Faegheh Atashin (born 1950), nick named "Googoosh",
is an Iranian (Persian) pop singer and actress. She
was born in the Azarbaijan province and began acting
and singing from childhood alongside his father Saber
Atashin. She went before a microphone when she was only
three years old and the nationwide fame and success
of the talented child soon reached all over the country,
asking for performances and tours. She began acting
for the royal court of the shahat at the age of four
and was warmly welcomed by the former empress Soraya.
She lost her mother when she was an
infant and moved with her father to Tehran. Googoosh
began her career as a child star, acting and singing
in many Iranian movies. She captured the hearts of
audiences and became one of Iran's most recognized
and loved child movie stars in the late 1950's and
60's.
By the late 1960s, Googoosh's natural
singing ability was inspiring modern Iranian music
composers, as a new style of Pop music emerged. The
result of this collaboration was a unique blend of
contemporary Persian (Farsi) poems and melodies with
Western Jazz, Blues, Rock, Disco, Latin, and other
Pop beats. With the help of legendary composers Varoojan,
Shamaizadeh, and Farid Zoland, Googoosh's songs became
instant hits and she became one of the biggest 1970s
Iranian Pop culture icons touching young and old alike.
She set the fashion trends, sporting
a mini-jupe and short hair as obvious signs of western
sophistication, leaving behind a trail of fads. Tabloid
gossip and rumors came with the fame, as well. But
it all came to an abrupt end with the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
At the age of 20, Googoosh took part in various international
music festivals and got the first prize and golden
record for her French numbers "Retour de la vie"
and "j'entends crier Je t'aime" from the
Canne Festival in 1971. She recorded twelve songs
in Italian and Spanish for the Sanremo Music Festival
1973 which received overnight success. Also got the
first prize for Carthage Music Festival in 1972 and
was honored with the first medal of arts of Tunisia
in the same year. Her Spanish song entitled 'Desde
Hacies Tiempo' was a successful hit in South America
in 1973.
She is popular in many Middle Eastern
and Central Asian countries, especilly in Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. She sings in twelve different
languages, although she can only speak Persian, English,
and a little Armenian. She is one of the most famous
Persian female pop singers, often called the "Queen
of Persian Pop", "Persian diva", "Mermaid
of Iran" and "Iran's Daughter".
After the Revolution in Iran, she
was banned from public performance like most female
singers. Nevertheless, she made a major comeback since
2000. After 21 years of silence, her fans, some of
whom were not born when the diva was banned, filled
sports arenas all around the globe to welcome their
legendary diva in 2000. Since Zartosht, she has had
two more record-breaking albums including QQBangBang,
Last News, and her new album recorded with a philarmonic
orchestra entitled Manifest was released on September,
2005.
The self-imposed professional silence
has only added to her fame across Tajikistan, Central
Asia, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, and especially among
Iranians. The political undertones are evident, although
not numerous, and never publicly endorsed by the mysterious
entertainer. But her aura has obviously inspired and
comforted many over the years. "Your songs, coming
from the other side of the Iron Curtain inspired people
to think, to survive, to live and to love... You were
a representative of Iran and Persian language and
culture", writes Salimjon Aioubov who remembers
Soviet-dominated Tajikistan.
Currently (as of 2005), Googoosh resides in California,
and frequently travels to Toronto, Canada where she
has a home. She has more than 250 Persian and 55 international
songs in her widely popular repertoire.
Over the years many artists have covered
Googoosh's songs.
Googoosh also starred in more than
25 films. This is an incomplete list:
Hamsafar
Maah Asal
Nazanin
Chahar Khahar or Gedayan-i-Tehran
Ehsas-e Dagh
Dar Emtedad-e Shab
*Mammal Emrikaayi
Bita
Tolou
Shab-e Ghariban
Nazanin
Panjereh
Sheytoon-Balaa
Partgah-e Makhouf
Fereshte-ye Faraari
Beem-o-Omid
Seh Divaneh
Her songs are often very romantic and sometimes feature
elements of traditional Persian music
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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