Viguen

Vigen Derderian (, ; , ; 23 November 1929 – 26 October 2003) was an Iranian pop music singer and actor. He was known as the "King of Iranian pop" and the "Sultan of Jazz." He was an Iranian Armenian by ethnicity and sang in both Persian and Armenian.

During the golden age of Persian pop (the early 1970s) until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many Iranian performers and celebrities—among them Delkash, Pouran, and Elaheh—yearned to be associated with him.

Early life Vigen was born into an Iranian-Armenian family of eight children in the western Iranian city of Hamadan. and discovered his affinity for American, Italian and Spanish music and adopted many of those melodies for his songs with Persian lyrics that became some of Iran's most popular music to date. Vigen's cinematic debut came in 1955, when he was discovered by the prominent Armenian-Iranian director Samuel Khachikian for a role in this film. 1955 Khoon va Sharaf Blood and Honor 1959 Tappe-ye Eshq The Hill of Love 1965 Aroos-e Darya The Bride of the Sea 1969 Atash va khakestar Fire and Ashes Personal life His first wife was named Olga and they had three daughters together, including actress Aylin (also known as Eileen or Ailen), Aylin's fraternal twin sister, singer Jaklin Munns (also known as Jacqueline), and Katrin. His second wife was named Nadia and they had one daughter named, Evelyn, and one son named Edwin Derderian. His third wife was Karen Holston Derderian (1951–2015) and he had a step-daughter, Robin Navonne Brakefield. At the time of his death he had recorded more than six hundred songs, starred in six motion pictures and made guest appearances on various popular TV shows including The Bob Hope Specials, The Jack Benny Show and the TV series Mission Impossible.

Discography

Select albums

1979 - Vigen 1984 - Hamkhooneh EP 1985 - Duets 1989 - Viguen Armenian Songs 1989 - Taraneh Man 1989 - Viguen 1 EP 1991 - 43 Viguen Golden Songs 1991 - Asb-e Som Tala 1991 - Kooleh Bar 1991 - Mahtab 1992 - Saghi 1993 - Zan-e-irooni 1995 - Shahdoomad 1996 - Soltan-e Eshgh 1997 - Be Yade Tehran 1998 - Bazgashte Dobareh 2006 - Viguen 2 2006 - Viguen 3 2006 - Viguen 4 2006 - Viguen 5 2006 - Best of Viguen 2008 - It's Raining 2008 - 40 Golden Hits of Viguen 2008 - Mahtaab 2008 - Dirooz Emrooz 2008 - Dokaboutar 2008 - Shah Doumaad 2008 - Ahanghaye Do Sedaiy 2008 - It's Raining 2011 - The Best Hits Vol 2 2011 - The Best Hits Vol 3