Born in Izmir, Turkey on August 19, 1941, Ferdi Özbeğen was a folk and pop singer and pianist. Interested in music at a young age, he began taking music lessons when he was 11 years old. Initially attending college to study economics, he turned to a career in music after the death of his father in 1963. He earned a good amount of attention in 1965 when he and his orchestra competed on the talent show Golden Microphone before he began to build his career as an acclaimed fantezi urban folk music artist. He came to prominence in 1977 with the release of his debut album, Ferdi Özbeğen'le 45 Dakikadd, which was a big success. He followed that with a series more successful albums including the gold record Ferdi Özbeğen'le Sohbet (1978), Teşekkürler (1979), and Mutluluklar (1980), which won a Golden Piano Award. Ferdi Özbeğen broke into acting and starred in Tanriya Feryat (1980) and later appeared on the popular TV series Perihan Abla. He continued to have success in the charts with albums such as Bir Sir Bibi (1982), Seviyorum Delicesine (1983) Piyanist (1984) Belki Bir Gün (1985), Sevdiğiniz Şarkılar (1986), Yaktı Geçti (1989), Davacı Değilim (1992), Kandil (1998), Ayrılmayalım (1991), and Nerelerdeydiniz (2009). His most popular songs include “Gündüzüm Seninle,” “Büklüm Büklüm,” “Dilek Taşı,” “Ağla Halime,” and “O Günler.” Diagnosed with prostate cancer, Ferdi Özbeğen survived the disease for 12 years before passing away on January 28, 2013, at the age of 71.
