He is the most magnificent of performers and musicians that the Turkish music world has ever had. The symbol name of the 1960s, one of the giant names of Anatolian Rock, Cem Karaca was the biggest representative in music in the years when the left was very strong in the country. He touched on social issues in almost every piece and interpreted the poems and ballads of folk poets. I invite you to read the stormy life of Cem Karaca, the giant artist of stormy years of Turkiye...

Muhtar Cem Karaca was born as the child of a synthesis that is seen in our geography rarely.   That day, the calendars was showing April 5, 1945 when he was born in the backstage of the theater in Bakırköy Istanbul. His father was Azeri Turk Mehmet İbrahim Karaca and his mother was Armenian-born Turkish Toto Karaca. Both were important theater actors in the History of the Republic of Turkiye. Cem Karaca grown in the stage dust while he was still born, and maybe that was the reason why he became a giant every time he went on stage.

Just like Erkin Koray, thanks to his mother Cem Karaca was also introduced to music. He took the first lessons of his musical education from his mother and his great aunt Rosa Felegyan with piano. The master's voice was discovered by his mother, Toto Karaca, who knows him best. Piano lessons, notes, melodies would quickly engulf Cem Karaca like a whirlpool and when he took the microphone he would start singing Rock N Roll songs with the influence of the period he was in.

Cem Karaca was one of the names affected by the wind of change and freedom blowing all over the world in the 1960s, like Erkin Koray, Fikret Kızılok, Barış Manço and other valuable artists whose names I can't count here… He sang his first compositions or songs with English lyrics, emulating others. The first arrangements of folk songs, the first arrangements of Alevi melodies, even the innovations in Turkish Classical Music and the emergence of arabesque all coincide with this period. The period called stormy years for us, where the name of freedom is mentioned most often...

Music, which is a mirror of society, expressed especially in those years, the freedom, rebellion against state wars, the rise of opposition to mass consumption of people. Brave artists have made these bold risings. With his upright stance, sharp language and theatrical music, Cem Karaca became the most prominent of those artists. However, Turkey's original structure was while the renaissance of music was being experienced in Europe, to try to live only by breathing amongst of the military coups. The oppressive mentalities of 1960, 1971, 1980 may even have led creative and warlike minds to peak in art.

The group that participated in the Golden Microphone competition in 1965 as Cem Karaca and the Jaguars failed to qualify. He was working on Rock n Roll style songs with Dynamics and Jaguars. His voice was strong and he could have anyone’s ear on whatever he said.

He enlisted in the military only three days after he made his first marriage to theater artist Semra Özgür on December 22, 1965. He started his military service in Antakya 121st Gendarmerie Private Training Regiment. This was the turning point in his life. He was introduced to the depths of his country's music in the military by other privates. He hed been fascinated when he listened to “Bağlama” (a Turkish Country Musical Instrument) first time from afar and said by meaning the RocknRoll songs, “none of those songs can’t outspeak my longing for my wife and parents.”  Then he started to study Turkish Folk Music, for which he said "Turkish Folk Music, which is the core music of my own people". He met Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, one of the Turkish poets, during his military service. Cem Karaca. When he finished his military service and returned to Istanbul, he joined the Apaşlar, the best amateur band in the country at that time, founded by guitarist Mehmet Soyaslan. When Mehmet Soyaslan was describing his first meeting with Cem Karaca,  As if to say, “Once upon a time, he came like an overlord…” he said ; "We did a rehearsal together, we loved each other very much, we started working together from that day on."

Cem Karaca and Apaşlar (can be pronounced as in Apashlar) started to get used to each other by making music in a luxury nightclub. “There was a nightclub called “Karavan” in Galatasaray,” said Mehmet Soyaslan, in an interview, adding that Erkin Koray and Erol Büyükburç also performed there at Karavan, one of the luxury clubs where families and young students used to go. Apaşlar, known for their Anatolian Rock songs, participated in the Golden Microphone competition with Cem Karaca in February 1967. The name of the melody was “Emrah” and the result was second place. However, they were chosen as the most popular group of Golden Microphone that year.

Cem Karaca Song : Emrah

Cem Karaca and Apaşlar first went on an Anatolian tour and then went to Germany to promote themselves abroad. Written by Mehmet Soyaslan and sung by Cem Karaca, “Resimdeki Gözyaşları” (Tears in the snapshot) became one of Karaca's pop hits and made a big splash. It was even remade for the movie “Ağır Roman” (Heavy Novel) in 1997. Naim Dilmener, the music critic, said, "It's so striking with its intro," for "Tears in the snapshot", whose energy never ends. According to the critic Dilmener, the period between 1970 and 1975 was the best period for Cem Karaca.

