Esmat Bagherpour Baboli ( ; 22 February 1925 – 1 September 2004), better known as Delkash ( ), was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

singer and occasional actress with a rare and unique voice.

Biography

Delkash was born in

Babol Babol (; Mazandarani: ), famously known as the City of Orange Blossoms and the Global City of Wetlands, is the capital city of Babol County. This city, which was the center of Mazandaran during the Zand dynasty era, now serves as the telec ...

, and was the daughter of a cotton trader who had nine other children. She came to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

to study (where she stayed until her death in 2004), but she was discovered soon and was introduced to the music masters of the time,

Ruhollah Khaleghi Ruhollah Khaleqi ( ; 1906 – 12 November 1965) was a prominent Iranian composer, conductor and author. He is best known for composing the patriotic song " Ey Iran". He was the father of Golnoush Khaleghi—Iran's first female conductor. Ea ...

and Abdolali Vaziri. She was named ''Delkash'' by Khaleghi. Delkash started public singing in 1943 and was employed in

Radio Iran Radio Iran () is the oldest radio station in Iran. It was established by order of Reza Pahlavi in the Kolah Ferangi mansion under the supervision of the Ministry of War on 1940. It is owned and operated by the government-owned Islamic Republic o ...

in 1945, only five years after the establishment of the program. There, she worked with the composer Mehdi Khaledi for seven years, until 1952. The best of her songs were written by Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi, Iranian lyricist, and

Ali Tajvidi Ali Tajvidi (; November 7, 1919 – March 15, 2006) was an Iranian musician, composer, violinist, songwriter, and music professor at the School of National Music and Tehran University. He composed more than 150 songs and discovered and produced for ...

, Iranian composer, from 1954 until 1969. Besides Persian, Delkash sang several songs, such as Kija and Banu, in her native Mazandarani language. She also worked as a songwriter under the pen name of Niloofar (Persian: نیلوفر) and played in a few Iranian movies, including '' Sharmsaar'', ''Maadar'', '' Farda Roushan Ast'', '' Afsoungar'', and '' Dasiseh''. She worked with singer and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

musician

Vigen Derderian Viguen (born Viguen Derderian, , ; , ; 23 November 1929 – 26 October 2003) was an Iranian pop music singer and actor. He was known "King of Iranian pop" and the "Sultan of Jazz." He was an Iranian Armenian by ethnicity and sang in both Persian ...

''Sultan of Jazz''. Their duet "Delam Mikhast" can be heard on YouTube. Delkash died in September 2004, at the age of 79, in

and was buried in Emamzadeh Taher, a popular graveyard for the artists located in

Karaj Karaj (; ) is a List of cities in Iran by province, city in the Central District (Karaj County), Central District of Karaj County, Alborz province, Alborz province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Earl ...

References

External links

Yade Man Kon یاد من کن by Delkash
* * Photograph of the graveside of Delkash at Emamzadeh Taher Cemetery,

Mehrshahr Mehrshahr () is an affluent area located south-west of Karaj city in Alborz province, Iran. History In 1960s the area was mostly made up of large apple orchards which was designed and built by Ali Saroukhani and owned by the members of the Pahl ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delkash 1925 births 2004 deaths People from Babol Iranian folk singers Caltex Records artists Taraneh Records artists Persian-language singers of Iran Iranian classical singers Burials at Emamzadeh Taher 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century Iranian women singers