrumentalism, the belief that truth should be evaluated based upon its demonstrated usefulness. Experimentalism i ...

. Due to a heart disease, he died on September 22, 2001.

Early life

Kızılok was introduced to music during his secondary school years at the

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

, a top high school in Turkey that produced music legends

Barış Manço Mehmet Barış Manço (born Tosun Yusuf Mehmet Barış Manço; 2 January 1943 – 1 February 1999), better known by his stage name Barış Manço, was a Turkish rock musician, singer, composer, actor, television producer and show host. Beg ...

and

Timur Selçuk Timur Selçuk (2 July 1946 – 6 November 2020) was a Turkish composer, pianist, singer and conductor. Biography One of the greatest Turkish composers, Timur Selçuk was the son of Turkish neo-classical music composer Münir Nurettin Selçuk ...

as well, although Kızılok went on later to study dentistry. His first instrument was an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

. He took his first music lessons from one of his classmates' father. His first performance was at Taksim Belediye Gazinosu, as April 23 celebrations. He performed here, with his group named Fikret Kızılok and the Band. Their biggest hit was a cover of a famous folksong 'Tamzara'.

Career

He switched to rhythm guitar in 1963 when he met Cahit Oben. Together, they formed the group Cahit Oben 4, with Koray Oktay on bass and Erol Ulaştır on drums. Cahit Oben 4 describe themselves as a group playing Beatles kind of music. They started performing Çatı Gece Kulübü, a nightclub managed by İlham Gencer. As a side job, they also performed at several open-air neighborhood concerts. Their first release in 1965 was the Beatles-inspired song "I Wanna Be Your Man." Later that year, Cahit Oben 4's second single included their first Turkish-language folksong, "Silifke'nin Yoğurdu," with the B-side featuring the first song written by Kızılok, "Hereke." Cahit Oben 4 contested at Hürriyet's 1965 Golden Microphone Music awards, with their "Makaram Sarı Bağlar / Halime" release. After, Cahit Oben 4 broke-up, while Cahit Oben wanted to resume his life with his fiance Füsun Önal. After taking a brief break from music to finish dentistry school, Kızılok performed alongside Barış Manço for nearly a year before releasing his first solo single, "Ay Osman – Sevgilim (Colours – Baby)." In 1969, Kızılok traveled with writer Arda Uskan to

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...

to meet famed folk poet

Aşık Veysel Aşık is Turkish for Ashik, a traditional musician and troubadour Aşık is a Turkish name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Aşık Çelebi (1520–1572), Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator * Âşık İbretî (1920–1976) ...

, and to procure permission to record a cover of his song "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım" (I'm on a long, thin road), which started a friendship between them. Kızılok later returned to live with Veysel for several months, taking saz lessons as well. His 1969 cover of "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım / Benim Aşkım Beni Geçti" went to number one in the Turkish charts, and was Kızılok's first gold album. Kızılok quit music for about a year in 1973 following the death of Aşık Veysel. While Kızılok's music hadn't previously been especially concerned with political themes, in the 1970s his music began to become more intertwined with politics. He set the poetry of a number of prominent politically active poets to music, including

Ahmed Arif Ahmed Arif (21 April 1927 in Diyarbakır – 2 June 1991 in Ankara) was a Turkish-Kurdish poet. His father, Arif Hikmet, is an ethnic Turkmen from Kirkuk, and his mother Sayre is Kurdish. Ahmed Arif studied philosophy at Ankara University. ...

's "Vurulmuşum" (1971), Aşık Mahzuni Şerif's "Darağacı" (1975) and former prime minister

Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in ...

's "Olmasın Varsın (debuted live on TV in 1975). His album ''Not Defterimden'' (1977) featured experiments in atonal music and readings of poetry by

Nazim Hikmet Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

. However, the worsening political situation in late 1970s Turkey, and the banning of Ecevit from politics following the September 12, 1980 coup d'etat, contributed to Kızılok's forced break from music between 1977 and 1983. Kızılok's first album following this break, ''Zaman Zaman'' (From Time to Time), featured a shift from politics to love songs. This album, and the 1990 solo album ''Yana Yana'' (Burning Inside), contain many of the songs that Kızılok is best known for today. During the same period, he collaborated with a number of musicians, including fellow singer-songwriter

Bülent Ortaçgil Bülent Ortaçgil (born 1 March 1950) is a Turkish composer and singer. Biography He was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1950. He moved to Istanbul after starting elementary school which he finished at Sultanahmet Elementary School in Istanbul. He co ...

, environmental activist and singer

Leman Sam Leman Sam (born Emine Leman Şenkan; 22 February 1951) is Turkish singer and songwriter. Her daughter Şevval Sam and her grandson Taro Emir Tekin are both actors. Background Leman Sam's origins have been described as ''Rumeli''. She grew up in ...

, and fretless guitarist pioneer

Erkan Oğur Erkan Oğur (pronounced ) (born April 17, 1954) is a Turkish musician. A pioneer of fretless guitars, he invented the first fretless classical guitar in 1976.Martinelli, op. cit.Unfretted, op. cit. A composer, he has influenced many musicians wit ...

Death

Kızılok suffered a heart attack in 1998, the year he finished his last studio album, ''Mustafa Kemal – Devrimcinin Güncesi'' (

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name ...

– A Revolutionary's Diary). Although he was working on a new album, preliminarily entitled ''Suya Yazılan Şarkılar'', this never was to be released. After the heart attack, and intensive care, his condition stabilized for some time. He wrote one last poem for the nurse who took care of him. Even though he had a cardiac pacemaker, due to a second heart attack in July 2001, he died in September 2001.

