Tülay German

Tülay German — Biography

Tülay German is the singer behind Burçak Tarlası, one of the first major hits of Turkish-language pop in the 1960s, and an interpreter of folk songs in modern, jazz-influenced arrangements. She is counted among the pioneers of the Anadolu pop movement, and her closeness to leftist intellectual circles and her political stance marked her career. She has lived in France for many years and retired from the stage in 1987.

Born in Istanbul, she sang on the radio as a child and graduated from the Üsküdar American Academy in 1956. Her parents did not want to send her to a conservatory; between 1960 and 1962 she made her name as a jazz singer on Istanbul Radio. Meeting Erdem Buri changed her direction: on his radio program Çoksesli Türk Popüler Müziği she presented in new forms the folk songs she had learned from figures such as Ruhi Su and Aşık Nesimi Çimen. She was named the critics' favorite singer at the 1964 Balkan Melodies Festival and released Burçak Tarlası, and Buri's composition Yarının Şarkısı was used as the opening song at Workers' Party of Turkey meetings in 1965.

In 1966 she went to Paris and settled there, recorded French-language records as Toulaï and shared stages with artists such as Charles Aznavour and Léo Ferré. Her album Toulaï et François Rabbath won the Académie Charles Cros Grand Prix du Disque in 1981. Her life was the subject of the 2010 documentary Tülay German: Kor ve Ateş Yılları, and she has published two books.