Gara Garayev was born in Baku.

He studied at the Music School under the Azerbaijan State Conservatory (1926), the Music Technical School under the Azerbaijan State Conservatory (1930, New Working Faculty - G. Sharoyev's piano class), the Azerbaijan State Conservatory (1931-1938, L. Rudolf's Composition, U. Hajibeyov's Fundamentals of Folk Music class), the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. Tchaikovsky (1938-1940, A. Alexandrov's Composition class / 1944-1946, D. Shostakovich's class).

He worked as the artistic director of the Philharmonic (1941), director of the Conservatory (1949-1953), deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, first secretary of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union (1956-1973). The organic unity of national music with classical and modern styles, and the romantic interpretation of themes are among the specific features of his work. Among his works are “Mourning Prelude” for piano, “Three-part Fugue”, “Sonatina”, “Azerbaijani Rhapsody”, “Six Azerbaijani Folk Songs Arrangements” for voice and piano, “Poem of Joy” for piano and symphony orchestra, “Athletes’ Suite” for wind orchestra, “Azerbaijani March”, “Baku Oilmen’s March”, “Layla” for choir, “Azerbaijani Suite” for symphony orchestra, “Fugue” for string quartet, “Ashiq March” for folk instrument orchestra, “Don Quixote” symphonic engravings, “Leyli and Majnun” symphonic poem, opera “Vatan”, “Seven Beauties”, “On Lightning Paths” ballets.

He wrote music for theater performances, films and musicals foreign film producers “History Lesson” (1956, director Leo Arnshtam / Russia, Bulgaria), “Don Quixote” (1957, director Grigory Kosinchev / Russia), “Golden Echelon” (1959, director Ilya Gurin / Russia), “Goya” (1971, director Konrad Wolf / Germany, Russia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia).

He was awarded the USSR State Prize for the opera “Vatan”, the Azerbaijan State Prize for the symphonic poem “Leyli and Majnun”, the prize of the 1st All-Union Soviet Film Festival for the music of the film “Two Boys from a Neighborhood”, and the Lenin Prize for the ballet “On Lightning Paths”.

Honored Artist (1955), People's Artist of Azerbaijan (1958) and the USSR (1959), laureate of the USSR State Prizes (1946, 1948), laureate of the Lenin Prize (1967), Hero of Socialist Labor (1978), Academician (1959) Gara Garayev died in Moscow in 1982, and was buried in Baku He was buried in the Alley of Honor.

Composer Gara Garayev is the father of composer Faraj Garayev.