Erol Büyükburç

Erol Büyükburç — Biography

Born in Adana, Erol Büyükburç started out with the band he formed in high school at Florya beach and received voice training at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. While completing his military service in Urfa, his singing at the officers' club drew the notice of actress Leyla Sayar, whose backing opened doors for him in Istanbul's clubs; in 1961 he put his own English-lyric composition Little Lucy on record, a pioneering release in Turkish pop that brought him the nickname "the local Elvis". He took the best-singer title at the 1964 Balkan Festival and went on to a long career of over a thousand compositions and dozens of records; from the 1960s he also took roles in musical films, and in 2007 he sat on the judging panel of a talent show. His personal life included several marriages: his relationship with Türkan Türker produced musician daughters Jeyan and Ajlan, Gönül Demirkol was the mother of his daughter Özlem, and his long marriage to Emel Büyükburç gave him pianist daughter Evren. Ajlan lost her life in a 1999 road accident, and two years afterward Emel passed away as well. He himself was discovered lifeless at his residence in Istanbul's Etiler neighbourhood on 12 March 2015, and his remains were laid to rest at the Zincirlikuyu graveyard.