Aminollah Rashidi

Aminollah Rashidi is an Iranian singer, writer, and a poet. He was born in Kashan, one of the ancient cities in Iran. He is the first Iranian singer acquainted with international musical notes when he was learning music in free night classes at the Iranian Conservatory, which is located in the former Rudaki Hall from 1947 to 1949. He had great Iranian musicians as his masters, such as Mousa Maroufi (father of Javad Maroufi) and Dr. Mahdi Forough. He had already learned to play the Tar in the presence of Master Hasan Naghshpour and Master Masoud Maarefi. He also learned carpet designing and calligraphy from Master Ali Akbar Sanaati when he was a student of Shahpour elementary school and Pahlavi highschool in Kashan. After graduation, Rashidi continued carpet designing with Master Mohammad Dabir al Sanayeh and Master Naghshpour until he was able to design a Persian rug by himself.

He was one of Iranian's preeminent radio composers and singers in Tehran central radio started from 1949 to 1965 continuously. He composed more than 120 songs with cooperation of such Iranian Masters as Habibollah Badiei, Parviz Yahaghi, Homayoun Khorram, Abbas Shahpouri, Anoushiravan Rohani, Reza Yavari, and the other masters of that time in radio.

In addition to self-composed songs, he sang numbers of songs composed by Iranian music Masters such as Mousa Maroufi, Hossein Yahaghi, Ali Tajvidi, Homayoun Khorram, Shahpour Niakan, and Abbas Zandi live at Iranian Radio. About half of the mentioned songs were performed before 1955, when the recording musical systems weren't yet available; thus, there are no songs recorded before the mentioned year.

The other half of his works from 1999 to present-day has been published in 5 Cassettes & CDs containing 50 songs. These collections are: Atr-e Gisoo (Ringlet Scent), Man Eshgham (I'm Love), Afsoongar(Charmer), Delam Tang Ast (I'm Heartsick - extracted from lyrics of Iranian modern famous poet Mahdi Akhavan Saless), and finally Chashme Shab (The Eyes of Night). Aminollah Rashidi has composed many songs from lyrics of Iranian modern poets such as Mahdi Akhavan Saless, Nader Naderpour, Fereydoon Moshiri, Nima Yoshij, Manouchehr Atashi, Nosrat Rahmani, et al; from which only one of them, Zemestan(The Winter) with lyrics of Mahdi Akhavan Saless, was edited and recorded by Sirous Shahrdar, performed by Mrs. Parvin, and accomplished by the great Iranian radio Orchestra in 1969(1348). It is hoped that the rest of the songs will be performed by Rashidi himself or the other singers.

Rashidi's main job was Notary public. He has two children; a daughter (Afsaneh) and a son (Sabah), and both have musical talents as well. Rashidi is also a writer and a poet. He has compiled some of his song's lyrics by himself; e.g. Darya (The Sea). He also has written a travel book "From Kashan to Canarias" which contains his point of views during his travels from Iran to European countries along with satire, criticism, poetry, and music. This book was published by "Sanaie" Publications. Rashidi's second book, "Memoirs & Melodies," is about his 50 years of artistic experience in Iranian radio station with literary, social, and political notes. This book contains the new and untold subjects about the famous Iranian artists, writers, and poets published by "Atai" Publications with 650 pages and 250 pictures in 2002 for the art and literature enthusiasts. This book starts as an introduction with respect to the world music elite and continues with an autobiography of the author in an innovative, special, satirical, and judicial way. It also continues with special reports on the emergence of artists and such programs like "Golha"(The Flowers) in two decades of 1950s and 1960s, three so-called artistic coups in Iranian radio, detailed and exciting report on old debated among modern and archaic poetry pretenders, record of the Iranian Press and Journals in 1950s up to 1970s, some notes on Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, murder mysteries of Mohammad Masoud (editor of Mard-e-Emrooz newspaper), and other miscellaneous topics which at last ends with Rashidi's 38 musical notes and lyrics of his own songs in his cassettes.

At a glance to the topics of "Memoirs and Melodies", it seems this Kashani artist has a finger more or less in most of usual arts of his own time from which some kinds are reflected in this book. It has to say that publishing of a book in such a form & content particularly by a musician is not only scarce and showing his intensive interest towards Iranian music, literature as well as other arts; but also it is noteworthy because of its method of simplicity, truthfulness, veracity, and deidolatry.

The book has two other criteria. The first is the author's deep affection for his birth place "Kashan" that he would like to note its proverbs or its artists' reminiscences everywhere in the book. The second is his own particular inclination towards the famous Iranian authors and researchersm such as Professor Fazlollah Reza, Dr. Shafiei Kadkani, Mahdi Akhavan Saless, Najaf Daryabandari, and specifically Dr. Bastani Parizi, whose works and opinions are mostly referred by Rashidi in order to verify his own.