Cem Karaca, who ranked 4th in the most popular male singers survey organized by Milliyet Newspaper (Nationwide newspaper), is 3rd among Turkish songs with his "Gözyaşları in the Picture".

However, this was not the music philosophy of Cem Karaca. Instead of individual romantic melodies, he wanted to shout out the problems that the people could not express, which were more social. For this reason, Cem Karaca came into conflict with the Apaşlar group over time and parted ways. Because Mehmet Soyaslan did not want his group to be the subject of political discourse.

Cem Karaca & Kardaşlar

Later, he founded the band “Kardaşlar” with Seyhan Karabağ, the lead guitarist of the Apaşlar Group. Dadaloğlu / Kalender extended play, released by the group in 1971, was highly appreciated. In those years, Cem Karaca was nicknamed Mr. Dadaloğlu and the leftist youth identified him with Dadaloğlu. In the same year, he released another protest extended play titled “Oy Gülüm Oy”. When he went to Germany for a concert with these songs, the March 12, 1971 coup was taking place in Turkey. "Oy Gülüm Oy", Cem Karaca and the Kardaşlar group, which had been collected by the soldiers, were summoned to come to Turkiye. For this reason, he did not want to come back and lived in Germany for a while and then came to Turkey.

HEY, the famous youth and music magazine of the period, selected Cem Karaca as the best male artist of 1971 in 1972 and then he personally participated in HEY's tour. He left Kardaşlar group as a result of conflicts with Seyhan Karabay.

Cem Karaca agrees with the group named Moğollar (Mongols), one of the leading and powerful groups of the Anatolian Rock genre, and at this time an interesting exchange takes place between the two groups. Having a conflict with the Mongols, Ersen Dinleten leaves his group and joins Kardaşlar.

In the poll conducted by Milliyet Newspaper at the end of 1972, Cem Karaca would take the 2nd place in the list of the best male singers, while the Mongols would be crowned as the best local ensemble.

While the oppressive effect of the 1971 military coup on society was still felt intensely, Cem Karaca's art language was still sociable and still sharp-tongued.

With the performance of "Honor Trouble", which was released in the first days of 1974, they were now known throughout the country. Honor Trouble, to which feminists reacted by interpreting the piece differently, was Cem Karaca's biggest hit. In fact, the woman was trying to show that she was with him in that piece. After this record, Cahit Berkay decided to continue all his works in France, and Cem Karaca decided to part ways with the Mongols.

Even though the groups changed, Cem Karaca was on his way. In 1974, he took Taner Öngür with him and founded the group called Dervişan. Cem Karaca, who became more and more gigantic on the stage, started to give concerts to 10 thousand and 20 thousand people. In the continuation of his harsh rhetoric, he would release the “Yoksulluk Kader Olamaz” (Poverty Cannot Be Destiny) extended play, which was almost integrated with the left-wing, with the Dervişan group.

1975 was witnessing a new unforgettable song again. “Tamirci Çırağı”, (The Mechanic's Apprentice) revealed to the society how class divisions deepened. He emphasized the position of the workers in a very simple way. When he first played this song to Cahit Berkay, Cahit Berkay; "Cem, this is a masterpiece, you put the cat among the pigeos," he said. He really blew things up and said to middle or lower class peope "you are a worker, stay as a worker" to the dreamers who were trying to jump an aupper class. The substance of the message was “Your power comes from your class, if you want a different life, you have to unite with other workers.” This awsome melody was giving this socialist message. Cem, who theatrically staged his performance on stage, was wearing worker overalls while singing “Tamirci Çırağı” (The Mechanic’s Apprentice). In fact, all of his songs were composed of social stories, and while he was reflecting this on the stage, he easily impressed the audience by means of this talent coming from growing up in the theater.

At the end of 1975, his extended play, which he would call  Mutlaka Yavrum / Kavga (Absolutely My Baby/Fight), were recorded. The first song “Mutlaka Yavrum” (Absolutely My Baby)  was prepared for the Palestine Liberation Organization and apart from 2 different Turkish arrangements, there were also unreleased Arabic and English versions.

