Karel Gott
Encyclopedia
Karel Gott is a Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 Schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...

 singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, and an amateur painter. He is considered as the most successful male singer in former Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 and currently in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

; he has being voted the Most Favorite Male Singer in the annual national pool Český slavík (Czech Nightingale) in total thirty-six times. Having sold over thirty million records, he also gained widespread fame in the German-speaking countries.

Biography

Gott was born in Pilsen, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...

 (now Plzeň, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

), and has lived in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 since age 6. He initially wanted to study art, but failed the exams at UMPRUM, the Secondary School of Art and Industry, upon which he began training as an electrician. On completing his studies, he began working as an electrician, but was soon fascinated by the new types of music flooding the city, and became interested in jazz. He experimented with playing the bass and the guitar, but eventually decided to focus on singing, studying it privately. During the 1950s, he occasionally performed as an amateur singer and often participated in competitions.

In 1958, he participated in an amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....

 singing contest in the Prague Slavonic House, entitled "Looking for New Talent." He utterly failed to impress the judges, but soon made a name for himself in Prague jazz circles, finally getting his first engagement at the Vltava Prague Cafe that same year.

In 1960, he decided to undertake singing professionally. He studied opera at the Prague Conservatory under Konstantin Karenin, a student of the brilliant Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...

. Knowing of Gott's interest in current musical trends, Karenin instructed him not only in classical Italian pieces, but also in the hits of the day. It was at this time that Gott traveled abroad for the first time with the Jazz Orchestra of the Czechoslovak Broadcast, conducted by Karel Krautgartner
Karel Krautgartner
Karel Krautgartner was a Czech jazz and classical clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, composer, conductor and teacher.- Life :...

.

In 1962, Gott released his first single with Supraphon
Supraphon
Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...

. Titled Až nám bude dvakrát tolik (When we are twice as old), it was a duet with the leading jazz singer, Vlasta Průchová
Vlasta Průchová
Vlasta Průchová was a Czech jazz singer. Since the second half of 1940s she gradually built up her leading role on the Czech jazz scene. Průchová is the mother of renowned Czech-American pianist and composer Jan Hammer.- Biography :Průchová was born to Czech parents who worked in Ružomberok,...

. It was also at this time that Gott was voted into the Zlatý slavík
Zlatý slavík
Zlatý slavík was a music poll established by magazine Mladý svět along with Smena na nedeľu in 1962, and brodcasted on television.As later exposed, since the 70's the entries very frequently falsified by Communist Party of Czechoslovakia . The poll lasted until 1991, prior to the dissolution of...

(Golden Nightingale) viewer's survey, placing 49th and receiving a total of three votes. Shortly afterwards, in 1963, Gott left the conservatory to continue his studies privately until 1966.

In 1963 Gott was offered a place at the recently founded Prague Semafor theater
Semafor
Semafor is a Czech theatre in Prague established by Jiří Suchý in 1959. It belongs to the so called "Theatres of small stages". Suchý himself has performed there for many years and is the current owner...

, which was then at the forefront of the emerging Czechoslovakian pop music scene. This was his introduction to performance, where he learned
how to communicate with an audience and move on a stage. In the same year, he released his first solo single, a Czech recording of Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...

's Moon River
Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists...

, as well as his song Oči sněhem zaváté (Eyes Covered by Snow), which became the year's best-selling record. Shortly afterwards, Gott received the first of thirty-four (Golden Nightingale) awards, given to the most popular artist of the year.

Gott established the "Apollo Theater" in 1965, along with two brothers who were with him in Semafor: Jiří and Ladislav Štaidl. At this point, he was already a major star, appearing in the programs "Pilgrimage for Two" and "Evening Prayer" while building his own repertoire with his own orchestra. He began composing his own songs, and toured Czechoslovakia and abroad with the Apollo Theater. That year, he released his first album, Karel Gott Sings with Supraphon to great acclaim. Songs from his Supraphon archives are currently being released by Sony Music Bonton. This first album was followed by an English export album titled The Golden Voice of Prague (Artia-Supraphon).

In 1967, Gott performed at MIDEM
Midem
-MIDEM:Short for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, MIDEM is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at and around the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967...

, the International Fair of Record Companies and Music Producers in Cannes, France, where the applause was measured during every concert. He surprised everyone by achieving a level of 54 to Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

' 58. Following this event, Gott signed a contract with the Polydor / Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft record company, renewing it several times until it became a life contract in 1997. Between 1967 and 2000, Polydor released over 125 albums and 72 singles for Karel Gott in German speaking countries in Europe. Gott represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968
Eurovision Song Contest 1968
The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was won by the Spanish song "La, la, la", performed by Massiel....

 with the song Tausend Fenster, finishing in 13th place.

In the same year, Gott spent six months performing daily at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino
New Frontier Hotel and Casino
The New Frontier was a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip that had operated continuously since October 30, 1942. Actually located within the unincorporated suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA, it was the second resort that opened on the Las Vegas Strip. The Frontier closed its doors for...

 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, which experience made a great impression on him.

In the 70s, domestic success was marked by Gott's presence on television, including the filming of a ten part serial entitled Karel Gott in Slany. On May 3, 1977, he was awarded the title of Merited Artist, and in the following year received the Golden Hat
Golden hat
Golden hats are a very specific and rare type of archaeological artefact from Bronze Age Central Europe. So far, four such objects are known...

 of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, given yearly to a personality in the cultural and social sphere. After anti-communist protesters signed Charter 77
Charter 77
Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in communist Czechoslovakia from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Václav Havel, Jan Patočka, Zdeněk Mlynář, Jiří Hájek, and Pavel Kohout. Spreading the text of the document was...

 to protest the abuses of the totalitarian regime Gott participated in the government orchestrated anti-charter movement.

