His compositions have reached cult status nationwide and have been performed by artists such as Joan Baez, Maria Farantouri, Maria del Mar Bonet, Udo Lindenberg, Haris Alexiou, Jocelyn B.

Livaneli has composed some three hundred songs, a rhapsody recorded by London Symphony Orchestra–, and a ballet. The album turned into the well-renowned poet Nâzım Hikmet's poems to music and it became and stayed at the top hit on albums album for 48 weeks. Livaneli then made an album called Nazim Türküsü. When he was in Europe, his brother Ferhat informed him about how his songs were being sung by everyone in Turkey while they were protesting the government. Yet he did not get to the point where he wanted to be, therefore, he started using his current name, Zülfü Livaneli, on his new album, Chants Révolutionnaires Turcs (Turkish Revolutionary songs) in 1971 or 1973. For his first album, he didn't use his current name, Zülfü Livaneli. Livaneli was trying to go to Europe because he had gone to jail two times. He further stated that after receiving treatment both of them had fully recovered and were quarantined in Turkey. In March 2020, Livaneli announced that he and his wife had become infected with coronavirus during their visit to New York in February during the COVID-19 pandemic. His wife's name is Ülker and his daughter's name is Aylin she was born in Ankara, Turkey. His mother died at the age of 38, when he was 20, and his father later remarried. His father was a judge and later president of the Turkish Supreme Court. He comes from a family of Georgian descent. Livaneli's real name is Ömer Zülfü Livanelioğlu. He served a term in the Turkish Parliament as well as in the Council of Europe. He quit this UNESCO post in 2016 to protest the Turkish State's damage to the historic Kurdish Old Town of Diyarbakir.

His works and cultural and political activities and contributions to world peace were recognized by UNESCO in 1995 when he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to UNESCO. He lived in Stockholm, Paris, Athens, and New York where he met and collaborated with artists and intellectuals such as Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, James Baldwin, and Peter Ustinov among others. Livaneli was imprisoned several times during the 1971 Turkish military memorandum because of his political views and had to leave Turkey in 1972 and went on exile. Ömer Zülfü Livaneli (born 20 June 1946) is a Turkish musician, author, poet, and politician. 'Bliss, My Brother's Story, Serenade for Nadiaīarnes & Noble 'Discovery of a Great New Author Award', 2006 (Bliss) – Balkan Literary Award for 'Best Novel', 1997 (The Eunuch of Constantinople) – Yunus Nadi Literary Award for 'Best Novel', 2001 (Memory of Snow)] – Orhan Kemal Literary Award for 'Best Novel', 2009 (Last Island) Author, poet, composer, politician, human rights activist

Kardeşimin Hikâyesi by Zülfü Livaneli