Eftekhar Dadehbala (; November 16, 1946 – June 25, 2007), known by her stage name Mahasti (), was an Iranian singer of Persian classical,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

with a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

vocal range. She was active for more than four decades.

Early life and career

Khadijeh Eftekhar Dadehbala was born on November 16, 1946, in

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. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. She was the younger sister of Iranian singer

Hayedeh Ma'soumeh Dadehbala (; April 10, 1942 – January 20, 1990), known professionally as Hayedeh (, ), was an Iranian singer with a contralto vocal range. Known for her wide range of voice, her career spanned over two decades, and she has been widely ...

. Their parents later divorced and married other people. Mahasti started her career on the

Persian traditional music Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran (historically known as '' Persia''). It consists of characteristics developed through ...

radio program " Gol hâ ye Rangârang" ( "Colorful Flowers") in 1963, with the song "Ân ke Delam Râ Borde Khodâyâ" () composed and arranged by maestro

Parviz Yahaghi Parviz Yahaghi (; September 23, 1935 – February 2, 2007) was a distinguished Iranian composer and violinist. He resided in Tehran for practically his whole life, and was born and died there. Biography His birth name was Parviz Sedighi Parsi. ...

with lyrics by Bijan Taraghi. In the beginning, Mahasti's family was reluctant to allow her to pursue a career in entertainment because it was not an appreciated career for women in Iran at that time. However, Mahasti overcame this stigma providing Iran with a new image for women within the entertainment industry. Mahasti created an image of a "gentle-woman" singer, a lady with great manners. Her enormous success in music opened the pathway for many other women, including her elder sister, Hayedeh, who started her work 5 years after Mahasti. The two sisters had tremendous contributions to improving the image of female singers in Iran and in transitioning the Iranian music from where it was to where it is now. In 1979, before the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

. she emigrated to the United Kingdom, and then to the United States in 1981, where she lived thereafter.

Death and burial

Grave of Mahasti at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery

In March 2007, Mahasti publicly announced that she had been battling

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

for four years. She hoped that her experience would raise awareness within the Iranian community regarding cancer and the importance of regular physical examinations. She was then living in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

with her daughter, Sahar, her husband, Naser, and their two children, Natasha and Natalie, her only grandchildren. She died on June 25, 2007, aged 60, in Santa Rosa. Mahasti was buried at the

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...

Westwood, California Westwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lassen County, California, United States. Westwood is located 20 miles (32 km) west-southwest of Susanville, at an elevation of 5,128 feet (1,563 m). Its population is 1,541 as of the 2020 cens ...

on June 29, 2007, the same cemetery where her mother and sister

were buried. Her funeral was broadcast live on Persian Broadcasting Company Tapesh and was attended by many Persian celebrities and stars and other artists including the mayor of Beverly Hills Jimmy Delshad and designer Bijan Pakzad.

Discography

Albums

* ''Parandeye Mohajer'' (1981) * ''Eyde Shoma Mobarak'' (1982) with Sattar & Manoucher Cheshmazar * ''Moj'' (1983) * ''Yeki Ra Doost Midaram'' (1983) with Hayedeh & Houshmand Aghili * ''Asheghaneha (1983)'' with Hayedeh * ''Zendegi (1985)'' with Hayedeh * ''Tou Bezan ta Man Beraghsam'' (1985) * ''Gol-haye Ranga-Rang'' (1988) * ''Sepideh Dam'' (1990) * ''Masti'' (1990) * ''Asir'' (1990) * ''Ziyafat'' (1991) * ''Mosafer'' (1991) * ''Ghasam'' (1993) * ''Gole Omid'' (1993) * ''Nameh'' (1994) * ''Ashofteh'' (1994) * ''Beganneh'' (1994) * ''Havay Yaar'' (1994) * ''Parandeha'' (1995, with

Leila Forouhar Leila Forouhar (, ''Leilâ Foruhar''; born 23 February 1959) is a Persian pop and classical singer. She was a child star, acting from the age of 3. She relocated to next door Turkey in 1986, then to Paris, before emigrating to Los Angeles in 1988 ...

, Shahram Solati) * ''Hagheghat'' (1995) * ''Bazm Mahasty & Sattar'' (1996) * ''Saraabe Eshgh'' (1996) * ''Labkhand'' (1996) with Shahram Solati * ''Havaye Asheghi'' (1998) * ''Avazak'' (1999) * ''Hamishe Ashegh'' (1999) * ''Gole Gandom'' (2000, with Sattar) * ''Deldadeh'' (2001) * ''Hamisheh Sabz'' (2003) * ''Az Khoda Khasteh'' (2004) Also appeared on: *''Khatereh 2'' (1983) with Hayedeh & Homeyra *''Nargez Shiraz''(1984) with Sattar, Hayedeh *''Entekhabi 2 (Sarbaz Kocholoo)'' (1984) *''Entekhabi 3 (Ghanari)'' (1985) *''Khatereh 4'' (1985) with Ebi, Sattar, Hayedeh *''Khatereh 5'' (1986) with Hayedeh, Sadegh Nojouki, Hooshmand Aghili *''Entekhabi 7 (Gozashtehaye Shirin)'' (1986) *''Entekhabi 8 (Kieh Kieh)'' (1986) *''Entekhabi 9 (Ya Mowla)'' (1987) *''Tanine Solh'' (1987) *''Saghare Hasti'' (1987) with Moein, Hayedeh, Bahram Forouhar *''Ganjineh 1'' (1987) with Moein, Sattar, Hayedeh *''Parastooha'' (1988) with Sattar, Hayedeh *''Entekhabi 11 (Bi Nazir)'' (1991) *''Hamsafare Eshgh'' (1993) with Sattar, Delaram, Fataneh, Ahmad Azad *''Khaneh Ashgegh Koojast'' (1993) with Homeyra, Sattar, Shohreh, Martik, Emad Ram

Singles

* 2007: Music (with Leila Forouhar, Andy, Aref) * In May 2023, 16 years after she died, her voice was used by artificial intelligence and placed on Shadmehr Aghili's song Tamasha, sparking quite a bit of interest from music fans because of the sense of nostalgia and futurism the song provides at the same time. Soon many more pothumous songs were released that featured her and her iconic voice.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1946 births 2007 deaths Singers from Tehran Iranian folk singers Caltex Records artists Persian-language singers of Iran Iranian classical singers Iranian women pop singers Iranian singer-songwriters Iranian women singer-songwriters Deaths from colorectal cancer in California 20th-century Iranian women singers Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United Kingdom