Skip to content

Tilahun Gessesse passed away

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

News sources in Addis Ababa are reporting that legendary Ethiopian singer {www:Tilahun Gessesse} has passed away at midnight last night.

Tilahun, 69, had been receiving medical treatment in the U.S. for several months and returned to Ethiopia a few days ago to celebrate Easter (Fasika) with family and friends.

He was admitted to a hospital after complaining about heart problem. On Sunday, the VOA had planned to hold an interview with Tilahun, but the interview had to be canceled due to his deteriorating condition.

The following is a video of one of Tilahun’s popular songs:

Brief biography of Tilahun Gessesse

Tilahun Gessesse is a legendary Ethiopian singer whose singing career spans 5 dacades. He was born on September 29, 1940, in Addis Ababa and died on April 19, 2009.

Gessesse was born to Woizero Gete Gurmu, who was Oromo, and Ato Gessesse Negusse, who was Amhara. When he was fourteen years old, he was taken by his grandfather to Waliso where he began attending Ras Gobena Elementary School.

As time went by, his interest in music became increasingly clear, although his grandfather urged him to concentrate on his academic studies. The Ras Gobena School Principal Mr. Shedad (who was from Sudan), encouraged Gessesse’s interest in music and urged him to go to Sudan to pursue his music career. Although Gessesse did not go to Sudan, he took Mr. Shedad’s advice very seriously. When Woizro Negatwa Kelkai, Ato Eyoel Yohanes and others artists from the Hager Fikir Theatre came to his school to perform, Gessesse took the opportunity to discuss his interest in music with Ato Eyoel. He was told to go to Addis Ababa if he wanted to pursue a career in the field.

Gessesse left school to go to Addis Ababa, a journey he began on foot without his grandfather’s consent. When his grandfather realized that Tilahun was no longer in Woliso, he informed Gessesse’s great-aunt in Tulu Bolo. After Gessesse traveled fifteen kilometers on foot, he was caught in Tulu Bolo and stayed overnight with his great-aunt Woizero Temene Bantu. The next day, he was forced to return back to his grandfather in Woliso. Since his interest in music lay deep in his heart, Gessesse chose not to stay at his grandfather’s house in Woliso. After staying only one night at his grandfather’s house, he again began his journey to Addis Ababa, this time hiding himself in the back of a loaded truck.

In Addis Ababa, Gessesse was first hired by the Hager Fikir Association, which is now known as Hager Fikir Theater. After a few years at the Hager Fikir Theater, he joined the Imperial Bodyguard Band where he became a leading star singer. During his time with the band, Gessesse ran afoul of the government after the attempted coup d’état of December 1960 by the Imperial Bodyguard. He was arrested and put in prison for a time.

Gessesse moved to the National Theater where his success continued. He was so famous that he appeared three times in front of Emperor Haile Selassie I. During a visit, the Emperor advised him not to abuse his talent.

The majority of Gessesse’s recordings are in Amharic, though he has recorded a number of songs in Oromo.

He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Addis Ababa University, in appreciation of his contribution to Ethiopian music. He has also received an award for his lifetime achievements from the Ethiopian Fine Art and Mass Media Prize Trust.

Sources: Wikipedia

127 thoughts on “Tilahun Gessesse passed away”

  9. ኦ! በጣም አሳዛኝ ዜና! ምን ቢኖሩ ከሞት አይቀሩ!

    ለነገሩ እኮ ለ ኢትዮጵያዉያን 80ዓመት ከበቂ በላይ ነው።
    መጽሐፍ ቅዱስም እኮ የሰው ልጂ እድሜው 70 ነው ቢበዛ 80 ይል አይደል! እንዲያዉ ሕይወት ስለማትጠገብ እንጅ!

    እግዚአብሄር ነብሱን ከአብርሃምና ከይስሀቅ ጎን ያኑርለን! መንግስተ ሰማያት ያዉርስልን!
    ግን ዘፋኝ መንግስተሰማያት መግባቱን እርግጠኛ አይደለሁም!!!!!

  14. አውሮፕላን ሄደ እየገሰገሰ;
    በዘፈን አንደኛ ጥላሁን ገሠሠ:

    እንል ነበር በልጅነት.
    ኢትዮጵያ አንድ ብርቅዬ ልጅ አጣች!
    የኢትዮጵያ አምላክ ነፍሱን በመንግስተ ሰማያት ያኑራት: ቤተሰቦቹንም ማጽናናትን ያብዛላቸው::
    በጣም አዝናለሁ::

    ውሮ ነኝ

  21. I am deeply saddened by the death of Tilahun Gessesse. Today Ethiopia lost one of her great musicians. My heartfelt prayers and condolences go to his children, the rest of his family and his adoring fans. Tilahun will be greatly missed but his legacy will be remembered for generations.

  30. I am totally devastated by this tragic news. I wished the great Tilahun would live for ever. It is so hard for me and of course many more like me to comprehend this tragic loss. Specially for my generation he was everything, when we were down we got solace by his music. In bad time and good he was there to give us comfort and hope through his music. Now that irreplaceable beautiful voice has become silent, the voice we grew up admiring; appreciating; loving and enjoying is now no more. Bizunesh Bekele or as we affectionately called her Bizuye had already left a big hole in my heart, and now the legendary Tilahun Gessese made it even more wider.

  39. We’re all shocked by this sudden news. Tilahun was the beacon of Ethiopia’s music. He made great example for the new generation and gave hope for lots of new artists. May god rest his soul and give comfort and peace to his family, friends and all of us who loved and admired him throughout the years. Your songs will always be admired througout generations to come, you’re the greatest Tele.

  42. Ehiopia has lost one of her heroes. Tilish was the basis of both traditional and modern music. No one has contributed for his/her country like Tilahun. Big loss for the people of Ethiopia. May God bless his soul!

  45. Le Etiopian bemulu talak merdo new. Way way way Afer yiblagn Tiliye. Be hulkomesafirt zefenochu Yastemaren Yasfenedeken, Yaslekese, way way silu eyale sile wogen musho yaweredelin, yezembaba mar yazenebelin, ere sintu ere sintu, wuredbelew gifabelew eyale Yesumalia wereran endenmekit yaberetan, yehiwote hiwot, eyuat sitnafikegn, meleyayet kifu bekum mekeber, wey tile menew zelalem benorkilign lehagere!

  48. I am so saddened by this news. But that is our final destination we all know.
    May Almighty God bless his soul and my condolences to his family his lovers and all our people. Peace in rest.

  49. Ayee betam yasaznal! Tilahun betam tewedaj yemedenek artist neber: gin min mareg yichalal mot lehulachinim yemitiders eta nech!
    what matters is how we live this short life we have here on earth,so we can all be united with our creator one day and live ever after.
    My condolence to all Ethiopians who lost a great son today. may God Rest his Soul in Peace.

  50. We all die in the end. We just don’t know when the final call comes to you and I. It is sad to hear Tilahun’s passing away. He voiced so much of our joys, sorrows, and everything in between. We had him for over 50 years. A very appropriate song I can think of at the moment is Tnfashe TeqerTso Yqemet Malqesha…

    I was browsing Ethiopia-related websites and all seem to carry the news of Tilahun’s death and writing their condolescences in so many words. For the moment we all seem to agree on one thing and to care about each other. The big question is if we can sustain it and if we can look back and declare our life had any purpose and meaning to bring to those we shared our life with.

Leave a Reply