Iran's daughter
In pre-revolutionary Iran, Googoosh was Iran’s Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Edith Piaf and Madonna rolled into one: not just a magnificent singer but also a fashion trailblazer and a symbol of modernity. Her songs were romantic, not political, and while they drew on Western styles, they held onto both the fervor of Persian love poetry and the sliding, quivering, impassioned phrasing of traditional Persian music. She was a huge star in the '70s, bridging the gap between Iranian music and Western pop. Her career came to an end in 1979, when female solo singers were banned; it resumed only when she emigrated to California in 2000.
She made her first film at age seven. She has appeared in such movies as "Partgahe makhouf" (1963; "Cliff of Fear"), "Sheitune bala" (1965; "The Naughty One"), and "Panjereh" (1970; “The Window”). In the 1970s Googoosh was at the height of her film and music career and was widely emulated by Iranian women; in addition to listening to her music, they copied her clothing (miniskirts) and her short haircut (known as the “Googooshy”).
Although most Iranian performers chose to leave the country, Googoosh, who was visiting the United States at the time of the revolution, returned home. She was jailed briefly ...
and thereafter led a reclusive life. Following the election of President Mohammad Khatami in 1997, many restrictions began to be lifted. Some women (Googoosh was not among them) were allowed to sing in public to all-female audiences, and, while distributing pop music was still officially illegal, possession of it was permitted. In 2000 Googoosh finally was granted a passport and allowed to leave the country for the first time since the revolution. That year she staged her first world tour, which began in Toronto, where she and her husband, Iranian film director Masud Kimiai, eventually settled. In an interview on Dec 17th 2004 Googoosh told her fans that Mr. Alireza Amirghasemi and his partner Mr. Masoud Jamali together with Nederlander producing company are taking Googoosh to court in the United States and forcing her to perform 19 concerts for them against her will and until this case is not resolved she would not be allowed to sing! They made their claim two weeks before the concert in Las Vegas after many tickets had already been sold and with the concert nearly a sold out event, to damage her reputation.
Googoosh’s later recordings include Zoroaster (2000), QQ Bang Bang (2003),Last News (2004), Manifest (2005) and Shabe Sepid(2008).
