Barış Manço: 10-Song Starter Kit

How does one explain Barış Manço?  He is kind of like the Turkish John Denver, but with the notoriety of John Lennon and a fashion sense that conjures up images of Sonny and Cher.  Yet his music doesn’t sound like any of the aforementioned stars. This is owing to the fact that he combines classical Turkish music with rock, which makes it very hard to compare him to musicians from the US or UK. I guess you could say his distinct sound is very much his own.

When I polled my Turkish friends and colleagues about their favorite Manço song, every one had an automatic favorite, and for the most part they all chose different songs. (His collection of songs is even bigger than his ring collection.)  Manço is such a cult icon that you would be hard-pressed to find a Turkish person who doesn’t like him; I know I haven’t met such a person yet.  Mentioning the name of Barış Manço to a Turkish person will almost always result in a look of nostalgia in their eyes and a smile on their face.  In fact, he is such an important part of Turkish culture that one of the iconic Bosphorus ferries is named after him and there is a museum in Moda–his house, in fact–that you can visit.

Needless to say, Manço is near and dear to the hearts of Turkish people.  A Google search will reveal all of the details about the singer, but for now here is your 10-song starter kit to get you immersed into the magical, musical world of Barış Manço.  Also, if you’re on the lookout for Turkish TV shows to watch, check out his variety show 7’den 77’ye for an interesting look into Turkish culture from over a decade ago (and a good opportunity to improve your Turkish).

1. Dağlar Dağlar

2. Dönence

3. Kol Düğmeleri

4. Gül Pembe

5. Anlıyorsun, Değil Mi?

6. Arkadaşım Eşek

7. Domates Biber Patlıcan

8. Bugün Bayram

9. Alla Beni Pulla Beni

10. Gibi Gibi

You can listen to a selection of these songs on this YouTube Playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbf4CA57YFLqnnZR7N48MSZbbmuPIh4p9