Baris Manco

Baris Manco(1943-1999)

Born:January 2, 1943(1943-01-02)
Origin:Turkey
Died:February 1, 1999 (aged 56)
Genre(s) Rock, Pop, Progressive Rock
Occupation(s) Singer, Composer, Song-writer & TV producer, Musician
Years active 1950s - 1999
Label(s) Sayan, Yavuz Plak, CBS Disques / Grammofoonplaten S.A.B.V., Türküola, Emre Plak


Barış Manço (also spelt Baris Mancho in some European album releases) (January 2, 1943 - February
1, 1999) was a Turkish singer, composer, television producer and celebrity. He composed about 200
songs, some of which were translated into a variety of languages including Japanese, Greek,
Bulgarian, Romanian, Persian and Arabic. He was, and still is, one of the most beloved public
figures of Turkey.

Early life and career
Manço was born in Istanbul, Turkey on January 2, 1943. His mother Rikkat Uyanık was a famed singer
in early 1940s. His older brother, who was born during World War II, was named Savaş ("war" in
Turkish) while he was named Barış ("peace" in Turkish) by his parents to celebrate the end of the
war. Allegedly he was the very first person to have this first name, which is now fairly popular in
Turkey.

During his primary school days, his head was shaven to prevent head lice, a serious threat back
then. He mentioned that it was one of the reasons of his later signature long hair.

During his highschool days in Galatasaray Lisesi (and later in Şişli Terakki High School) he
formed his first band Kafadarlar ("The Buddies"), allegedly upon seeing Erkin Koray and his band
performing which were all students of a nearby highschool. Asaf Savaş Akad, a famed economist in
Turkey was the saxophone player of the band and Ender Enön the guitarist of the band made their own
guitar, because it was difficult to find a real one on the market in those years .

In 1962 and 1963, with his next band Harmoniler ("The Harmonies"), he recorded cover versions of
some of the then popular American twist songs, but also rearrangements of Turkish folk songs in rock
and roll form, marking the beginning of Anatolian rock movement, a synthesis of Turkish folk music
and rock. In this period, his key visual and musical influence was Elvis Presley.

After graduating from high school in 1963, he moved to Europe, travelling around Paris and Liège,
where he formed bands with local musicians and recorded some singles mainly in English and in French
but also in Turkish. He toured with his band Les Mistigris (not related with Mistigris) in Germany,
Belgium, France and Turkey until 1967.

In 1967, he suffered from a serious car accident after which he started to grow his signature
mustache to disguise his scar.

Frustrated by the difficulties of working with musicians from different nationalities, he formed
Kaygısızlar (The Carefrees) featuring Mazhar Alanson and Fuat Güner, future members of the very
popular Turkish band MFÖ. He recorded several singles and toured with the band, both in Turkey and
abroad, until the band members revealed that they did not want to live abroad.

In 1970, he formed Barış Manço Ve ... ("Barış Manço and ...") again with foreign musicians, to
record his first hit single, both in Turkey and in Belgium, "Dağlar Dağlar", selling over 700,000
copies. Today, the song remains one of his most popular works.


1970s
After the success of "Dağlar Dağlar", Manço recorded a couple of singles with Moğollar (The
Mongols), another influential Turkish Anatolian rock band. He then decided to return to Turkey where
he recorded with the reformed Kaygısızlar for a short period. In 1971, his early works were
compiled under his first full length album Dünden Bugüne, today commonly referred as Dağlar
Dağlar.

In 1972, he formed Kurtalan Ekspres, a legend by itself, the band that would accompany him until his
death. In 1975 until when he continued to release singles, he released his first non-compilation LP
2023, a concept album that includes many instrumental songs.

As a last attempt to reach international success, he released the LP titled Baris Mancho (1976), a
strange transcription of his name, mostly with George Hayes Orchestra under CBS Records label, in
Europe and South Africa. Although the album did not bring the fame he was expecting, it did reach
the top of the charts in Romania and Morocco. Next year, the album was released in Turkey under the
title Nick the Chopper.

From 1977 to 1980, he released three more albums in Turkey, partly consisting of compilations of
older singles, namely Sakla Samanı Gelir Zamanı (1977), Yeni Bir Gün (1979) and 20. Sanat Yılı
Disko Manço (1980), all following a similar sound with 2023. All these albums are now rarity items,
but most of the material from the era are available in later compilations Ben Bilirim and Sarı
Çizmeli Mehmet Ağa.

1980s
In 1981, Manço released Sözüm Meclisten Dışarı with Kurtalan Ekspres, containing many hit
songs including "Alla Beni Pulla Beni", "Arkadaşım Eşşek", "Gülpembe", "Halhal" and "Dönence"
among others. The album remains as one of their most popular works and launched a boost of
popularity for Barış Manço during 1980s.

"Arkadaşım Eşşek" ("My Friend Donkey"), quickly grew very popular among children (the song is
about rural nostalgia and was not initially intended as a children's song)[citation needed].
Throughout his career, he went on to write many other songs primarily for children to achieve an
iconic acceptance among Turkish children of 1980s and 1990s.

On the other hand "Gülpembe", composed by Kurtalan Ekspres bassist Ahmet Güvenç, a requiem for
Manço's grandmother, caught older audiences and probably is the artist's most popular song,
competing perhaps only with "Dağlar Dağlar".