The 80s were marked by international success, including the filming of the musical In the Track of Bel Canto in Italy in 1981, with a corresponding German-Italian album and duet performance with Sofia Rotaru
Sofia Rotaru
Sofia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru known as Sofia Rotaru is a Soviet and Ukrainian pop singer of Romanian/Moldavian heritage....

 in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. In 1983, Gott was given the Gold Medal of Hermann Lönse in Munich, Germany, for the development of the German national song. On April 30, 1985, he was awarded the title of National Artist for his exceptional artistic contributions. In 1986, he received Polydor's Golden Needle, which up until then had only ever been given to Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...

 and Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...

. The Supraphon Diamond Record Award was given him on September 8, 1992, for having sold 13 million recordings, a number which would account for 86% of Czechoslovakia's population.

In 1990, Gott decided to end his career and arranged a huge farewell tour. However, the tour was so successful that he re-evaluated his decision. In 1993, he established his own artistic agency, GOJA, with František Janeček
František Janeček
František Janeček was the founder of Jawa motorcycles and an important figure in the development of the Czech motorcycle industry. He died on 4 June 1941.-Early life:...

. It is this agency that currently produces Gott's records and organizes his artistic activities.

In 1996, following renewed public interest in his career, Gott again won 'The Golden Nightingale Award' with a huge lead over his rivals, and has retained the accolade every year since [2008]. He remains popular in a number of countries, including those of the former Soviet Union, where his first record, produced by Melodiya in 1977, sold a staggering 4.5 million copies. He has performed widely outside The Czech Republic, in countries as varied as the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

, China, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, and Japan.
During the 90s, Gott began to focus increasingly on painting, his second great love. The first exhibition of his paintings took place in 1992, at the Prague Christ Child Gallery. He has since exhibited his work successfully in Berlin, Moscow, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

.

Karel Gott recorded a cover version of the song All by Myself
All by Myself
"All by Myself" is a power ballad written and performed by Eric Carmen in 1975.The verse is based on the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18...

called Kam tenkrát šel můj bratr Jan (Where Did My Brother Jan Go This Time).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVUcA2TZB4s
The song was dedicated to Jan Palach
Jan Palach
Jan Palach was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest.- Death :...

 who set himself on fire and burned to death as a protest against Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...

 in January 1969. The song was recorded in 1977 while Soviet troops were still present in the country. In order to continue in his career, he had to sign in 1978 the so-called "Anti-charter", a petition organized by the Communist government against the Charter 77
Charter 77
Charter 77 was an informal civic initiative in communist Czechoslovakia from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Václav Havel, Jan Patočka, Zdeněk Mlynář, Jiří Hájek, and Pavel Kohout. Spreading the text of the document was...

 signed by Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...

 and other dissidents, protesting the government's violations of the Helsinki Accords
Helsinki Accords
thumb|300px|[[Erich Honecker]] and [[Helmut Schmidt]] in Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Helsinki 1975....

.
In 2008, he covered, together with Bushido
Bushido (rapper)
Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, , better known as Bushido, is a German rapper. The word Bushido is Japanese and means "Way of the Warrior". He also uses the pseudonym Sonny Black, based on Dominic Napolitano. As of 2009, he sold more than 1,5 million albums in Germany alone...

, "Forever Young" from Alphaville
Alphaville (band)
Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold , Bernhard Lloyd , and Frank Mertens Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold (real name Hartwig Schierbaum,...

, for Bushido
Bushido (rapper)
Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, , better known as Bushido, is a German rapper. The word Bushido is Japanese and means "Way of the Warrior". He also uses the pseudonym Sonny Black, based on Dominic Napolitano. As of 2009, he sold more than 1,5 million albums in Germany alone...

's album Heavy Metal Payback
Heavy Metal Payback
Heavy Metal Payback is the sixth solo album by German rapper Bushido, released October 10, 2008 under the record label ersguterjunge. The title of the album was taken from an earlier song entitled "Heavy Metal Payback" from Aggro Ansage Nr. 2. 3 Singles were released: "Ching Ching", "Für immer...

. The song is called "Für immer jung
Für immer jung
"Für immer jung" is a song by Czech schlager singer Karel Gott, and a cover of Alphaville's hit song "Forever Young", with German song lyrics...

".

He has two adult daughters (Dominika and Lucie) from former relationships (they have different mothers). He is also the father to Charlotte Ella with Ivana Macháčková whom he married on January 7, 2008 in Las Vegas, the city where he started his international career. She gave birth to a second daughter, Nelly Sofie, in summer 2008.

See also

  • Neznámy pár
    Neznámy pár
    Neznámy pár is a duet by Marika Gombitová and Karel Gott released on OPUS in 1987.The composition wrote Gombitová herself upon a request from František Polák, editor of the pre-filmed live show called Abeceda, created by ČTV. Lyrics provided Kamil Peteraj, and the composition was presented on...

     - duet with Marika Gombitová
    Marika Gombitová
    Marika Gombitová is a female singer-songwriter. Having sold one million albums at least, she is considered as the most popular female vocalist in Slovakia. Her vocal range - falsetto excluding - overpasses two octaves; from e to fis2...

  • Hrajme píseň - trio with Marika Gombitová and Josef Laufer

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK