Selami Şahin

Selami Şahin
File:Selami Sahin.jpg Selami Şahin in a concert in Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena, İstanbul, 2012.
Background information
Born	(1948-08-15) August 15, 1948 Yayladağı, Hatay - Turkey
Genres	World
Occupation(s)	Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Actor
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Lider Müzik
Website	selamisahin.com.tr

Early Life & Musical Career

Selami Şahin was born on August 15, 1948 in Hatay, a city in the southeastern Mediterranean region of Turkey to Turkish father and Egyptian mother from Alexandria. The 4th offspring in a family of 6 children, it didn’t take long for his elementary school teachers to first discover and notice his musical talent.

When Şahin was 15 years old, he decided to leave his hometown of Hatay to pursue his musical ambitions. He started making a living by working at all sorts of odd jobs in neighboring cities before moving to Istanbul. In the meantime, his passion for and love and music and singing led him to Irfan Özbakır, one of the best known musical composers of his time. Captivated by Şahin’s pleasant voice, Şahin got his first break in 1966 when Özbakır produced his first single, titled “Zeynebim” written by Göksel Orhon and composed by Irfan Özbakır.

Then, in 1968 Şahin released his next single titled “Sabır Taşı” which launched his musical career and this success and fame would last through the ages. At the same time, he taught himself to read musical notes with just the assistance of books. As a result, in 1969, he started writing and composing all his own songs. Moreover, he learned how to play numerous musical instruments at this point in his career as well.

The first song he wrote and composed and called “Sen Mevsimler Gibisin” won the “Song of the Year” at the 4th Golden Butterfly Awards (Altın Kelebek). From that day forward, many of Selami Şahin’s songs were included in the repertoires of numerous Turkish singers. To date, he has released 24 singles, 7 LPs and 13 cassettes and CDs. Şahin has written and composed more than 300 songs and 150 of them became popular hits. Some of his most important hit tunes include: Alışmak Sevmekten Zor, Ben Bir Tek Kadın Sevdim, Ben Sevdalı Sen Belalı, Boş Vere Boş Vere, Bulamazsın, Dostlarım (İçkim & Sigaram), Eskimeyen Dost, Gitme Sana Muhtacım, Gözler Kalbin Aynasıdır, Hesabım Var, Islak Mendil, Kadere Şikayetim Var, Namert Olayım, Ne Duamsın Ne Bedduam, Özledim, Sen Mevsimler Gibisin, Seni Sevmediğim Yalan, Senin Olmaya Geldim, Seninle Başım Dertte, Sensiz Olmuyor, Tanımam Senden Başka, Tanrım, Tapılacak Kadınsın, and Ya Seninle Ya Sensiz.

These popular timeless songs were also translated into different languages and vocalized by singers in Europe and The Middle East. Furthermore, Şahin worked on joint projects with Ghada Ragab, a noted Egyptian singer and Enrico Macias, a well renowned Algerian-French singer and musician. Continuing his career as a singer, songwriter and composer, in the latter part of his career he added music producer and vocal coach to his wide group of skills and talents.

Afterwards, in 2010, Şahin released an album of his songs titled “Dayman (Daima)” (Always) in Arabic which was a prime example of the synthesis of Turkish and Arabic music.

Celebrating his 45th year in the music industry in 2011, Şahin released an album titled “Mahzen” which included a mix of his songs previously vocalized by many artists and which he re-interpreted and remixed with acoustic and contemporary arrangements.

Besides a long and illustrious musical career, Şahin also made a mark in the film industry and was a leading man in various feature films. His most well-known role was in a joint Egyptian-Turkish film titled “Mumya Fırarda” which was released in 22 countries around the world. Additionally, this was the first Turkish film to be invited to participate at the 6th Hollywood Film Festival and Şahin’s acting received high accolades. What’s more, many of his songs have been used in many Turkish TV series and feature films. Some of his other films include: Köyün Beş Güzeli (1970), Bağrımdaki Ateş (1981), Kaderi Zorlama (1985) and The Dealer (2010)

Then in 2012, one of his most popular hits titled “Sensiz Olmuyor” was vocalized by Şahin in a TV commercial for Akbank, one of Turkey’s leading banks.

Married since 1985, the artist has three children. Şahin continues to compose songs that come from the heart and he continues to play a major role and makes important contributions to the Turkish Music Industry by continuously writing and composing new songs.

Discography

Main article: Selami Şahin Discography

Year	Album Title	Label
1966-1976	45'likler
1975	Yıllar Sonra Yine	Taç Plak
1976	Unutulmayan Eserler
1981	Bağrımdaki Ateş	Lider Müzik
1982	Tapılacak Kadınsın
1983	Seninle Başım Dertte
1985	Hastayım Sana
1987	İyi Düşün Sevgilim
1988	Seni Çok Seviyorum
1989	İşim Gücüm Seni Sevmek
1990	Başımın Tatlı Belası
1992	Şaşırttın Beni
1994	Özledim Her Şeyini
1995	İlle de Sen
1997	Şarkılarım ve Ben (Nostalji)
1999	2000'e Merhaba
2004	İyi ki Varsın
2009	Dayman (Daima)
2010	Ben Bir Tek Kadın Sevdim
2011	Mahzen

Awards

Year	Category	Song	Award
1975	Song of the Year	Sen Mevsimler Gibisin	4th Golden Butterfly Awards	Won
1977	Golden Pencil Award	Dostlarım (İçkim & Sigaram)	-	Won
1978	The Year’s 10 Most Popular Songs	Sensiz Olmuyor	Milliyet Newspaper Awards	Won
1979	The Year’s 10 Most Popular Songs	Özlem Rıhtımı	Milliyet Newspaper Awards	Won
1980	The Year’s 10 Most Popular Songs	Rüzgar	Milliyet Newspaper Awards	Won
1994	Gold Composition Award	Özledim	İstanbul FM Radio Gold Awards (İFA)	Won
1995	The Year’s 10 Most Popular Songs	Özledim	Milliyet Newspaper Awards	Won
2012	Honorary Award	-	39th Golden Butterfly Awards	Won

Filmography

Year	Film
1970	Köyün Beş Güzeli
1981	Bağrımdaki Ateş
1985	Kaderi Zorlama
2002	Mumya Firarda
2010	El Dealer

See also

• List of Turkish musicians

References

• Selami Şahin selamisahin.com.tr.
• Selami Şahin Bio Selami Şahin Bio.
• Selami Şahin Discography Selami Şahin Discography.