Cem Karaca continued walking in his hard and straight line. He released the “İhtarname” (The Protest) Album. The song “Parka” (Parka) , which he wrote based on a newspaper clipping in 1977, became another hit. In the melody called “Parka”, was telling about a young boy who was wearing parka and found dead with for bullets holes on. That parka had been bought by his veteran grandfather with his retired pension.  Cem Karaca's social approach was completely based on true stories of the real people. The grand master actually touched every individual of the society, from those who killed their wives for the sake of honor, to people living in debt, to young people who were shot dead in political conflicts, to miners, to teachers etc.

Their first Longplay, “Yoksulluk Kader Olamaz” (Poverty Cannot Be Destiny) arrived in 1977. Meanwhile, in 1976, it was reported that he was chosen as the best male singer by HEY magazine once again. When he sang the “1 Mayıs” (1 May) written by Sarper Özsan, sort of marching music with his magnificent voice, he again managed to impress the mass of population in Turkiye. However the government did not watch the developments and filed a lawsuit against Cem Karaca about this album, which was released in December 1977, and the record was collected from the market. Thus, "May 1" as extended play became the last record of Cem Karaca Dervişan. Just to remind the near history of Turkiye, on May 1, 1977, there had been a terrible slaughter in Istanbul Taksim at the end of march of workers with 34 dead and more than one hundred wounded. That was very sensitive issue and then it was said that some people with long range rifles in Intercontinental Hotel fired against the crowded.…

Taner Öngür (Musician at Mongols), a bit sorrowful smile on his lips, was telling one of his memories with his old friend as if he was sharing an event that could not be;

He was singing the songs “Tamirci Çırağı” (The Mechanic's Apprentice), “1 Mayıs”etc, at the casino where people came to have fun. Now we are going to a 1500-person hall. We perform earlier than Zeki Müren (the mast famous Turkish Classical Music Singer) who is the last singer as the star performer. Three-fourths of the hall is full of left-wing youths with slightly long hair and moustaches,” Taner smiles even more. Then he enjoys with what he says, “1 Mayıs is being sung, there are slogans such as “down with America”, “down with fascism”. We get off the stage when we finished with performing, of course, three fourths of the hall leaves there. We saw that Zeki Müren changed the program the next day. We then started to sing as last one.”

"May 1" was the song of his son Emrah that he never liked. Because his father was judged mostly because of this melody, and Emrah was growing up away from his father. This was the government trauma of the period inflicted on a child. Singer Cem Karaca, the song's composer Sarper Özsan, and record label owner Ali Avaz were also accused in this case. Cem Karaca started his European tour during this period. Shortly after the court case started, his father Mehmet Karaca died. Cem Karaca could not join his father's funeral just because of this case.

He set a new band in 1978. EDİRDAHAN, the essence of the group stretching from Edirne on one end of Turkey to Ardahan on the other, that symbolizes Turkiye. He released “Safinaz”, his first and last single recorded with the band Edirdahan. This record was about the fall of a girl named Safinaz into a bad way in an 18-minute rock opera never seen before in Türkiye. Safinaz was a girl who lived in a single room with her family. She wanted to get rid of the difficult life she lived, but could not find the right solution both for herself and her familiy. Again, Cem Karaca presented a subject he caught from the society life by making it theatrical and this time he exceeded his own limits with rock opera once again. Other songs of the single were the compositions of Ahmed Arif and Nazım Hikmet poems.

Edirdahan did not live long either just like the others. The group broke up in 1979 and Cem Karaca started working alone. During this period, he said, "I do not have the freedom to express myself as I want," and went to Germany. He released the album “Hasret” (Longing). Most of “Hasret” consisted of compositions of Nazım Hikmet's poems.

Let's go to one of Taner Öngür's memories again in the interview that he talks about Cem Karaca’s life. It was a deep irony in this anecdote that the master artist who had so many compositions describing the problems of society, was attacked on the street by the same society.

Taner Öngür's face had an expression that lived through the worry of that day. “I quit him with this incident finally,” Taner Öngür was saying while describing how Dervişan broke up. “Cem Karaca and Dervisan were attacked on the street in Urfa. The issue is this; The communists came and they will burn the mosque.”

In fact, it was always the same deception. The mosque was burning! The communists and leftists of this country were their enemies.