Legacy

Kızılok had 13 gold records to his name, and many number one singles. He was the first artist in Turkish history to be the object of a bidding war, ultimately receiving 50,000 lira to leave Sayan for Grafson. Many musicians have recorded covers of his songs, including

Barış Akarsu Barış Akarsu (June 29, 1979 – July 4, 2007) was a Turkish Anatolian rock singer and actor who rose to fame after winning the television series ''Akademi Türkiye'' (Academy Turkey) in July 2004. He released two studio albums in three years ...

("Bu Kalp Seni Unutur mu?" and "Yeter Ki"),

Funda Arar Funda Arar (; born 8 April 1975) is a Turkish singer. Funda Arar spent her early childhood in Ankara, where she was born, and later in Muğla and Adapazarı. She studied at Istanbul Technical University's music conservatory, specialicizing in th ...

("Haberin Var mı?"), Mehmet Erdem ("Bir Harmanım bu Akşam"),

Mor ve Ötesi Mor ve ötesi (literally ''Purple and Beyond''; a play on the word '' morötesi'', meaning ultraviolet) is a Turkish alternative rock band from Istanbul. Its four current members are Harun Tekin (vocals and rhythm guitar), Kerem Kabadayı (drum ...

("Sevda Çiçeği"),

and Şevval Sam ("Gönül"), and Sibel Sezai ("Ben Gidersem"). The TV series ''Bu Kalp Seni Unutur mu?'' was named after one of his songs. Kızılok was also an innovative instrumentalist and album arranger, the first to incorporate

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

and Indian

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

within Turkish pop music.

Discography

With Cahit Oben 4 * 1965: I Wanna Be Your Man / 36 24 36 (Ulaştır Plak) * 1965: Silifke'nin Yoğurdu / Hereke (Diskofon Plak 5061) * 1965: Makaram Sarı Bağlar / Halime (Hürriyet Gazetesi) Fikret Kızılok ve Üç Veliaht (Fikret Kızılok and the Three Crown Princes) * 1965: Belle Marie / Kız Ayşe (Diskofon Plak 5075) Solo 45s * 1967: Ay Osman – Sevgilim / Colours – Baby (Sayan FS-120) * 1969: Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım / Benim Aşkım Beni Geçti (Sayan FS-214) * 1970: Yağmur Olsam / Yumma Gözün Kör Gibi (Sayan FS-220) * 1970: Söyle Sazım / Güzel Ne Güzel Olmuşsun (Sayan FS-230) * 1971: Vurulmuşum / Emmo (Grafson 3767) * 1971: Gün Ola Devran Döne / Anadolu'yum (Grafson 4005, reissued as Coşkun Plak 1381) * 1972: Leylim Leylim (Kara Tren) / Gözlerinden Bellidir (Grafson 4007) * 1973: Köroğlu Dağları / Tutamadım Ellerini (Grafson 4010) * 1973: Bacın Önde Ben Arkada / Koyverdin Gittin Beni (Şah Plak 5022) * 1975: Anadolu'yum '75 / Darağacı (Şak Plak 5051) * 1976: Biz Yanarız / Sen Bir Ceylan Olsan (Şak Plak 5055) Fikret Kızılok ve Tehlikeli Madde (Fikret Kızılok and the Dangerous Matter) * 1974: Haberin Var mı / Kör Pencere – Ay Battı (Şah Plak 5029) * 1974: Aşkın Olmadığı Yerde / İnsan mıyım Mahluk muyum Ot muyum (Şah Plak 5033) Solo albums * 1977: ''Not Defterimden'' (Hey Plak 5008, reissued as Kalan Müzik CD 007) * 1983: ''Zaman Zaman'' (Yonca 8038, reissued as Kalan Müzik CD 005) * 1990: ''Yana Yana'' (unknown, reissued as Kalan Müzik CD 006) * 1992: ''Olmuyo Olmuyo "Düşler"'' (Taç Plak) * 1995: ''Demirbaş'' (Kalan Müzik) * 1995: ''Yadigar'' (Kalan Müzik CD 034) * 1998: ''Mustafa Kemal – Devrimcinin Güncesi'' (Kalan Müzik CD 111) With

* 1985: ''Çekirdek Hatırası – Biz Şarkılarımızı'' (Çekirdek Sanat Evi) * 1986: ''Pencere Önü Çiçeği'' (Piccatura) * 2007: ''Büyükler İçin Çocuk Şarkıları'' (Klik Müzik, posthumous release of recordings made at TRT in 1987) Compilations * 1975: ''Fikret Kızılok – 1'' (Türküola Almanya 0452) * 1975: ''Fikret Kızılok'' (Saba Almanya 1456) * 1992: ''Fikret Kızılok 1968'ler'' (Ada Müzik 076) * 1992: ''Seçme Eserler – 68'ler 1'' (Kalan Müzik) * 1993: ''Seçme Eserler – 68'ler 2'' (Kalan Müzik) * 1999: ''Gün ola devran döne'' (Kalan Müzik CD 151) * 2002: ''Dünden Bugüne: 1965–2001'' (Sony Music 508 033 2) * 2005: ''Fikret Kızılok'' (World Psychedelia Ltd WPC6-8493) * 2007: ''Edip Akbayram – Fikret Kızılok'' (Coşkun Plak) Children's Albums/Books * 1996: ''Vurulduk Ey Halkım'' (Kalan Müzik)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kizilok, Fikret 1946 births 2001 deaths Musicians from Istanbul Turkish singer-songwriters Galatasaray High School alumni 20th-century Turkish male singers Turkish former Muslims Turkish atheists Turkish communists Turkish socialists Anatolian rock musicians