TEHRAN -- Veteran folksinger Ahmad Ashurpur has died at the age of 90 in Tehran’s Jam Hospital on Saturday after suffering from a lung infection.

His funeral was held today and the procession commenced from Tehran’s Vahdat Hall. He will be buried in his hometown.
Born in Iran’s northern city of Bandar Anzali in 1917, Ashurpur was a prominent folk singer in the province of Gilan.
He graduated in agricultural engineering from the University of Tehran. He began his career as a singer at the age of 22 when he was introduced to the renowned musician, Abolhassan Saba (1902-1957) and he took part in radio broadcasts.
At that time Iran’s music was under the influence of the music of Eastern Europe. He created a new style combining the waltz rhythm with Gilan’s rich vocal music.
He had a repertoire of more than 70 songs, about 50 of which have been recorded. Amongst his most popular songs were “O Leily”, “Bandar Anzali’s Moonlight” and “Jingeh Jingeh Jan”.
He was at the forefront in the gathering of Gilan’s folk songs from various parts of the province and often combined them with foreign music.
He cooperated with musicians Ruhollah Khaleqi, Morteza Mahjubi and Hossein Khaleqi.
Hossein Haqqani, Babak Robukheh and Mohammad Rezaiirad collected some of Ashurpur’s memoires in a book entitled “The Rising Sun, the Stormy Sun” which was published by Cheshmeh Publications.
He gave his last performances four years ago at the Andisheh Hall.