Burhan Çaçan

Burhan Çaçan — Biography

Burhan Çaçan was a Turkish folk singer and film actor, born on 17 October 1960 as one of twelve children in Eleşkirt, Ağrı; his father, Reşit Çaçan, an ağa of the Berazi tribe and the local Democrat Party chairman, was among those exiled after the 55'ler Olayı affair, and as a result Burhan grew up without knowing him for many years.

He won an amateur-singers contest run by TRT's Erzurum radio in 1978, trained with its choir, gained wider exposure through broadcaster Halit Kıvanç, and released his debut album, Sefa Geldin, in 1981 through Neşe Karaböcek's company. Recognised as one of the notable voices of the bozlak and uzun hava traditions, he reached a wide audience with albums such as Ayaz Geceler, Yağ Yağmur and Vurun Dalgalar, appeared in six films and released 28 albums in total, the last of them, Buda Mı Yalan?, in 2018. He won Artist of the Year honours at events including Altın Kelebek and Müzik Oskarları and founded his own label, BÇ Müzik; staying out of the tabloids and keeping his private life quiet made him a widely liked figure in the industry.

In 1991 he married at a ceremony attended by Süleyman Demirel, and the couple had two children, Furkan and Kutsal; from the 2000s he also ran hotel and tourism businesses in Nişantaşı. He died of a heart attack at his home in Florya, Istanbul, on 12 January 2023, aged 62, and was buried at Edirnekapı Martyrs' Cemetery after funeral prayers at Fatih Mosque.