مهستی Mahasti
About Mahasti
Birth name	Khadijeh (Eftekhar)dadehbala
Born	1946, Tehran, Iran
Died	June 25, 2007 Santa Rosa, California, USA
Genre(s)	Persian traditional music Soft Rock Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1963–2007
Label(s)	Avang Records Taraneh Records Caltex Records

Personal life

Mahasti married Kouros Nazemiyan and gave birth to her only child, Sahar. Mahasti and her family lived in Abadan for several years , finally moving back to Tehran. Her marriage with Nazemiyan ultimately ended in divorce. Nazemiyan was executed by the Revolutionary Court of the new Islamic Republic shortly after revolution. Several years later she re-married to Bahram Sanandaji, owner of a shoe factory, however their marriage also ended.

In 1978, Just before the Iranian Revolution she emigrated to the United Kingdom and then to the United States where she lived thereafter.

Khadijeh Dadehbala (Mahasti) (November 16, 1946 - June 25, 2007),was the younger sister of another popular Iranian female singer, Hayedeh. Mahasti's voice was discovered by maestro Parviz Yahaghi, a distinguished Iranian composer and violinist. She was amongst a rare group of singers who "started" their career on the prestigious Persian traditional music radio program Gol-ha-ye Rangarang( گلهای رنگارنگ), in 1963 with the song "Ankeh Delam Raa Bordeh Khodaya"(persian -آنكه دلم را برده خدایا) composed and arranged by maestro Parviz Yahaghi with lyrics from Bijan Taraghi.

Musical career:

In the beginning, her family was reluctant to allow her to pursue a career in entertainment because it was not appreciated for women at the time in Iran. However, Mahasti overcame this stigma by providing Iran with a new image for women within the entertainment industry. Her's was an image of a "gentle-woman", a lady with great manners. Her enormous success in music opened the way for many other women, including her older sister, Hayedeh, who started her work about 5 years after Mahasti. The two sisters made tremendous contributions to improving the image of female singers in Iran and in transitioning Iranian music from where it was then, to where it is now.

Mahasti's career was remarkable. In 2005, she was awarded the Persian Female Pop-Classic Vocalist of Excellence by the World Academy of Arts, Literature and Media (formerly Persian Academy Awards) for over 35 years of top performance in Persian pop music. She sang more than 400 songs, contributed to more than 200 music albums with other Persian singers, and produced more than 35 music albums in which she was the only singer. Some of these albums are: Beeganeh-بیگانه٫ Havaye Yar-هوای یار, Ashofteh-آشفته, Ghasam-قسم ٫, Mowj-موج, Mosafer-مسافر, Nameh-نامه, Taghdir-تقدیر (with Golpa), To Bezan Ta Man Beraghsam-تو بزن تا من برقصم , Asir-اسیر, Hamishe Ashegh-همیشه عاشق, Havaye Asheghi-هوای عاشقی, Avazak-آوازك, Ziafat-ضیافت (with Asef and Sattar), Oje Seda-اوج صدا (with Hayedeh), Saal-سال (with Hayedeh and Moein), Mehman-مهمان (with Hayedeh), Hamishe Sabz-همیشه سبز, Deldadeh-دلداده, Sarab e Eshgh-سراب عشق, Gole Omid-گل امید, Masti-مستی, Sepeedeh Dam-سپیده دم , Haghighat-حقیقت (with Sattar), Labkhand-لبخند (with Shahram Solati), Booye Gandom-بوی گندم (with Sattar), Bazm-بزم (with Sattar) and Az Khoda Khasteh-از خدا خواسته. In her albums she has worked with several other singers, including Hayedeh (her sister), Sattar, Akbar Golpaygani (Golpa), Iraj (Hossein Khajeh Amiri), Mahmoodi Khansari, Aref, Moein, Shahram Solati, Faramarz Asef, Homeyra, Hasan Shamaeizadeh, and Sadegh Nojooki.

Mahasti (Persian: مهستی) Khadijeh (Eftekhar) Dadehbala, 1946, Tehran - d. June 25, 2007, Santa Rosa, California) was a prolific Iranian pop and classical singer. She was a veteran celebrity of Iran’s Golden Years of music.

Death

In March 2007, she publicly announced that she had been battling colon cancer for four years. She hoped that her experience would raise awareness within the Iranian community regarding cancer and the significance of constant physical examinations. She was then living in Santa Rosa, California with her daughter, Sahar and her husband Naser, and their two children, Natasha and Natalie. She died at 7:52 AM on June 25, 2007 in Santa Rosa.

Mahasti was interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California on June 29, 2007 the same Cemetery where her sister Hayedeh was buried at.