Polad Bulbuloghlu

Three of his songs became Songs of the Year and he received numerous prestigious awards in the Soviet Union. Bulbuloghlu is a lyrical tenor. In the late 1990s, despite having a huge success with a new version arranged by Paul Buckmaster of his old song Gəl Ey Səhər (Come, Hey Morning!) in Turkey and sold-out concerts in Russia, Bulbuloghlu started a political career. He became the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia and member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan. In 2017, he was a candidate for the post of Director-General of UNESCO. He withdrew his candidacy on October 10 after getting only 2 votes in the first round of the election.

Polad Bulbuloghlu studied at Baku Academy of Music. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are pop and estrada. Positions recorded include Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Minister of Culture of the Azerbaijan SSR. Distinctions recorded are Order of Friendship, Order of Honour, Independence Order and Sheref Order.

• Name — Polad Bulbuloghlu • Birth Name — Polad Mammadov • Born — 4 February 1945 • Origin — Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR • Genre — Pop, folk • Occupation — Singer, composer, actor • Years Active — 1968–present • Spouse — Bela Rudenko

Bulbuloghlu was born Polad Murtuza oghlu Mammadov on February 4, 1945, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR. His father was Murtuza Rza oglu Mammadov (1897–1961), better known by sobriquet Bulbul (lit. "nightingale"), a famous Azerbaijani opera singer and a native of Shusha, who exposed Polad to musical culture from an early age. His Batumi-born mother Adelaida Mammadova (née Gasimova, 1922–2015), who was the director of the Bulbul Museum until her death, was the daughter of Rza Gasimov, son of an Azerbaijani merchant from Yerevan, and his wife Ketevan who belonged to the Georgian noble Vezirishvili family. Polad studied the piano in a music school and then studied composing in the Baku Academy of Music, under Gara Garayev. By the age of 17 he composed several songs that were performed by professionals, as well as songs for his friend Muslim Magomayev. Bülbüloğlu's singing talent was also discovered on a trip to Moscow with Magomayev, where Bulbuloghlu recorded his own songs in the Azerbaijani language. In his career, Bulbuloghlu combined modern music style with national Azerbaijani music to create a new musical stream in the Soviet Union. He toured the entire USSR and performed around the world. In 1982, Bülbüloğlu became a National Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR. He participated in the Soviet television program and festival Song of the Year and won the first prize on four occasions. His songs were performed, among others, by Muslim Magomayev, Joseph Kobzon and Lev Leshchenko. In 1969, Bulbuloghlu became a member of the USSR Union of Composers and the USSR Union of Cinematographers. He composed music for over twenty feature films and had leading roles in several. Among others, he worked with the Russian director Eduard Smolny. Bulbuloghlu has a star at the Moscow Performers' Square, inaugurated in 2000. He received a doctorate of the History of Art from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Culture and holds an honorary professorship in the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. Polad's son, Teimur Polad oghlu Bulbul, born in 1975, is a musician in the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio and a Meritorious Artist of the Russian Federation.

Bulbuloghlu managed the Stage Ensemble of the Azerbaijan SSR (from 1976) and the Azerbaijan National Philharmonic Orchestra for several years (from 1987), and in 1988 became the Culture Minister of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1995, he joined the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. In 2006, Polad left the post of Minister of Culture and moved to Moscow, where he was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation. In 2017 Polad Bülbüloğlu ran for head of UNESCO, but dropped out of the race. On August 18, 2024, Polad Bulbuloglu announced that he was leaving the post of Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia. The artist and politician was elected member of the parliament, representing the cities of Aghdam, Khojavend and Shusha (Nagorno-Karabakh region), where he spent his childhood.

• People's Artist of Turkmenistan (2017) • Om emerit al Republicii Moldova (2005) • People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR

• Year — Title — Russian title — Role • 2013 — Don't Be Afraid, I Am Here For You 1919 — Не бойся, я с тобой 1919 — Teymur • 2006 — Park of a Soviet Era — Парк советского периода — cameo • 1981 — Don't Be Afraid, I Am Here For You — Не бойся, я с тобой — Teymur • 1973 — On the Wings of Song — На крыльях песни — singer • 1970 — Rhythms of Apsheron — Ритмы Апшерона — cameo • 1970 — "Margaret" Storms — Бушует "Маргарита» — singer • 1966 — Tales of the Russian Forest — Сказки русского леса — singer • 1954 — To the Beloved Nation — Родному народу — cameo • Source: kino-teatr.ru

• Şən Azərbaycan (1970) • Gəl Ey Səhər (Come, Hey Morning!)

Polad Bulbuloghlu was recorded at birth as Polad Murtuza oğlu Məmmədov. The authorities additionally record the heading Polad Bülbüloğlu. He was the child of Bulbul and Adelaida Memmedova.