Erol Büyükburç
(1936-2015)

Erol Büyükburç was born in Adana in 1936. While studying economies at university, he entered the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. He withdrew from university to concentrate on his music career and began singing in various jazz bands. During his compulsory military service in Urfa, he served as a singer in the officers′ club. Upon returning to Istanbul, he was introduced to music producers by Leyla Sayar, a well known actress whom he met in Urfa. In 1961 Büyükburç composed his best known hit "Little Lucy." He also wrote the lyrics of this melody. Before the 1960s, Turkish pop music was mostly covers of West European melodies. There were also a few compositions in Turkish. "Little Lucy" is considered as one of the milestones in Turkish popular music. "Kiss me" and "Lovers Wish and Memories" were also his English-lyrics compositions. In 1962 Büyükburç received the Best Singer Award in the Balkan Music Festival. The next year, he won the Bosphorus Music Festival Award. In 1975 he released his first album "Sevgi Çilekleri." After the 1980s, Büyükburç began singing in various genres including children′s songs and football teams′ songs.

Besides being a pop singer and composer, Büyükburç was an actor. He began performing in musical films and acted in over thirty films. He also appeared in a TV song contest named "Şarkı söylemek lazım" (One should sing a song) as a jury in 2007. Büyükburç passed away in Istanbul in 2015.

Reference: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, sinemalar.com