Sherali Joʻrayev

Sherali Joʻrayev (Uzbek: Sherali Joʻrayev / Шерали Жўраев, Russian: Шерали Джураев; 12 April 1947 – 4 September 2023) was an Uzbek singer, songwriter, poet, author, and actor. He was an influential figure in Uzbek cultural life for nearly five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1980s and 1990s.

Sherali Joʻrayev
Sherali Joʻrayev / Шерали Жўраев
Background information
Born(1947-04-12)12 April 1947
Asaka, Andijan Region, Uzbek SSR, USSR
Died4 September 2023(2023-09-04) (aged 76)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
GenresTraditional music
Occupationssinger, songwriter, poet, author, and actor
Years active1972–2023
Awards:

His most famous songs include "Birinchi muhabbatim", "Inson qasidasi", "Karvon", "Oshiqlar sardori", and "Oʻzbegim", which are regularly played at public events and weddings in Uzbekistan and neighboring Central Asian countries. Joʻrayev's lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. Some of his lyrics have become part of everyday Uzbek vocabulary. While Joʻrayev usually wrote both the music and lyrics to his songs, he also used lines from the poems of Ali-Shir Nava'i, Babur, Jami, Rumi, Abdulla Oripov, and Erkin Vohidov in his songs.

Joʻrayev wrote the screenplay and played the leading role in the 1989 film Sherali va Oybarchin. He also penned two books, Bola dunyoni tebratar (1988) and Bir qoʻshiq kuylayki... (2023). He was a member of the Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan from 1990 to 1995.

Joʻrayev was awarded dozens of awards and nominations, including the title People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1987). In 1991, he received the Alisher Navoiy State Prize. He was also awarded the orders of Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun (2018) and El-Yurt Hurmati (2022).[1] In 2018, he became a People's Artist of neighboring Tajikistan, an extremely rare feat for a performer who is not a citizen of Tajikistan.

Starting from 2002, Uzbek government authorities banned Joʻrayev's appearance on Uzbek television and radio. He fell out of favor with the government for his critical remarks about the difficult economic situation in the country. Following the death of President Islam Karimov in 2017, the unofficial ban on Joʻrayev was lifted and in subsequent years he was regularly featured on state television.

Early life and education

Sherali Joʻrayev was born in 1947 in Asaka, then the Uzbek SSR, USSR. His exact birthday is unknown. He symbolically chose 12 April to be his birthday. Joʻrayev graduated from the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts and Culture in 1976.

From 1972 until 1979, Joʻrayev worked at the Shodlik Song and Dance Ensemble. From 1979 to 1986, he worked at the Andijan Province Philharmonic. From 1986 to 1996, he worked at the Uzbek State Philharmonic.

Music career

Throughout his long career, Joʻrayev wrote and recorded close to 600 songs.[2] Joʻrayev was interested in and influenced by classic Turkic and Persian poetry. In 2008, he organized gatherings at his home to celebrate the works of Rumi.[3]

His most famous songs include "Bahor ayyomi" (lyrics taken from a Babur poem), "Birinchi muhabbatim" (lyrics taken from an Abdulla Oripov poem), "Inson qasidasi" (lyrics taken from an Erkin Vohidov poem), "Karvon" (lyrics taken from an Usmon Azim poem), "Meni kutgil" (lyrics taken from a Konstantin Simonov poem), "Oshiqlar sardori" (lyrics taken from a Rasul Gamzatov poem), "Oʻzbegim" (lyrics taken from an Erkin Vohidov poem), "Oʻxshamas" (lyrics taken from an Ali-Shir Nava'i poem), and many others.

Joʻrayev's was frequently invited to important state celebrations and other countries to perform, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia. In honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 78th birthday, British Ambassador Craig Murray welcomed more than a thousand guests to his residence in Tashkent on 23 April 2004. The celebrations featured Joʻrayev, Sevara Nazarkhan, and a Chamber Orchestra. At the same time, the British Embassy arranged a tour of Uzbekistan by Scotland's Battlefield Band, with whom Joʻrayev performed at the residency before a large and influential audience.

Joʻrayev's song Oʻzbegim was featured on the 2005 album Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia which was released by World Music Network.

Other works

Joʻrayev was a member of the Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan from 1990 to 1995. In 1988, Joʻrayev wrote a book entitled Bola dunyoni tebratar.[4] In 2023, a few months before his death, he published his second book entitled Bir qoʻshiq kuylayki.... Joʻrayev also wrote the screenplay and played the leading role in the 1989 film Sherali va Oybarchin.

