Quick Facts
Biography
Kourosh Yaghmaei (Persian: کوروش یغمایی ) (born December 3, 1946), is an Iranian guitarist, singer, and early pioneer of rock music in Iran. He is best known internationally for his unique presentation of early Iranian rock throughout the 1970s. He is part of the Yaghmaei family, the second son of his branch of the family. His brother, Keyvan, was very successful in school in the sixth grade. As a reward, their father got them instruments. Keyvan was bought a violin, and Kourosh was given a santur. Since Kourosh's first instrument was the santur, he learned and followed traditional Iranian music at first. Soon, he became interested in Western music, starting with Bach and whatever music was on the radio at the time. He taught himself how to play guitar by listening to records of bands such as The Ventures. In the early 1960s, Kourosh joined a group called The Raptures, who would play covers of The Ventures, The Kinks, The Beatles, and The Monkees, all of whom Kourosh revered. Kourosh and his band would repeatedly have difficulty finding proper instruments for his music, relying on rented equipment and using the upper strings on an electric guitar to fill in for a proper bass guitar.
Eventually in the early 70s, Kourosh started up his solo band, in which his brothers Kamran and Kambiz were members. The ideas for his music consisted of combining Iranian melodies, instrumentals, vocals, and tones with Western harmonies, scales, and modes. Kourosh and his brothers worked hard using these ideas, which brought them great success throughout the decade until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which by then left Kourosh and his band without legal permission to perform his music. This ban on Kourosh's performances would affect his career and bar him from playing his usual music for a combined period of nearly three decades. Since then, Kourosh has not performed publicly much inside of Iran. Aside from a few concerts in Sweden and Norway in 1993, he did not perform much outside of Iran either. Only in the 1990s were his albums recorded during and shortly after the Revolution were allowed to be released.
His songs are well known by the Iranian diaspora, and his song Gol-e Yakh (Winter Sweet) was, and still is, one of his most well known songs. His uniquely Iranian style of psychedelic and folk rock has brought him comparisons with renowned figures of the Anatolian Rock scene, such as Erkin Koray and Barış Manço. International attention was brought to him with the 2011 release of his album Back to the Brink, a compilation of music from his solo career ranging from 1973 to 1979.
Kourosh Yaghmaei in popular culture
Vice Principals is an American television comedy series which in season 1, episode 4 "Run for the Money" when Gamby and Russell spill Psychedelic drugs on themselves when Russell tried to sabotage the football game, the background music plays the song "Saraabe Toe" a popular persian psychedelic single by kourosh that was released in 1975.
The song "Saraabe Toe" can also be heard in the 2014 movie Summer of Blood from Onur Tukel.
In the ending scene from the french movie Fool Circle we can hear one Yaghmaei's most famous song of Gol-e Yakh.
Discography
Studio albums
- Gol-e Yakh , 1973 ℗ Caltex Records
- Hajm-e Khali , 1975 ℗ Now-Again Records
- Sarab-e To , 1977 ℗ Now-Again Records
- Sol-e 1 (Live) , 1979 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Sol-e 2 (Live) , 1980 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Diar , 1987 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Gorg Haye Ghorosneh , 1990 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Sib-e Noghreii , 1994 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Mah Va Palang , 1996 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Parandeye Mohajer 1996 ℗ Caltex Records
- Kabous , 1997 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Arayesh-e Khorshid , 2000 ℗ Ahangrooz
- Tofang-e Daste Noghre , 2001 ℗ Ahangrooz
- 50 Golden Songs of Giti , Afshin , Kourosh Yaghmaee & Fereydoon Farrokhzad - Persian Music , 2004 ℗ Caltex Records
- Back from the Brink , ℗ 2011 Now-Again Records
- Happy Birthday (Joyful songs for Children) , 2012 ℗ Hamavaz Ahang
- Malek Jamshid , ℗ 2016 Now-Again Records
Singles
- Eshghe Iran
- Zadeye Mehr
- Shabe Yalda
- Ghahre Afyoun
- Fajehe
- Kaboos
- Nedamatgah
- Panjerei Roo Be Sobh
- Marde Khakestari
- Vatan
- Pedar
- Gol-e Yakh / Del Dareh Pir Misheh, 1973
- Leila / Paiz, 1973
- Hajm-e Khali / Akhm Nakon, 1974
- Saraabe Toe / Dar Enteha, 1975
- Norooz (Iranian New Year) , 2016
- Asmar Asmar , 2016