Sunday, May 10, 2015

A00018 - Kayahan Acar, Turkish Singer and Songwriter


Kayahan, Turkish Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 66

By SEBNEM ARSU






Kayahan released nearly two dozen albums.

ISTANBUL — Kayahan, one of Turkey’s most popular singers and songwriters, died here on April 3. He was 66.
The cause was lung cancer, which he had since 1990, Acibadem Maslak Hospital said in a statement.
Kayahan, whose full name was Kayahan Acar, released his first album in 1975 and went on to release nearly two dozen more. Best known for his love songs, he built his musical legacy on his use of idiomatic Turkish to describe emotions. Many of his songs are considered pop classics.
His many hits, which he often sang with Nilufer, one of Turkey’s leading female singers, made him one of the best-selling Turkish musicians of all time. His concerts, including some that were fund-raisers for environmental causes, drew large crowds at home and abroad. One concert, in Ankara, drew more than 170,000 people.
Kayahan was born in Izmir, Turkey, on March 29, 1949. He first won global recognition at the 1986 International Mediterranean Music Contest in Antalya, a Turkish Mediterranean town, and in 1990 he represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest with his composition“Gozlerinin Hapsindeyim” (“I Am Entrapped by Your Eyes”). The song did not win, but it became a hit at home.
His last memorable public performance was an open-air Valentine’s Day concert in Istanbul in February. He got out of his sickbed to sing with his wife, Ipek Acar, and Nilufer.
Besides his wife, Kayahan’s survivors include two daughters, Beste and Asli Gonul.
“We are in grief over losing Kayahan, who contributed to Turkish music with countless compositions and marked a generation with his songs,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Twitter.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Kayahan Açar, stage name Kayahan, (29 March 1949 – 3 April 2015) was a Turkish pop music singer-songwriter. He was an accomplished composer, consistently ranking among the best-selling Turkish musicians of all time. Kayahan composed all of his own material and released more than eight best-selling albums during a career spanning three decades.

Early years[edit]

Kayahan Açar was born in İzmir, Turkey on 29 March 1949.[1] He spent his childhood and young adulthood years in Ankara before moving to Istanbul.[2]

Career[edit]

Kayahan released three singles, one LP and eleven compact cassettes and CDs so far. He became known for his songs "Geceler" ("Nights"), "Kar Taneleri" ("Snow Flakes"), "Esmer Günler" ("Brunette Days"), which were sang by Nilüfer, all becoming later classical.[2]
His album "Yemin Ettim" ("I Swore"), released on 3 June 1991, became a bestseller. He coined a motto "Yolu sevgiden geçen herkesle bir gün bir yerde buluşuruz" (One day, we will meet everyone somewhere, whose path goes through love". He wrote and composed also songs for children, and appeared in television shows for children.
On 30 April 1992, he released the album "Odalarda Işıksızım" (Lightless in the Rooms). Ten songs of Kayahan in the album titled "Son Şarkılarım" (My Last Songs), released by the label Raks Müzik in March 1993, became very successful. He continued his career with the albums Benim Penceremden (From My Window), released in January 1995. The song "Allah'ım Neydi Günahım" ("God, What Was My Sin?") has been sung by many singers, and brought him great success. With this album, he introduced to the music world a new, young and talented singer, İpek Tüter, whom he married later in 1999.[2]
Kayahan^'s 1996 album, Canımın Yaprakları (Leaves of My Life) had eight songs and expressed "Allah kimseyi sevgisiz bırakmasın" ("May God not leave anyone without love!"), emphasizing the concept "love" with "Sevgisiz hiçbir şey yapılmaz. Herşeyin başı sevgidir" (Nothing can be done without love. The beginning of everything is love). The next year, he released the album Emrin Olur (Your Call). His ninth album "Beni Azad Et" (Set Me Free) came out in April 1999, and featured nine songs, some of them becoming hits. Among them was a song, "Gömeç", the name of a seaside resort in Balıkesir Province, where he has a residence with a special music studio and where he spent most of his summer time.[3] The album Gönül Sayfam (My Soul's Page), released 26 November 2000, contains the songs "17 Ağustos" ("17 August") commemorating theEarthquake of 17 August 1999 and "Ninni" ("Lullaby") for his new-born daughter Aslı Gönül. In Ne Oldu Can (What Happened Dear?), released 17 December 2002, Kayahan emphasized the importance of the musicians and artists with his song "Bugün Aslında Bayram" (Today Is Indeed Feastday), he wrote in memory of the late singer-songwriter Barış Manço.[2]
Kayahan received his first important award "Altın Portokal" (Golden Orange) with the song "Geceler" (Nights) at the 1986 International Mediterranean Music Contest. He represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 with his song "Gözlerinin Hapsindeyim" ("Captive in your eyes"), which came 17th. In 2003, he was honored with the Altın Kelebek (Golden Butterfly), and the "MÜYAP" (Music Producers Association) award for the bestselling-success of the album Ne Oldu Can. He released "Kelebeğin Şansı" ("The Luck of the Butterfly") in 2005, and "Biriciğime" ("To My One and Only") on 15 March 2007.[2] He performed many concerts in Turkey and abroad. For his open-air concert held at Kızılay Square in Ankara on the occasion of the Republic Day in 1992, a crowd of about 160,000 people came together. Kayahan performed many relief benefit concerts in order to create or increase awareness about the environment.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Açar was married three times. He made his first marriage to Nur in 1973. From this marriage, which lasted 24 years long, he became father of a daughter Beste (Turkish for music composition), born in 1975. Beste was runner-up for Miss Turkey in 1995. Kayahan remarried to Lale Yılmaz in 1990. The couple divorced in 1996. In 1999, at age fifty, he remarried to his third and current wife 1976-born İpek Tüter. In August 2000, İpek gave birth to their daughter Aslı Gönül.[2]

