Between the 1960s and 1980s, Bella Darbinian was at her peak as one of the most well-known singers of Armenia, with her fame firmly established in the Diaspora.

Bella Darbinian was born on February 10, 1936, in Kirovakan (nowadays Vanadzor). Her actual last name was Kuznetsova (her father was Russian and her mother Armenian). When she started her musical career, she considered more appropriate to use an Armenian name and used the straightforward translation of her surname (Russian kuznets = Armenian darbin-tarpin “blacksmith”).