Farhad Mehrad (20 January 1944 – 31 August 2002), commonly known as Farhad, was an Iranian pop, rock, and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, who released the first English rock and roll album in Iran. He rose to prominence among Iranian rock, folk and pop musicians before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but after the revolution, he was banned from singing for several years in Iran.

![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. Being the youngest child, he always behaved differently from his family members and everyone assumed he was trying to act like an adult. When Farhad was three years of age, his love for music was noticed when 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 and his love and passion for music ended up to be only listening to his brother playing the violin.

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 because he had no love for what he was studying ](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/qTBqBbSCf5X9RtXKOyUHL.jpg?height=971&width=1200)

![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".[1]

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.

1969–1974

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.](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/qi0R4ijIzUrHkt6rAlzez.jpg?height=491&width=740)

dont forget collect❤