In 1983, Estağfurullah, Ne Haddimize was released. It contained hit songs "Halil İbrahim Sofrası"
and "Kol Düğmeleri", a new version of the artist's very first song. "Halil İbrahim Sofrası"
exemplified Manço's signature moral themed lyrics, a rare feature in Turkish popular music.

In 1985, 24 Ayar Manço which included "Gibi Gibi" and a long conceptual song "Lahburger" was
released. It also marked the beginning of the shift in Manço's sound characterized with the heavy
use of synthesizers and drum machine in contrast with his older works consisting of a group oriented
rock based sound. In subsequent years, Manço released Değmesin Yağlı Boya (1986), Sahibinden
İhtiyaçtan (1988) and Darısı Başınıza (1989), all containing a couple of hit songs and
demonstrating his new sound.


7'den 77'ye and 1990s
In 1988, 7'den 77'ye (From 7 to 77), a TV show directed and presented by Manço began to run on TRT
1, the national TV channel of Turkey. It was a combined music, talk show and documentary program
which was a major hit during the 8 years it stayed on air. Manço travelled almost 150 countries for
the show. "Adam Olacak Çocuk", a part of the show, strengthened Manço's acceptance among
children.

The main production crew of his TV shows when the shows were on paramount: Yavuz Zafer, senior
cameraman; Erkan Umut, cameraman (later senior cameraman); Kenan Eryılmaz (lighting); Binnur Kayak,
assistant director; Nilüfer Ülkügüner, assistant director; Dr. Üstün Aydıngöz, projects
coordinator; Tamer Şahin, coordinator general (also manager); Umut Germeyan, production manager;
Berna Korkut, production manager (former editor and director for TRT shows); Belma Korkut,
production attendant (former assistant editor and director for TRT shows); Melih Erdem, production
attendant (also concert attendant); Can Şahin, production attendant (also driver).

Although his popularity continued mostly due to the TV show, his musical works in 1990s were not
well received. The albums Mega Manço (1992) and Müsadenizle Çocuklar (1995) were considered as
the weakest efforts of his career, despite the limited success of 1992 children hit "Ayı" (The
Bear). On the other hand, in 1995 he toured in Japan with Kurtalan Ekspres, leading to Live In Japan
(1996), his first and only live album. He released two albums in that country with some recognition
as "the man who writes songs about vegetables", referring to "Domates, Biber, Patlıcan" ("Tomato,
Pepper, Aubergine") and "Nane, Limon Kabuğu" (Mint, Lemon Rint), two of his hit songs from 1980s.

On February 1, 1999, Barış Manço died of a sudden heart attack before the release of his just
finished last work Mançoloji (Mançology or Manchology) (1999), a double album containing the new
recordings of his hit songs along with an unfinished instrumental song "40. Yıl" ("The 40th
Anniversary"), celebrating his 40th year in music. His sudden death caused an almost unanimous shock
in Turkey with millions of people mourning and tens of thousands of people attending his funeral.


Legacy
Barış Manço was one of the most influential Turkish musicians of all times. In his early career
he and his bands contributed to the Anatolian rock movement by combining traditional Turkish music
with rock influences, which is still one of the main trends of Turkish popular music.

His visual image characterised by his long hair, mustache and big rings softened the reaction of
otherwise conservative Turkish public opinion regarding the marginal visual appearances.

His experimentation with electronic instruments in the late 1980s contributed to the 1990s sound of
Turkish popular music.

His lyrics with diverse themes, mostly following a somewhat modernized version of the "aşık"
(wandering folk poets) tradition were heavily marginal in the popular music scene of 1980s which was
mostly dominated by the love themed lyrics.

In 2002, a tribute album was released under the name Yüreğimdeki Barış Şarkıları ("Barış's
Songs In My Heart", also "Peace Songs In My Heart") featuring 15 extremely popular Turkish artists
of such diverse genres as arabesque, pop and rock (both Anatolian and western style) demonstrating
his wide range of influence.

Discography

Albums
Dünden Bugüne (1971) (Sayan)
2023 (1975) (Yavuz Plak)
Sakla Samanı Gelir Zamanı (1976) (Yavuz)
Baris Mancho, released as Nick The Chopper in Turkey (1976) (CBS Disques/Grammofoonplaten S.A.B.V.,
CBS 81784, Yavuz LP)
Yeni Bir Gün (1979) (Yavuz ve Burç Plakçılık)
20 Sanat Yılı Disco Manço (1980) (Türküola)
Sözüm Meclisten Dışarı (1981) (Türküola)
Estağfurullah... Ne Haddimize! (1983) (Türküola)
24 Ayar Manço (1985)
Değmesin Yağlı Boya (1986) (Emre Plakçılık)
30 Sanat Yılı Fulaksesuar Manço - Sahibinden İhtiyaçtan (1988) (Emre Plakçılık)
Darısı Başınıza (1989) (Yavuz ve Burç Plakçılık)
Mega Manço (1992) (Emre Plak)
Müsaadenizle Çocuklar (1995) (Emre Plak)
Barış Manço Live In Japan (1996) (Emre Plak)
Mançoloji (1999) (Emre Plak)