Akbar Golpayegani, born on January 30, 1934, in Tehran, Iran, was an Iranian traditional singer. He began his musical training in 1951 and had his first experience in a choir at the age of 14. At 15, he joined the Nizam School Music Association. Golpayegani's breakthrough came in 1956 when he started participating in the National Iranian Radio musical show Radio Golha, where he collaborated until 1979. He was the first Iranian singer to perform abroad, taking part in a 1956 international festival promoted by UNESCO. In 1969, his performance of "Poem of Saadi" was included in the soundtrack of Pier Paolo Pasolini's film Medea. Golpayegani received an honorary doctorate from the University of Tehran in 1984. He passed away on November 4, 2023, at the age of 89 and was buried in the artists' wing of the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
