Golandam Taherkhani (; June 12, 1943 – May 3, 2004), known professionally as Susan (also Sousan or Soosan; ), was a popular Iranian singer of particularly the 1960s and 1970s. Among her recordings was her 1969 release of "Kolah Makhmali" ("felt hat").
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Early life
Golandam Taherkhani was born in Qasr-e Shirin in 1943. Her father's name was Ibrahim and her mother's name was Bilqis. Her family was Kurdish. After the death of her father in an accident, she moved to the city of
Takestan
Takestan () is a city in the Central District (Takestan County), Central District of Takestan County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Takestan has a railway station on the Islam ...
with her mother, settled there for a while and later moved 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. ...
. After her mother died of cholera, Taherkhani lived with her aunt. In their neighborhood, there was a woman who used to sing at the door and sometimes took Taherkhani with her to a local cafe. She started performing there for two
tomans a night.
Entering the field of singing
Taherkhani imitated the charming songs of
Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri
Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri ( ; (1905 – 5 August 1959), born Qamar Khanum Seyed Hosayn Khan (), commonly known as "Qamar" ( ), was a celebrated Iranian singer, who was also the first woman of her time to sing in public in Iran without wearing a veil. S ...
and
Moluk Zarabi
Moluk Farshforosh Kashani (, Moluk Żarrābi; March 22, 1907 Kashan – January 5, 2000 Tehran), known as Moluk Zarabi, was an Iranian singer of Persian traditional music and actor.
Life
Moluk Farsh Kashani was born in a music-loving family ...
, working under the name of Victor in a cafe for fifteen tomans a night. After some time, she met Rashid Moradi, the music composer of Kuche Bazari. He took her to another cafe and chose the stage name Susan. Susan could not read or write, but she memorized the songs with the help of Moradi and Mohammad Tehrani. After many years, she worked in more luxurious cafes. Reza Soheila owned several cafes in
Laleh-Zar Street. He proposed to her, but she refused. As time went by, she was introduced to the radio, invited to big parties and also entered the court by Puran. With Moluk Zarabi, she attended parties of
Tadj ol-Molouk
Tâdj ol-Molouk (; 17 March 1896 – 10 March 1982) was List of royal consorts of Iran, Queen of Iran as the second wife of Reza Shah, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and Shah of Iran between 1925 and 1941. The title she was given after becoming ...
, mother of
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
.
Susan's most famous song is "Dost Darem Meidooni" which was composed by Fethullah Riahi with lyrics by Saeed Dabiri. She performed songs from several films before the revolution including ''
Qeysar'' (1969) and ''Hasan Kachal'' (''Hassan, the Bald'') (1970).
After the 1979 revolution
Susan sang in cabarets. After some time, she became a roommate of the singer Mohammad Tehrani, who was performing at Rohudzi Theater. As a result of her arrest at two parties, she endured 74 lashes twice and decided not to sing anymore. After a few months, with help, she immigrated to Turkey, then London, then the United States.
Hospital construction
A hospital was built in Qasr-e Shirin with her help and financial support. The local people knew the hospital as Bimarestan-e Susan (Susan's Hospital). When this 3-story, 144-bed hospital was about to be opened, the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
began. Following the capture of Qasr-e Shirin by
Ba'athist Iraq
Ba'athist Iraq, officially the Iraqi Republic (1968–1992) and later the Republic of Iraq (1992–2003), was the Iraqi state between 1968 and 2003 under the one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region, Iraqi regional bra ...
, the hospital was occupied until the beginning of 1983. The Iraqis destroyed the hospital before retreating. The area of this building was about four thousand meters. The first floor was completely destroyed and many parts of the other two floors were destroyed. The hospital has not been reconstructed and is visited as a ruin left over from the Iran–Iraq War.
Final years and death
At the end of her life, Susan spent her life in poverty and hardship and complained that others did not find out about her.
On May 3, 2004, Susan died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Los Angeles, USA, at the age of 60, following surgery on her long-broken right arm. She was buried in one of the American cemeteries far from her homeland.
References
External links
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1940 births
2004 deaths
Iranian people of Kurdish descent
American people of Kurdish descent
Iranian emigrants to the United States
20th-century Iranian women singers
Iranian pop singers
People from Kermanshah province
Persian-language singers of Iran
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