Iraj Khajeh Amiri Dies at 94: Legendary Singer and “Champion of Singing” Passes Away
Iraj Khajeh Amiri, widely known simply as Iraj, was one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in the history of Iranian music. Born Hossein Khajeh Amiri, he built a career that extended across radio, Persian traditional music, film music, and popular Iranian culture. For generations of listeners, the name Iraj became associated with a remarkably strong male voice, exceptional vocal range, emotional delivery, and the golden era of Iranian radio and cinema.
His career is particularly connected with the legendary Golha (Flowers) program, the great musicians of twentieth-century Persian music, and the cinema of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. His voice also became inseparable from the screen image of major Iranian film stars, most famously Mohammad Ali Fardin. Through dubbing and lip-sync performances, Iraj’s singing helped create one of the most memorable combinations of voice and image in the history of Iranian popular cinema.
The story of Iraj Khajeh Amiri is therefore much larger than the biography of an individual singer. His career represents an important chapter in the development of modern Persian vocal music, the transformation of Iranian radio, the relationship between classical Persian music and popular culture, and the emergence of film songs as a major component of Iranian entertainment.
August 12, 2026 | 11:25 pm