Öngür continued as follows; “Cem Karaca Dervişan group will stop working, instead of giving a concert, they will go and burn the mosque. Would that nonsense be real? Some young people egged on attacking us had been brought there, we were walking on the street, they attacked us with batlike sticks and chains. Then the cinema was shot during the concert.”  The sorrowful smile in the last sentence was enough to tell us how extraordinary things they had experienced, no matter how hard he tried to hide his face. The sequel was better. “The concert is over, we gathered the instruments, the information came. We were going to Urfa. They ambushed the Urfa road, they will take us down and kill us. This was the situation in those years,” Taner Öngür concludes, but the “situation” in the country did not end. For years, the enemies of social approaches in the society would always burn those (so called) who burned mosques. Thus, the band was dispersed by these threats and the attacks that took place.

And when it came to September 12, 1980, another military coup took place, the trauma of which will not be erased from the memory of public for a long time. Turkey had entered a period of intimidation, detention, torture and executions that would last for many years. Countless people and artists, journalists and writers were tortured in police stations without questioning. Cem Karaca, like many artists, got his share from this environment. He was on trial in absentia for the striking song "1 Mayıs" (1 May), the album cover and the allegation that he spoke against the country's government at a concert he gave in Germany. Cem Karaca expressed his astonishment about this case in an interview made with him years later.

“I, sir, was informed that I was establishing an army like Soviet Red Army type in Germany and that I would come to Turkey and overthrow the power of the military. God, what the hell am I," he said, expressing his astonishment.

Melike Demirağ, Selda Bağcan, Şanar Yurdatapan and Sema Poyraz, along with Cem Karaca, were summoned to the country by the Martial Law Court after the September 12 Americanizer military coup. They were given time until March 13, 1981. Cem Karaca, who lives in Bonn, requested additional time to return home. Until July 15, 1982, Cem Karaca's term was extended, but Karaca stated that he would not return to Türkiye, and after his term expired, he was denaturalised of Turkish citizenship on January 6, 1983, the same day as Yılmaz Güney (Turkish actor, movie producer and writer).

Almost no one in Turkey knew how he lived and what he did during his exile years in Germany.

“He made an extraordinary album called Die Kanaken,” says Naim Dilmener about Cem Karaca's years of exile in Germany. “Together with German musicians and musicians exiled from Turkiye. But since any news about his exile period was not published in our country, it is thought that he did not produce anything during his absence, no, it is not. He even did much better things. We just don't know."

Die Kanaken meant cockroach and was a nickname used to humiliate Turks working in Germany. Cem Karaca was affected by the German treatment of Turks as second-class citizens and included these ideas in his works there. All but one part of the album was in German. The album, which tells the difficulties of immigrant Turks in Germany by German playwrights Henry Böseke and Martin Burkert, and the albüm was later turned into a theater play. After the release of the album, Karaca took the stage and introduced it as Die Kanaken, which was the name of the album, on German television.

The following note was written about him on the back cover of the Die Kanaken album.

“Cem Karaca is a rock star in his country, Türkiye. Most of Karaca's songs, which have released nearly 50 songs and LPs, have social lyrics. In January 1981, while he was in Federal Germany, he began to be summoned in his country because of his last album. Thereupon, Karaca did not return to his country. The singer, whose property was confiscated, who was sentenced to 200 years in prison and was denaturalized of his Turkish citizenship in 1983. Known for singing the poems of Nazım Hikmet while he is in Germany, Karaca first appeared in front of the audience in early 1983 with German lyrics and a music composed of an east-west synthesis. His aim is not to tell what is going on in Turkey, but to tell what is going on here and to try to improve German-Turkish relations. Their songs talk about xenophobia and racism.”

Taner Öngür, saying, "He would have become the most famous artist in Germany if his homesickness had not prevailed," also explains that he went on tour with the band in Germany, that he participated in television programs and impressed Germans with his very good German.

“I am burning to return to Turkiye,” says Cem Karaca when he is in Germany. He gets an appointment from Turgut Ozal (Former prime minister) during his arrival in 1983 and met with him at the Four Seasons Hotel in Munich. Turgut Özal said that he did not have the authority to forgive and asked him to come to Türkiye and be judged. According to Turgut Özal, singing was not a crime! However, this meeting was a turning point in Cem Karaca's life that left bad taste in his mouth. Many of the people who applauded him before had accused him of being a renegade, but he had responded with the song to his accusers. He was saying that returning to the country with longing for his homeland could not be a defection and he was back. This material, which was used by a few people in the media, for quite some time.

Finally, on 27 June 1987, he returned to Turkey and his 7-year longing had been over. He was alone with Müjdat Gezen only, who is an actor came to Yeşilköy Airport to meet him. However, loneliness continued in Yeşilköy as well. The reason for this was the changing country conditions.

