Rəşid Behbudov

Rashid Behbudov (Azerbaijani: Rəşid Məcid oğlu Behbudov, December 14, 1915 - June 19, 1988) was an Azerbaijani singer and actor. He sang in Azerbaijani, Russian, Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali among other languages. He became popular when he played the lead role of Askar, the wealthy peddler, in a movie Arshin Mal Alan (“The Cloth Peddler”) which was based on a 1913 musical comedy by Uzeyir Hajibeyov. Rashid’s father, Majid Behbudlu was a well-known singer too. He toured and performed concerts in several countries including: the United Kingdom, Finland, Iran, Turkey, China, Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Chile, Argentina. In Azerbaijan, the name Rashid Behbudov is automatically linked to the history of Azeri popular music. His vocal masterpieces range from proud hymns devoted to the beauty of the Motherland to tender, lyrical confessions of love. He is especially remembered for his portrayal of Askar, the rich, merchant in search of love in the 1945 movie version of Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s music comedy, “Arshin Mal Alan.” Rashid Behbudov’s rare talent did not develop overnight. However, once he was discovered, his fame spread like wild fire, and he toured tirelessly, giving concerts one after another all over the world. Even though travel for those who lived behind the “Iron Curtain” was generally restricted, exceptions were made for Rashid. In 1966 he created the State Song Theater and became its soloist and Artistic Manager. The Cloth Peddler Rashid was almost 30 years old when he was tapped to play the lead role of Askar, the wealthy peddler, in the third (1945) version of the black-and-white film based on Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s 1913 musical comedy, “Arshin Mal Alan” (The Cloth Peddler). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.