Bizunesh Bekele (; 1936 – 25 June 1990) was an Ethiopian soul singer who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s of

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

. She was referred to as "

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

of Ethiopia" due to similitude of musical style. Her songs were released in her native

Amharic language Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic languages, Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic languages, Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua ...

Life and career

Bizunesh Bekele was born in 1936. After joining Kebur Zabagna Band, by her friend's persuasion, she hosted ''Tikil Radio'' entertainment program in 1957, became prominent in the era. In the interview with ''Music, Theatre, Art'', Bizunesh did not released albums by 1969. Bizunesh recorded popular songs in the 1970s such as "Chenk Tibeb" and "Ayasayegn Chinkun". She sometimes performed with the Gurage singer

Mahmoud Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed (Amharic language, Amharic: ማሕሙድ አሕመድ; born 8 May 1941) is an Ethiopian singer. He gained great popularity in Ethiopian Golden Age of music, Ethiopia in the 1970s and among the Ethiopian diaspora in the 1980s, bef ...

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

. They were both known for appearing with the Imperial Body Guard Band or the Dahlak Band. She is featured on the recording ''Ethiopian Groove - The Golden Seventies'' (1994, Buda Musique).

Artistry

She has been called the " Mariam Makeba of Ethiopia" and the "First Lady of Addis Ababa".

Personal life

Bizunesh first married to Kebur Zabegna member Constable Nuru Wondeafrash, who served in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Bizunesh was Christian while her husband was Muslim. The second marriage was from Mohammed Endris, a young journalist. In the latter life, Bizunesh suffered from health deterioration with many argued that she had hearing impairment that prevent to perform in the tour of U.S., and inability to sing after brief recovery. She died in 1990 before her second trip in U.S. for her medical follow-up.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bizunesh Bekele 1936 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Ethiopian women singers Amharic-language singers