There was another generation in the country now, and hardly anyone came to greet him. The habits of the consumption society, which settled with Turgut Özal, found their way in music as well, and apolitical artists such as Aşkın Nur Yengi, Yonca Evcimik, Tarkan, Mustafa Sandal, Serdar Ortaç, and a large part of the society, oriented towards them. Let's have credit cards with full of debt, but we were listening to fun songs and having fun like the Cicadas in those years.

In the same year, he released the album “Merhaba Gençler ve Daima Genç Kalanlar” (Hello Young People and Who Always Young" This album became one of the best selling albums of that year. This album was followed by “Töre” in 1988. After this album, Cem Karaca started to appear on TRT screens, where he was banned.

Despite the country changing, Cem Karaca had not changed in spite of the conditions of the period. In 1992, together with Cahit Berkay, he published these “Yiyin Efendiler” (Eat Gentlemen). According to music critic Murat Beşer, Cem Karaca took a picture of 20, 30 years later. “Döndüm İşte Oh be“  (I'm back, oh yeah!) in the same album. His song was the answer to those who called him a renegade.

Cem Karaca, who is not like everyone else, was criticizing the soldiers who made a coup and liberal economic policies in the song “Rap diye Rap Rap” (Rap rap rap – as in sound of soldier march) in his 1992 album (Long Play) “Nerede Kalmıştık” (Where did we stay).

His last album was "Bindik Bir Alamete", which he recorded in 1999. It was a great nursery rhyme to state that the country's situation was not good at all. At the beginning of the same year, when Barış Manço died, the legendary band Kurtalan Ekspres was without vocals. In the early 2000s, Cem Karaca began performing with Kurtalan Ekspres and gave concerts.

Bakırköy Acıbadem Hospital, where he was hospitalized due to respiratory and heart failure. He was born in Bakırköy, lived a 58 year life to the fullest, sometimes hard and always productive, and passed away in Bakırköy again, leaving a large wake behind him.

“If one day my folk songs are not listened, then alas,” he said. He was confessing his deep sorrow of being forgetten. If you ask my opinion, there will never be a day when his songs are not listened.

He was not alone when he was buried next to his father in the Karaca Ahmet cemetery in Üsküdar İstanbul. A large crowd accompanied his funeral. Those who criticize him without understanding, those who accuse him, even those who do not share the same political and life point of view, were there on Cem's last journey. A large fan base attended with important names such as Erkin Koray, Edip Akbayram, Cahit Berkay, Kayahan, Haluk Levent, Kenan Işık, Erol Büyükburç, Berkant, Sezen Cumhur Önal, İskender Doğan, Nejat Yavaşoğulları, Ahmet Güvenç, Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, Mustafa Sarıgül. to the funeral who are well known actors, artists, singers even political individuals.

His son Emrah Karaca was telling the truth at that point, saying, "If you ask what Turkish music has lost, it may have lost its violence, I don't know, it may have lost its loudness, perhaps its frankness." No one would tell us the drama or a problem that one of us was going through, like he was watching a theater stage, just like he did in a Tamirci Çırağı (Mechanic’s Apprentice), Parka, Kayha Yahya, Safinaz and even many others. Perhaps no one will appear before us with the same upright posture, with the same sharpness and a magnificent voice…

Speaking years after his departure, Müjdat Gezen said, "I was very sad, I felt as if we would never lose Cem," sadly.

“It is very painful, but memories about him are still with me and will always be.” It is impossible not to notice the sadness in Mehmet Soyaslan's voice.

Yes, it is obvious that Cem Karaca will live forever with his memories and the works he left behind. However, if we understand what he wants to tell, maybe we will find solutions to the social wounds he wants us to see.

His last songs, recorded before his death, were published posthumously. The song "Hayvan Terli” (which is Turkish idiom describing one is not deceived) became the first posthumos single released. A clip was made for this song, the lyrics and composition of which belonged to Mehmet Eryılmaz, on the footage of Karaca singing this song in a bar performance. In May 2005, 10 days before his death (2004) he had recorded 'Hayat Ne Garip?' (How stange the life) with Mahsun Kırmızıgül. The track titled was released on Kırmızıgül's album “Sarı Sarı”. A clip consisting of the images of Karaca and Kırmızıgül in the studio was released. In June 2005, he interpreted Yeni Türkü's 'Göç Yolları' in the album “Söz Vermiş Şarkılar” (Songs promised), which consists of new interpretations of songs written by Murathan Mungan.