Censorship

In 2002 Uzbek government authorities banned Joʻrayev's appearance on Uzbek television and radio stations because of his "alleged political unreliability".[5] He fell out of favour with the Uzbek government for his critical remarks about the difficult economic situation in the country.[6] The singer generally avoided talking about the ban in public.[7]

In 2017, one year after the death of Islam Karimov, Joʻrayev was briefly shown on state television.[8] In subsequent years until his death in 2023 he was regularly featured on state television.

Personal life

Joʻrayev kept his private life away from the public. According to some sources, he was married three times. These sources claim that the singer did not have any children with his first wife and therefore divorced her.

Joʻrayev was also reported to have been briefly married to the dancer Zulxumor Qodirova, who later became a Meritorious Artist of Uzbekistan.[9] The relationship received much media scrutiny, especially after Qodirova's son Botir Qodirov, also a singer, claimed Joʻrayev was his father. Joʻrayev vehemently denied having fathered Qodirov and publicly accused him of slander.[9]

In public Joʻrayev claimed that he was married only once and that he had five children, two sons and three daughters. Two of his sons, Shohjahon Joʻrayev and Zohir Shoh Joʻrayev, are popular singers in Uzbekistan.

Joʻrayev died on 4 September 2023, at the age of 76.[10][11] There had been speculation about his ill health since 2021. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed condolences over the death of the singer.[12]

Accolades

Throughout his career Joʻrayev received dozens of awards and nominations, including the title People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1987).[13] In 1991, he received the Alisher Navoiy State Prize. He was also awarded the orders of Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun (2018) and El-Yurt Hurmati (2022).[14] In 2018, he became a People's Artist of neighboring Tajikistan.[15]

Discography
  • Yor-yor (1980)
  • Oq qayin (1982)
  • Karvon (1986)
  • Kuy sehri (1987)

References
  1. "Скончался певец Шерали Джураев". Kun (in Russian). 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  2. Rustamov, Sirojiddin (6 September 2023). ""Cho'pon bolasidan mamlakat ramzigacha…" – Sherali Jo'rayevga atalgan hamdardlik yomg'iri". Oyina (in Uzbek). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  3. Ashur, Sadriddin (30 December 2008). "Шерали концерт берди" [Sherali gives a concert]. Ozodlik (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Uzbek Service) (in Uzbek). Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. "Ребенок – владыка Земли" [The Child is the Master of Earth]. Biblus Bibliographical Catalogue (in Russian). Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  5. "The art of propaganda". EurasiaNet. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  6. "Узбекистан: Народному певцу Шерали Джураеву исполняется шестьдесят лет. Его концерты – под запретом властей" [Uzbekistan: National singer Sherali Joʻrayev is sixty. His concerts — banned by authorities]. Ferghana News (in Russian). 26 April 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  7. Tangiyorova, Mustahkam (25 August 2009). "Шерали Жўраев ўғилларининг ўз йўлини истайди" [Sherali Joʻrayev wants his sons to follow their own paths]. BBC's Uzbek Service (in Uzbek). Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. "Sherali Joʻrayev hali kontsert bermaydi" [Sherali Joʻrayev not giving a concert any time soon]. BBC's Uzbek Service (in Uzbek). 24 March 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  9. "Народный артист Узбекистана Шерали Джураев возмущен слухами о родстве с молодым певцом". Фергана (in Russian). 28 November 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  10. "O'zbekiston xalq hofizi Sherali Jo'rayev vafot etdi". Kun.uz (in Uzbek). 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  11. "Xalq hofizi Sherali Jo'rayev vafot etdi". Ozodlik (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Uzbek Service) (in Uzbek). 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  12. "Ўзбекистон халқ артисти Шерали Жўраев вафоти муносабати билан ҳамдардлик". President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (in Uzbek). 5 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. "Joʻrayev, Sherali". Oʻzbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi (in Uzbek). Tashkent: Oʻzbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi. 2005.
  14. "Скончался певец Шерали Джураев". Kun (in Russian). 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  15. Yuldashev, Avaz (30 August 2018). "Шерали Джураев получил звание Народного артиста Таджикистана". Asia-Plus (in Russian). Retrieved 8 September 2023.
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