Illness and death[edit]

In 1990, Kayahan was diagnosed with soft-tissue cancer. He caught the same disease in 2005 again. The illness repeated in 2014, and he was under treatment for cancer.[2]
Kayahan died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome on 3 April 2015, aged 66, in a hospital in Istanbul. He had been battling small-cell lung cancer since one-and-half years. He had overcome the disease twice before. After a Valentine's Day concert he lately performed with Nilüfer on 14 February 2015, he bid a public farewell to his fans.[1]
He was laid to rest in Kanlıca Cemetery, which overlooks Bosphorus, following a memorial ceremony in Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, and the religious funeral service at Teşvikiye Mosque, attended also by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and numerous renowned musicians. He was survived by his wife İpek Açar, and daughters Aslı Gönül and Beste.[4][5]

Albums[edit]

  • 1975 - Bekle Gülüm - Ateş (Wait, My Rose - Fire!)
  • 1978 - İstanbul Hatırası - Neden Olmasın (A Souvenir from Istanbul - Why Not?)
  • 1981 - Canım Sıkılıyor Canım (I Get Bored)
  • 1987 - Merhaba Çocuklar (Hello Kids)
  • 1988 - Benim Şarkılarım (My Songs)
  • 1989 - Benim Şarkılarım 2 (Siyah Işıklar) (My Songs Vol. 2: Black Lights)
  • 1991 - Yemin Ettim (I Swore)
  • 1992 - Odalarda Işıksızım (Lightless in the Rooms)
  • 1993 - Son Şarkılarım (My Last Songs)
  • 1995 - Benim Penceremden (From My Window)
  • 1996 - Canımın Yaprakları (Leaves of My Life)
  • 1997 - Emrin Olur (Your Call)
  • 1999 - Beni Azad Et (Set Me Free)
  • 2000 - Gönül Sayfam (My Soul's Page)
  • 2002 - Ne Oldu Can? (What Happened? My Dear)
  • 2004 - Kelebeğin Şansı (The Luck of the Butterfly)
  • 2007 - Biriciğime (To My One and Only)
  • 2011 - 365 Gün (365 Days)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Kayahan Açar, stage name Kayahan, (March 29, 1949 – April 3, 2015) was a Turkish pop music singer and songwriter. He was an accomplished composer, consistently ranking among the best-selling Turkish musicians of all time. Kayahan composed all of his own material and released more than eight best-selling albums during a career spanning three decades.

Kayahan was born in Izmir, Turkey, on March 29, 1949. He spent his childhood and young adulthood years in Ankara before moving to Istanbul. 

Kayahan, whose full name was Kayahan Acar, released his first album in 1975 and went on to release nearly two dozen more. Best known for his love songs, he built his musical legacy on his use of idiomatic Turkish to describe emotions. Many of his songs are considered pop classics.

He first won global recognition at the 1986 International Mediterranean Music Contest in Antalya, a Turkish Mediterranean town, and in 1990 he represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest with his composition "Gozlerinin Hapsindeyim" (“I Am Entrapped by Your Eyes”). The song did not win, but it became a hit in Turkey.
Açar was married three times. He made his first marriage to Nur in 1973. From this marriage, which lasted 24 years long, he became father of a daughter Beste (Turkish for music composition), born in 1975. Beste was runner-up for Miss Turkey in 1995. Kayahan remarried to Lale Yılmaz in 1990. The couple divorced in 1996. In 1999, at age fifty, he remarried to his third wife,1976-born İpek Tüter. In August 2000, İpek gave birth to their daughter Aslı Gönül.


