TEHRAN -- After about two months in Tehran’s Iranmehr Hospital for his liver insufficiency, prominent Iranian composer Babak Bayat died on Sunday.

He needed a liver transplant, but the operation was postponed because he was in a coma. His liver problem was an indirect result of depression which began after his son Bamdad was seriously injured in a car accident, he once told the Iranian monthly Film.

Before his illness, Bayat spent about three years in Canada, where his twin sons were studying at university.

He was most famous for the many soundtracks he composed for Iranian films and TV series.

Bayat was born in Tehran in 1946. His father wanted him to become an athlete and to go to the military academy, but he chose a career in music, despite his respect for his father’s wishes.

In 1966, he began studying music under Samin Baghcheban and Nosratollah Zaboli at the Tehran Opera. Five years later, he met composer and Iranian folk/jazz fusion orchestra conductor Mohammad Oshal, who helped increase Bayat’s knowledge of harmony and accompaniment.

His lifelong friendship with Iranian contemporary poet, songwriter, and playwright Iraj Jannati-Ataii inspired him to compose many songs such as “Underwater Shout” and “Ali-Konkuri”.

He began his career as a soundtrack composer with Ali Hatami’s “Bald Hassan” in 1970 and continued the work with Shapur Gharib’s film “The Stranger” (1972).

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he began working with the Ebtekar Studio and released “Dandelion”, an album featuring songs written by Simin Ghadiri about Iranian writer of children's stories Samad Behrangi.

He also recorded the albums “Zari’s Rooster, Pari’s Shirt”, “The Silence”, and “Pick of the Dawn” with renowned Iranian blank verse poet Ahmad Shamlu.

He returned to writing film soundtracks with the music he composed for “Death of Yazdegerd” (1982) directed by Bahram Beizaii.

Bayat composed soundtracks for about 90 Iranian films. He was nominated a number of times for the Best Music Award at Iran’s most prestigious movie gala, the Fajr International Film Festival, for several films, including “The Talisman” (1986), “Maybe Some Other Time” (1988), “Travelers” (1992), “The Day of Satan” (1994), “The Mercedes” (1997), “The Red” (1998), “A Man Like Rain” (1996), and “The Land of the Sun” (1996).

He finally received the award for “The Bride” (1990), directed by Behruz Afkhami. The composer also wrote the music for Afkhami’s films “The Day of the Angel” (1993), “The Day of Satan” (1994), and “World Champion Takhti” (1997).

In addition, Bayat had composed the soundtracks for the TV series “The Legend of the Sultan and the Shepherd”, “Champions Never Die”, and “Imamate of Love”.

The Epic Music Festival, which is sponsored by the Tehran Municipality, awarded Bayat a lifetime achievement award last September.

He left behind his wife, two sons, and a daughter. A third son died several years ago.