Farhad Mehrad (20 January 1944 – 31 August 2002) was a popular Iranian singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. He was a versatile musician who released the first English rock and roll album in Iran. Farhad gained fame among the Iranian rock, pop and folk musicians before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He was prohibited from singing for several years in Iran after the revolution. Farhad's first concert after the Islamic Revolution was held in 1990. He is still recognized as one of the most influential and respected contemporary Iranian singers. Farhad was also the founding member of the popular Iranian band Black Cats.
Farhad's song "Jomeh" (Friday) for the film "Khodahafez Rafigh" in 1971 brought him widespread popularity. Despite rumors that it was a political song written by Shahyar Ghanbari, these allegations were denied by Ghanbari himself on Tapesh TV's "Uncut" Show.
Farhad was born on 20 January 1944 in Tehran, Iran. His father was Reza Mehrad, an Iranian diplomat who worked in the Arabic countries for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When Farhad was three years of age, he stayed outside his brother's room, listening to his violin lessons. His family bought Farhad a cello and he started taking lessons. After three lessons, his cello broke and, as Farhad describes, "The instrument broke into pieces so did my soul". That was the end of the cello for Farhad.
When he went to school, he found a passion for literature. He decided to study literature in high school but with the absence of his father, his uncle forced him to study science despite his weak results on all other subjects other than literature and English language. His interest being ignored, he quit high school in grade 11.
After quitting high school, he met an Armenian music band, The Four Elfs. Using their instruments, he learned music by experience and after a while, he became the guitar player in the band. The band went to southern Iran to perform for the Iranian Oil Company Club – one of the biggest organizations in Iran, with many foreign employees. Before the start of the first night's performance, the band decided that Farhad would be the singer, because of the vocalist's absence.
Farhad's attention and fuss for correct pronunciation of the words, and his knowledge of world literature, came as a good advantage; when he performed a few songs in Italian, French and English, it was hard to believe his mother tongue was Persian. That led to the band's success, and they performed for an extended number of nights.
After a while, Farhad quit the band and started his solo career. In 1964, he performed a few English songs on an Iranian TV show, where he captured the attention of more people.
Later, in an event sponsored by Etelat Javanan, a popular youth magazine, he performed in Amjadieh Stadium. He played a few songs with the guitar which was followed by a huge crowd response. That was when Shahbal Shabpareh, the frontman of the Iranian popular band Black Cats heard about Farhad.
In 1967, sometime later after Shahbal and Farhad met, Farhad joined the Black Cats as a vocalist, guitar player and piano player. The Black Cats members were Shahbal Shabpareh (percussion), Shahram Shabpareh (guitar), Hassan Shamaizadeh (saxophone), Homayoun Khajehnouri (guitar), and Manouchehr Eslami (trumpet). The band started playing in the Couchini Club.
Manouchehr Eslami called Farhad the most important member of the band, saying:
Despite the fact that he couldn't read music sheets and had learned the music by listening and playing by experience, Farhad did not need to attend the practice sessions. By whispering the song a few times, he could synchronize his voice and instrument with the other band members. In fact, he attended the sessions only for the respect of other band members.
In the busiest and most successful time of the band, the first Persian song of Farhad, called Age Ye Jo Shaans Daashti ("With a Little Bit of Luck"), was used in dubbing the movie Banooye Zibaye Man (My Fair Lady) into Persian.
After a while, Farhad left the Black Cats to take care of his sick sister in England. Farhad met a famous producer, and he was offered a record deal by him. Farhad became ill and due to his illness and personal problems, the deal never took place. The journey which was supposed to last for two months, took one year.
In 1969, Farhad sang "Marde Tanha" ("A Lonely Man") for the movie Reza Motori (Reza, the Biker). The song was composed by Esfandyar Monfaredzadeh and the lyrics were written by Shahyar Ghanbari. After the release of the movie, the song was released on gramophone record and Farhad became a well-known singer.
Farhad only sang songs which had a message and he believed in their messages. That's why after "Marde Tanha" he only released three singles during the period from 1971 until 1973. Those were "Jomeh" ("Friday"), "Hafteye Khakestari" ("The Grey Week") and "Ayeneha" ("Mirrors").
Farhad dedicated the song "Shabaneh" to Sadegh Solhizadeh, M.D., the doctor who helped him overcoming his addiction.
Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution and during the political conflicts of the 1970s in Iran, Farhad recorded six songs with revolutionary messages that became the Iranian's voice of unity.