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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

A00017 - Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

By 
SLIDE SHOW

Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father of Singapore, Dies at 91

Michael Stroud/Daily Express/Hulton Archive, via Getty Image
SINGAPORE — Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed the tiny outpost of Singapore into one of Asia’s wealthiest and least corrupt countries as its founding father and first prime minister, died here on Monday. He was 91.
His death, at the Singapore General Hospital, was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr. Lee’s eldest son.
Mr. Lee was prime minister from 1959, when Singapore gained full self-government from the British, until 1990, when he stepped down. Late into his life he remained the dominant personality and driving force in what he called a First World oasis in a Third World region.
The nation reflected the man: efficient, unsentimental, incorrupt, inventive, forward-looking and pragmatic.
“We are ideology-free,” Mr. Lee said in an interview with The New York Times in 2007, stating what had become, in effect, Singapore’s ideology. “Does it work? If it works, let’s try it. If it’s fine, let’s continue it. If it doesn’t work, toss it out, try another one.”
His leadership was criticized for suppressing freedom, but the formula succeeded. Singapore became an admired international business and financial center.
An election in 2011 marked the end of the Lee Kuan Yew era, with a voter revolt against the ruling People’s Action Party. Mr. Lee resigned from the specially created post of minister mentor and stepped into the background as the nation began exploring the possibilities of a more engaged and less autocratic government.
Since Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965 — an event Mr. Lee called his “moment of anguish” — he had seen himself in a never-ending struggle to overcome the nation’s lack of natural resources, a potentially hostile international environment and a volatile ethnic mix of Chinese, Malays and Indians.
“To understand Singapore and why it is what it is, you’ve got to start off with the fact that it’s not supposed to exist and cannot exist,” he said in the 2007 interview. “To begin with, we don’t have the ingredients of a nation, the elementary factors: a homogeneous population, common language, common culture and common destiny. So, history is a long time. I’ve done my bit.”
His “Singapore model” included centralized power, clean government and economic liberalism. But it was also criticized as a soft form of authoritarianism, suppressing political opposition, imposing strict limits on free speech and public assembly, and creating a climate of caution and self-censorship. The model has been studied by leaders elsewhere in Asia, including China, and the subject of many academic case studies.
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew addresses a crowd in Singapore in 1964. He was the nation’s dominant personality for many years. Associated Press
The commentator Cherian George described Mr. Lee’s leadership as “a unique combination of charisma and fear.”
As Mr. Lee’s influence waned, the questions were how much and how fast his model might change in the hands of a new, possibly more liberal generation. Some even asked, as he often had, whether Singapore, a nation of 5.6 million, could survive in a turbulent future.
Mr. Lee was a master of so-called “Asian values,” in which the good of society takes precedence over the rights of the individual and citizens cede some autonomy in return for paternalistic rule.
Generally passive in political affairs, Singaporeans sometimes chide themselves as being overly preoccupied with a comfortable lifestyle, which they sum up as the “Five C’s” — cash, condo, car, credit card, country club.
In recent years, though, a confrontational world of political websites and blogs has given new voice to critics of Mr. Lee and his system.
Even among people who knew little of Singapore, Mr. Lee was famous for his national self-improvement campaigns, which urged people to do such things as smile, speak good English and flush the toilet, but never to spit, chew gum or throw garbage off balconies.
“They laughed, at us,” he said in the second volume of his memoirs, “From Third World to First: The Singapore Story 1965-2000.” “But I was confident that we would have the last laugh. We would have been a grosser, ruder, cruder society had we not made these efforts.”
Mr. Lee developed a distinctive Singaporean mechanism of political control, filing libel suits that sometimes drove his opponents into bankruptcy and doing battle with critics in the foreign press. Several foreign publications, including The International Herald Tribune, which is now called The International New York Times, have apologized and paid fines to settle libel suits.
The lawsuits challenged accusations of nepotism — members of Mr. Lee’s family hold influential positions in Singapore — and questions about the independence of the judiciary, which its critics say follows the lead of the executive branch.
Mr. Lee denied that the suits had a political purpose, saying they were essential to clearing his name of false accusations.
He seemed to believe that criticism would gain currency if it were not challenged vigorously. But the lawsuits themselves did as much as anything to diminish his reputation.
Mr. Lee was proud to describe himself as a political street fighter more feared than loved.
“Nobody doubts that if you take me on, I will put on knuckle-dusters and catch you in a cul-de-sac,” he said in 1994. “If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try. There is no other way you can govern a Chinese society.”
A jittery public avoided openly criticizing Mr. Lee and his government and generally obeyed its dictates.
