Zeki Müren (; 6 December 1931 – 24 September 1996) was a Turkish singer, composer, songwriter, actor and poet. Known by the nicknames "The Sun of Art" and "Pasha", he was one of the prominent figures of Turkish classical music. Due to his contributions to the art industry, he was named a "State Artist" in 1991. He was the first singer to receive a gold certification in Turkey and throughout his career recorded and released hundreds of songs on cassettes and phonograph records. Life Childhood and education Müren was born in the Hisar district of Bursa, at the wooden house number 30 on Ortapazar Road as the only child of Kaya and Hayriye Müren. His father was a timber merchant. He was a small and impatient boy. At the age of 11 he was circumcised in Bursa. Müren went to the Bursa Osmangazi School (later Tophane School and Alkıncı School). When he was at school, his musical ability was discovered by his teachers and he started to have a prominent role at school musicals. His first ever role was the character of a shepherd in one of these musicals. He finished his secondary school in Bursa and then asked his father to let him go to Istanbul. There he attended the Istanbul Boğaziçi High School. He finished the school and ended up as the number-one student. After passing his exams, he was enrolled at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts (now Mimar Sinan University) where he studied decorative arts from 1950 to 1953. Music career In 1950, while he was a university student, he took part at TRT Istanbul Radio's music competition and ranked number-one out of 186 contestants. On 1 January 1951, he had his first live performance on Istanbul Radio, which was praised by critics. During this performance, he was accompanied by musicians Hakkı Derman, Serif İçli, Şükrü Tunar, Refik Fersan and Necdet Gezen. Hamiyet Yüceses subsequently called the program and congratulated him on his performance. In those years, TRT Ankara Radio was the most listened radio in Anatolia, and Istanbul Radio could not be heard clearly from all parts of Anatolia. At the same week, the clarinetist Şükrü Tunar, took Müren to his own recording studio in Yeşilköy and he recorded his song "Muhabbet Kuşu" on phonograph record. Thanks to this record, Müren became known all over Anatolia. After the success of his first live performance