Yavuz Bingöl, Edip Akbayram, Manga, Teoman, Volkan Konak, Haluk Levent, Suavi, Deniz Seki, Ayhan Yener and Tuğrul Arseven (Popular singers) interpreted the songs of Cem Karaca in the album “Mutlaka Yavrum” (Absolute Baby), which was released in 2005. This album also included a previously unreleased song by Cem Karaca in English. In the 6th year of his death, the song 'Karagözlüm', which he had previously recorded but never published, revealed on Beyaz Show for the first time.

Private Life of Cem Karaca

December 22, 1965 : He married the theater artist Semra Özgür. This marriage ended in a short time.

October 1968 : He married the theater artist Meriç Başaran. It took two years.

August 21, 1972 : He married Feride Balkan. In 1976, their son Emrah was born. Divorced in exile in Germany.

July 5, 1993 : He married Semra Özgür again.

He made his fifth and last marriage with İlkim Erkan.

Films Starring Cem Karaca

1970 – Kralların Öfkesi (Wrath of Kings)

1998 – Kahpe Bizans (Bitchy Byzantium)

2001 – Avcı (Hunter) (TV Series)

2001 – Yeni Hayat (New Life)

TV Show Programs

1994 TRT Raptiye Program presenter

1995 Flash TV Cem Karaca Show

1996 Flash TV Efendime Söyleyeyim

Cem Karaca Discography

Extended Plays

1967

Emrah / Karacaoğlan (Hürriyet Gazetesi H-018) (Apaşlar)

Hudey / Vahşet / Bang Bang / Shakin' All Over (Sayan EP Seri FS 127) (Apaşlar)

Emrah / Hücum / Karacaoğlan / Ayşen (Sayan EP Seri FS 134) (Apaşlar)

Ümit Tarlaları / Anadolu Oyun Havası / Suya Giden Allı Gelin / Nasılda Geçtin? (Sayan EP Seri FS 145) (Apaşlar)

1968

İstanbul'u Dinliyorum / Oy Bana Bana (Türkofon TU-St 1505) (Türküola 1505) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Oy Babo / Hikâye (Türkofon TU-St 1506) (Türküola 1506)

İstanbul / Why (Türkofon TU-St 2010) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Emrah 1970 / Karanlık Yollar (Türkofon TU-St 1507) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Resimdeki Gözyaşları / Emrah (Sayan FS 167) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Resimdeki Gözyaşları / Şans Çocuğu (Türkofon TU-St 1508) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Tears / No , No , No (Türkofon TU-St 2011) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

1969

Ayrılık Günümüz / Gılgamış (Türkofon TU-St 1520) (Türküola 1520) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Zeyno / Niksar (Türkofon TU 1002) (Türküola 1521) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Bu Son Olsun / Felek Beni (Karacaoğlan III) (Türkofon TU 1003) (Türküola 1524) (Apaşlar - Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

1970

Emmioğlu / O Leyli (Türküola 1528) (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Kendim Ettim Kendim Buldum / Erenler (Türküola 1529) (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Adsız / Unut Beni (Türküola 1530) (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Muhtar / Baba (Türküola 1531) (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası)

Dadaloğlu / Kalender (Türkofon M-1014) (Kardaşlar)

1971

Oy Gülüm Oy / Kara Sevda (Türkofon M-1016) (Kardaşlar)

Tatlı Dillim / Demedim mi? (Türkofon M-1017) (Kardaşlar)

Kara Yılan / Lümüne (Türkofon M-1018) (Kardaşlar)

Acı Doktor (Kısım 1) / Acı Doktor (Kısım 2) (Türkofon M-1019) (Kardaşlar)

Kara Üzüm / Mehmet'e Ağıt (Türküola 1536) (Kardaşlar)

1972

Askaros Deresi / Üryan Geldim (Yavuz 1545) (Kardaşlar)

1973

Obur Dünya / El Çek Tabib (Yavuz 1547) (Moğollar)

Gel Gel / Üzüm Kaldı (Yavuz 1553) (Moğollar)

1974

Namus Belası / Gurbet (Yavuz 1560) (Moğollar)

Beyaz Atlı / Yiğitler (Yavuz 1567) (Dervişan)

1975

Tamirci Çırağı / Nerdesin? (Yavuz 1571) (Dervişan)

