Gönül Akkor's life story began in Istanbul on February 1, 1942, as the daughter of Muzaffer and Hasan Tahsin. Akkor's brother, who grew up in a family environment full of music, was the singer Kâmuran Akkor. His music career, which started as an intern at Ankara Radio, gained momentum in a short time with the training he received from masters such as Muzaffer İlkar, Suphi Ziya Özbekkan, Ruşen Kam, Nevzat Sümer and İsmail Baha Sürersan.
The records he released during this period attracted great attention from the audience; He made a name for himself with his stage performances and became one of the most popular headliners of his time.
He worked with important songwriters such as Gönül Akkor, Sezen Cumhur Önal and Fecri Ebcioğlu, who contributed to popular music as well as Turkish Classical Music. His singles such as "Sana Ben Kulum" and "The World Goes Like This", released by the owner's Sesi label, broke sales records. In the early 1970s, the record in which she sang Bora Ayanoğlu's composition "Roses and Lips" was also appreciated by the masses.
The album "Your Choices", released in 1974 with Esin Engin's arrangements and accompaniment of the symphony orchestra, went down in music history as the first work to receive a platinum record award in Turkey. In the later stages of his artistic life, he also turned to the arabesque movement and took part in various projects.
Gönül Akkor came to the fore again after many years in 1994, with the album "Dönüş" and the song of the same name, upon Sezen Aksu's offer. However, he could not appear in public for a long time due to the memory and speech difficulties he experienced as a result of the brain hemorrhage he suffered in 2002 and the subsequent surgery.
Akkor, who stayed away from the art world during this period of silence, passed away in Istanbul on December 30, 2024, at the age of 82. His body was buried in Feriköy Cemetery after the funeral prayer performed at Teşvikiye Mosque on January 1, 2025.
Gönül Akkor was born on February 4, 1942 in Istanbul, Türkiye. He died on December 30, 2024.
Productions in which he took part
- A Little Ash and a Little Smoke (1966)
- God, Recreate Me (1974) — Ayşe / Gönül Akkor
Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.