“Singaporeans are like a flea,” said Mr. Lee’s political tormentor, J.B. Jeyaretnam, who was financially broken by libel suits but persisted in opposition until his death in 2008. “They are trained to jump so high and no farther. Once they go higher they’re slapped down.”
In an interview in 2005, Mr. Jeyaretnam added: “There’s a climate of fear in Singapore. People are just simply afraid. They feel it everywhere. And because they’re afraid they feel they can’t do anything.”
Mr. Lee’s vehicle of power was the People’s Action Party, or P.A.P., which exercised the advantages of office to overwhelm and intimidate opponents. It embraced into its ranks the nation’s brightest young stars, creating what was, in effect, a one-party state.
To remove the temptation for corruption, Singapore linked the salaries of ministers, judges and top civil servants to those of leading professionals in the private sector, making them some of the highest-paid government officials in the world.
It was only in 1981, 16 years after independence, that Mr. Jeyaretnam won the first opposition seat in Parliament, infuriating Mr. Lee. Two decades later, after the 2006 election, just two of the Parliament’s 84 elected seats were held by members of opposition parties.
But in 2011, the opposition won an unprecedented six seats, along with an unusually high popular vote of close to 40 percent, in what was seen as a demand by voters for more accountability and responsiveness in its leaders. Pragmatic as always, the P.A.P. reacted by modifying its peremptory style and acknowledging that times were changing.
Mr. Lee met with President Obama at the White House in October 2009, when he held the special post of minister mentor. Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
But the new approach still fell short of true multiparty democracy, and Singaporeans continued to question whether the party intended to change itself or would even be able to do so.
“Many people say, ‘Why don’t we open up, then you have two big parties and one party always ready to take over?’ “ Mr. Lee said in a speech in 2008. “I do not believe that for a single moment.”
He added: “We do not have the numbers to ensure that we’ll always have an A Team and an alternative A Team. I’ve tried it; it’s just not possible.”
What Singapore got was centralized, efficient policy making and social campaigns unencumbered by what Mr. Lee called the “heat and dust” of political clashes.
One government campaign tried to combat a falling birthrate by organizing, in effect, an official matchmaking agency aimed particularly at affluent ethnic Chinese.
Mr. Lee also promoted the use of English as the language of business and the common tongue among the ethnic groups, while recognizing Malay, Chinese and Tamil as other official languages.
With tourists and investors in mind, Singapore sought to become a cultural and recreational hub, with a sprawling performing arts center, museums, galleries, Western and Chinese orchestras and not one but two casinos.
Despite his success, Mr. Lee said that he sometimes had trouble sleeping and that he calmed himself each night with 20 minutes of meditation, reciting a mantra: “Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.”
“The problem is to keep the monkey mind from running off into all kinds of thoughts,” he said in an interview with The Times in 2010. “A certain tranquillity settles over you. The day’s pressures and worries are pushed out. Then there’s less problem sleeping.”
Lee Kuan Yew, who was sometimes known by his English name, Harry Lee, was born in Singapore on Sept. 16, 1923, to a fourth-generation, middle-class Chinese family.
He worked as a translator and engaged in black market trading during the Japanese occupation in World War II, then went to Britain, where he earned a law degree in 1949 from Cambridge University. In 1950 he married Kwa Geok Choo, a fellow law student from Singapore. She died in 2010.
After serving as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, Mr. Lee was followed by two handpicked successors, Goh Chok Tong and Mr. Lee’s eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong. Groomed for the job, the younger Mr. Lee has been prime minister since 2004.
Besides the prime minister, Mr. Lee is survived by his younger son, Lee Hsien Yang, who is the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore; a daughter, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, who runs the National Neuroscience Institute; a younger brother, Suan Yew; and a younger sister, Monica.
Ho Ching, the wife of the prime minister, is executive director and chief executive of Temasek Holdings, a government holding company.
“His stature is immense,” Catherine Lim, a novelist and frequent critic of Mr. Lee, said in an interview. “This man is a statesman. He is probably too big for Singapore, on a level with Tito and de Gaulle. If they had three Lee Kuan Yews in Africa, that continent wouldn’t be in such a bad state.”
The cost of his success, she said, was a lack of emotional connection.
“Everything goes tick-tock, tick-tock,” she said. “He is an admirable man, but, oh, people like a little bit of heart as well as head. He is all hard-wired.”
In the 2010 interview with The Times, though, he took a reflective, valedictory tone.
“I’m not saying that everything I did was right, but everything I did was for an honorable purpose,” he said. “I had to do some nasty things, locking fellows up without trial.”
He said that he was not a religious man and that he dealt with setbacks by simply telling himself, “Well, life is just like that.”
Mr. Lee maintained a careful diet and exercised for most of his life, but he admitted to feeling the signs of age and to a touch of weariness at the self-imposed rigor of his life.
“I’m reaching 87, trying to keep fit, presenting a vigorous figure, and it’s an effort, and is it worth the effort?” he said. “I laugh at myself trying to keep a bold front. It’s become my habit. So I just carry on.”
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