Erkin Koray (born June 24, 1941), has been in the Turkish rock music scene since the late 1950s or early 1960s. He is widely acclaimed as being the first person to ever play rock and roll in Turkey; in 1957, he and his band gained fame by playing covers of Elvis Presley and Fats Domino. He was also one of the first Turkish musicians to embrace the electric guitar and modern amplification.
Koray continues to record and perform in Turkey to this day, and in Turkish music circles is often referred to as Erkin Baba (“Erkin the Father”) for his pioneering influence on Turkish popular music.