Bizunesh Bekele

Full name	Bizunesh Bekele
Date of birth	1936
Country	Ethiopia
Date of death	1990

Bizunesh Bekele (1936–1990) was a pioneering vocalist often hailed as the "Aretha Franklin of Ethiopia" and a foundational matriarch of the country’s 1960s and 1970s musical "Golden Age." Rising to national prominence in the late 1950s, she became a star attraction performing alongside fellow legends like Mahmoud Ahmed with the elite Kebur Zabagna (Imperial Body Guard Band) and later the Dahlak Band. Sung primarily in Amharic, her music seamlessly fused traditional Ethiopian melodies with deep, emotionally raw Western soul and R&B elements, leaving behind iconic recordings like "Chenk Tibeb" that were later introduced to a global audience through the acclaimed Éthiopiques series compilation, Ethiopian Groove.