Mutlaka Yavrum / Kavga (Yavuz 1574) (Dervişan)

Beni Siz Delirttiniz / Niyazi (Yavuz 1578) (Dervişan)

1976

Parka / İhtarname (Yavuz 1582) (Dervişan)

1977

Mor Perşembe / Bir Mirasyediye Ağıt (Yavuz 1585) (Dervişan)

1 Mayıs / Durduramayacaklar Halkın Çoşkun Akan Selini (Gönül GP525) (Dervişan)

1978

1978: Safinaz (Gönül GPLP10)

In Germany 45' (EP)

İstanbul / Why (1968) (Türkofon 2010)

Tears / No , No , No (1968) (Türkofon 2011)

Üryan Geldim / Hasan Kalesi (1973) (Türkofon 1549)

Askaros Deresi / Kazak Abdal (Türkofon 1572)

Hasret / Alamanya (1980) (Türküola EU-115)

Albums (Long Plays)

1974: Cem Karaca'nın Apaşlar, Kardaşlar, Moğollar ve Ferdy Klein'a Teşekkürleriyle (Yavuz LP 1006)

• Beyaz Atlı (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası ile) (Lyrics& Music: Geleneksel)
• Edalı Gelin (Moğollar ile) (Lyrics& Music: Geleneksel)
• Ay Karanlık (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası ile) (Lyrics : Ahmed Arif, Music: Cem Karaca)
• El Çek Tabip (Moğollar ile) (Lyrics : Erzurumlu Emrah Music: Cem Karaca)
• İhtiyar Oldum (Moğollar ile) (Lyrics & Music: Mahzuni Şerif)
• Obur Dünya (Moğollar ile) (Lyrics & Music: Muhlis Akarsu)
• Deniz Üstü Köpürür (Moğollar ile) (Lyrics & Music: Geleneksel)
• Bir Of Çeksem (Apaşlar ile) (Lyrics & Music: Geleneksel)
• Askoros Deresi (Kardaşlar ile) (Lyrics & Music: Geleneksel)
• Unut Beni (Ferdy Klein Orkestrası ile) (Lyrics: Pakize Başaran, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Hasan Kalesi (Kardaşlar ile) (Lyrics : Dadaloğlu, Music: Seyhan Karabay)
• Gel Gel (Moğollar ile) (Lyrics & Music: Cem Karaca)

1977: Yoksulluk Kader Olamaz (Yavuz LP 1021)

• Kerem Gibi (Söz: Nâzım Hikmet, Müzik: Cem Karaca)
• Bir Öğretmene Ağıt (Söz & Müzik: Cem Karaca)
• Adiloş Bebe (Söz: Ahmed Arif, Müzik: Sadık Gürbüz)
• İşçi Marşı (Söz: Can Yücel, Müzik: Taner Öngür)
• Maden Ocağının Dibinde (Söz: A. Kadir, Asım Tanış, Müzik: Cem Karaca)
• Sevdan Beni (Söz: Ahmed Arif, Müzik: Cem Karaca)
• Vay Kurban (Söz: Ahmed Arif, Müzik: Cem Karaca)
• Yoksulluk Kader Olamaz (Söz & Müzik: Cem Karaca)

1980: Hasret (Türküola 1289)

• Hasret (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Giden (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Hoş Geldin Kadınım (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Kız Çocuğu (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Herkes Gibisin (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Yağma Sofrası (Lyrics: Tevfik Fikret, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Alamanya
• Akşam Erken İner Mapushaneye (Lyrics: Ahmed Arif, Music:: Cem Karaca)
• Barış Dikeni (Lyrics: Kerem Çalışkan, Music:: Cem Karaca)'
• İster Frengistanda İster İçerde
• Kara Bahtım
• Bu Biçim

1982: Bekle Beni (Türküola)

• Nem Alacak Felek Benim? (Lyrics & Music : Cemil Demirsipahioğlu)
• Delikanlı Sevdası
• Oğluma
• Bekle Beni (Lyrics : Konstantin Simonov, Music : Cem Karaca)
• Peynir Gemisi
• Alamanya Berbadı
• Sakın Reddetme

1984: Die Kanaken (Plane RC 0972-88375/76)

• Mein Deutscher Freund (Lyrics: Beate Fischer, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Beim Kaffee
• Total Geschlaucht
• Willkommen
• Es Kamen Menschen An
• Schnüffler
• Orient-Express
• Was Sagst Du? (Lyrics : Theo König, Harry Böseke, Martin Burkert, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Ayşe, Meral, Semra
• Çok Yorgunum (Söz: Nazım Hikmet, Müzik: Cem Karaca)

