Cem Karaca

Cem Karaca — Biography

Cem Karaca is counted among the founders of the branch of Turkish rock known as Anatolian rock, and with his voice and lyrics he was one of the main voices of protest music in Turkey from the late 1960s through the 1980s. The songs in which he joined Anatolian melodies to rock arrangements made him both a major recording artist and a political figure who was driven into exile. He died in 2004 and is still remembered with commemorative concerts and tributes.

He met music early, growing up in a household of two stage artists and attending Robert College, and first performed with the rock and roll cover bands Dinamitler and Jaguarlar. The turning point came after military service, in 1967, when he entered the Golden Microphone contest with Apaşlar: "Emrah" came second and "Resimdeki Gözyaşları" became a big hit. With Kardaşlar he released "Dadaloğlu" and with Moğollar he recorded "Namus Belası". In 1974 he founded Dervişan; the political, progressive-rock Yoksulluk Kader Olamaz comes from this period. With Edirdahan he released Safinaz in 1978.

He went to Cologne in 1979. After the coup of 12 September 1980 he was accused of separatism and Marxism and an arrest warrant was issued; because he did not return when summoned by the martial-law court, he was stripped of Turkish citizenship in 1983. During his years in Germany he released the German-language album Die Kanaken, which dealt with hostility towards migrants. In 1987 he returned to Turkey under an amnesty from Turgut Özal and released Merhaba Gençler ve Her Zaman Genç Kalanlar. He died of a heart attack in Istanbul on 8 February 2004 and was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery.