Rashid Macid oglu Behbudov (14 December 1915 – 9 June 1989) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani singer and actor. He has been referred to as the "golden voice of Azerbaijan". He performed his songs in multiple languages.

Biography

Rashid Behbudov was born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

into the family of singer Majid Behbudov and Firuza Vakilova. His siblings included theatre director, ; and actress, . Between 1934 and 1944 Behbudov worked at the Philharmonic Theater in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. In the mid-1940s, composer and pianist Tofig Guliyev began creative collaboration with Behbudov. In 1945, upon the invitation of Tofig Guliyev, Rashid Behbudov moved to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. In the same year, he was assigned the main role of Asgar in the film ''The Cloth Peddler'' (1945 film) (), based on a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 188523 November 1948) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the Az� ...

. His role in this film combined with his vocal skills brought him fame throughout

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. In a short time, Behbudov also became a prominent Azerbaijani pop singer. His combination of vocal masterpieces ranged from classical performances to lyrical songs. Behbudov's rare vocal talent gave him an opportunity to travel beyond the "

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

" of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and as a singer he toured with concert performances in several countries of the world, including

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 ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, China, India, Japan,

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, and many other countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. He sang his songs in Russian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, and a dozen other languages. In 1966 he created the State Song Theater, which still carries his name, and became its soloist and artistic manager. He was married to Jeyran Behbudova, and was the father of opera singer .

Honors and awards

People's Artiste of the Azerbaijan SSR The People's Artiste of the Azerbaijan SSR () was an honorary title awarded from 1931 to 1991 (and active from 1928 to 1991), it was granted to artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR for their contributions to the development of Azerbaijani culture in th ...

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1959). *

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(23 April 1980) * Two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(6 January 1976, 23 April 1980) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(1 February 1966) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(13 December 1985) * Stalin Prize, 2nd class (1946) – for his role in the film Asker "Arshin Mal Alan" (1945) * (1978)Ədəbiyyat, incəsənət və arxitektura sahəsində 1978-ci il Azərbaycan SSR Dövlət mükafatlarının verilməsi haqqında Azərbaycan KP MK-nın və Azərbaycan SSR Nazirlər Sovetinin 1978-ci il tarixli Qərarı
— anl.az saytı

Legacy and memory

He is the namesake of Rashid Behbudov Street () in Baku; formerly named "Lieutenant Schmidt Street" and renamed in 1991. On 14 December 2010 FLASHMOB Azerbaijan organized a flash mob to memorialize the honor of Rashid Behbudov and to celebrate the 95th jubilee anniversary of the famous representative of Azerbaijani music and culture. On 11 June 2016 a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

dedicated to him was erected in front of the State Song Theater named after Rashid Behbudov in Baku.

Filmography

* ''The Cloth Peddler'' (1945 film), as Asker * ''Bakhtiar'' (film) (1955), as Bakhtiar * ' (1974), as Eldar Aliyev

Notes

References

External links

*
Listen to Rashid Behbudov
Music Section of '' Azerbaijan International'' * CD series: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Behbudov, Rashid 1915 births 1989 deaths Azerbaijani actors Soviet male actors Male actors from Tbilisi Soviet male singers Azerbaijani singers Recipients of the Stalin Prize 20th-century singers Georgian Azerbaijanis Musicians from Tbilisi Azerbaijani film actors Azerbaijani male singers Persian-language singers of Russia 20th-century male singers Burials at Alley of Honor Soviet Azerbaijani people Heroes of Socialist Labour Azerbaijani-language singers of Russia People's Artists of the USSR Azerbaijani male film actors People's Artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin 20th-century Azerbaijani singers 20th-century Azerbaijani male actors Georgian people of Azerbaijani descent Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Muslims from the Russian Empire