1987: Merhaba Gençler ve Her Zaman Genç Kalanlar (Emre 569)

• Bedava Yaşıyoruz (Lyrics : Orhan Veli Kanık, Music : Cem Karaca)
• İşte Geldik Gidiyoruz
• Peynir Gemisi
• Canım Benim
• Yarım Porsiyon Aydınlık
• Almancılar
• Ceviz Ağacı (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music : Cem Karaca)
• Bidanem
• Çok Yorgunum (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Hep Kahır
• Karadut (Söz: Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Çark-ı Felek (Lyrics: Ömer Hayyam, Music: Cem Karaca)

1988: Töre (Emre HE 579)

• Dönen Dönsün (Lyrics: Pir Sultan Abdal, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Money Money (Mani Mani) (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Anonim)
• Dur Be Yeter (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Gomidas Vartabed)
• Töre (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Harout Pamboukjian)
• Akşam Erken İner Mapushaneye (Lyrics: Ahmed Arif, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Sevda Kuşun Kanadında (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Harout Pamboukjian)
• 33 Kurşun (Lyrics: Ahmed Arif, Music: Oğuz Abadan)
• Hasret (Lyrics: Nâzım Hikmet, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Oğluma (Söz ve Music: Cem Karaca)
• Resimdeki Gözyaşları (Lyrics: Mehmet Soyarslan, Music: Cem Karaca)

1990: Yiyin Efendiler (Özbir 032)

• Barış Dikeni (Lyrics: Kerem Çalışkan, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Oh Be
• Kirlenmiş Çığlık (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Volkan Başaran)
• Yiyin Efendiler! (Yağma Sofrası) (Lyrics: Tevfik Fikret, Music: Cem Karaca)
• Bir Açık Oturum
• 68'linin Türküsü
• Demedim Mi? (Lyrics: Pir Sultan Abdal Music: Anonim)
• Sen Seni Bil
• Sahibi Geldi.

1992: Nerde Kalmıştık? (Marşandiz 083)

• Raptiye Rap Rap (Lyrics: Cem Karaca Music: Cahit Berkay)
• Islak Islak
• Sen Duymadın
• Bu Biçim
• Sen de Başını Alıp Gitme (Lyrics: Cem Karaca Music: Nil Burak)
• Niyazi Köfteler
• Karabağ (Söz & Music: Cem Karaca, Anonim)
• Herkes Gibisin (Lyrics: Nazım Hikmet Music: Cem Karaca)
• Nöbetçinin Türküsü (Lyrics: Cem Karaca Music: Cahit Berkay)
• Ömrüm
• Suskunluk

1999: Bindik Bir Alamete... (Major Music 21550)

• Bindik Bir Alamete, Gideyoz Kıyamete (Lyrics: Cem Karaca Music: Uğur Dikmen, Serpil Barlas)
• Kerkük Zindanı (Söz & Music: Anonim)
• Ülkem Benim (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Cem Karaca & Emrah Karaca)
• Yolumuz Gurbete Düştü (Lyrics & Music: Âşık Beyhani)
• Obur Dünya (Lyrics & Music: Muhlis Akarsu)
• Hudey Hudey (Lyrics: Pir Sultan Abdal, Music: Pir Sultan Abdal & Cem Karaca)
• Sakın Dönme (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Cem Karaca & Emrah Karaca)
• Ölüm (Lyrics & Music: Cem Karaca)
• Allah Yar (Lyrics & Music: Cem Karaca)
• Deşer de Geçer (Lyrics: Cem Karaca, Music: Cem Karaca & Emrah Karaca)
• Şah Mat Mı, Padişah Mı? (Lyrics: Yavuz Sultan Selim, Şah İsmail, Music: Cem Karaca)

2007: Püsküllü Moruk (Destur 001)

• Uvertür
• Altın Sevdası
• Püsküllü Moruk
• Galata'nın Yosması
• Ey Kadı Hazretleri
• Kapatın Perdeleri

Levent Aslan

Sources 

Cem Karaca diskografisi - Vikipedi (wikipedia.org)

Haber Türk Başrol Program

Cem Karaca Babası Kim? Cem Karaca Annesi Kim? (9og.org)

Cem Karaca - Biyografya

Cem Karaca Biyografi.info