Mahasti (Eftekhar Dadehbala) November 16, 1946 - June 25, 2007

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Background Mahasti was an Iranian legend singer who was recognized as the "Banooye Delha" (Lady of hearts). She was the younger sister of Hayedeh, another Iranian legend singer. Mahasti's voice was discovered by maestro Parviz Yahaghi, a distinguished Iranian composer and violinist. She was amongst a rare group of singers who "started" their careers on the prestigious Persian traditional music radio program Gol hâ ye Rangârang, in 1963 with the song "Anke Delam Râ " composed and arranged by maestro Parviz Yahaghi with lyrics from Bijan Taraghi. She has worked with some of the most famous Iranian composers, including Parviz Yahaghi, Habibollah Badiei, Homayoon Khorram, Asadollah Malek, Anooshiravan Rohani, Jahanbakhsh Pazooki, Hasan Shamaeizadeh, Mohammad Heidari, Jamshid Sheibani, Sadegh Nojooki, Manoochehr Cheshmazar and Shahbal Shabpreh as well as some younger composers such as Bijan Mortazavi, Faramarz Aasef, Mehrdad Asemani, and Shadmehr Aghili.

Musical career In the beginning, her family was reluctant to allow her to pursue a career in entertainment because it was not appreciated for women at the time in Iran. However, Mahasti overcame this stigma by providing Iran with a new image for women within the entertainment industry. She was an image of a "gentle-woman", a lady with great manners. Her enormous success in music opened the way for many other women. Mahasti and her sister Hayedeh, made tremendous contributions to improving the image of female singers in Iran and in making the transition of Iranian music from where it was then, to where it is now. Mahasti's career was remarkable. In 2005, she was awarded the Persian Female Pop-Classic Vocalist of Excellence by the World Academy of Arts, Literature and Media (formerly Persian Academy Awards) for over 40 years of top performance in Persian pop music. She sang more than 400 songs, and produced more than 35 music albums. She has worked with several other singers, including Hayedeh (her sister), Sattar, Akbar Golpaygani (Golpa), Iraj (Hossein Khajeh Amiri), Mahmoodi Khansari, Aref, Moein, Shahram Solati, Faramarz Asef, Homeyra, Hasan Shamaeizadeh, and Sadegh Nojooki.

Personal life Mahasti married Kouros Nazemiyan and gave birth to her only child, Sahar. Her marriage with Nazemiyan ultimately ended in divorce. Nazemiyan was executed by the Revolutionary Court of the new Islamic Republic shortly after revolution. Several years later she re-married to Bahram Sanandaji, however their marriage also ended. In 1978, Just before the Iranian Revolution she immigrated to the United Kingdom and then to the United States where she lived thereafter.

Death In March 2007, Mahasti publicly announced that she had been battling colon cancer for four years. She hoped that her experience would raise awareness within the Iranian community regarding cancer and the significance of constant physical examinations. She was then living in Santa Rosa, California with her daughter, Sahar. She died at 7:52 AM on June 25, 2007 in Santa Rosa. Mahasti was interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California on June 29, 2007 the same cemetery where her sister Hayedeh was also buried at. Her funeral was broadcast live on Persian Broadcasting TV’s and was attended by many Persian celebrities and stars and other artists including the mayor of Beverly Hills Jimmy Delshad and designer Bijan Pakzad.

Some Albums on exile

1991: Deldadeh 1991: Gol-haye Ranga-Rang 1991: Sepedeh Dam 1991: Ziafat 1992: Album 2 1992: Asir 1992: Mosafer 1993: Ghasam 1993: Moj 1994: Nameh 1994: Ashofteh 1994: Beganneh 1994: Havay Yaar 1995: Parandeha (with Leila Forouhar, Shahram Solati) 1995: Haghe-ghat 1996: Bazm Mahasty & Sattar 1996: Labkhand 1998: Havay Ashegee 1999: Avazak 1999: Hamesh Ashgh 1999: Tou Bezan ta Man Beraghsam 2000: Avay Deldadegan 2001: Gole Gandom (with Sattar) 2003: Evergreen 2005: Az Khoda Khasteh

Singles

2007: Music ( With Leila Forouhar, andy, aref, and...)