We’re feeling a little groovy today and we’ve been listening to old vintage Karel Gott YouTube videos from the 60s and having a blast. So much so we’ve decided to let you in on the party.
Welcome to the groovy dance party with Karel Gott!
Turn on your speakers, enjoy and make sure to pay attention to the groovy makeup, attire and especially the dance moves!
Lady Karneval
Karel Gott (born July 14, 1939, in Plzeň) is a Czech Schlager singer, and an amateur painter. He is considered the most successful male singer in former Czechoslovakia and currently in the Czech Republic; he was elected the Most Favorite Male Singer in the annual national poll Český slavík (English: Czech Nightingale) a total of forty times, most recently in 2015.
Nech mně spát
Bum bum bum
He gained widespread fame in the German-speaking countries and is a fluent speaker of the language. Worldwide he has sold an estimated 50–100 million records with his songs, 23 million of them in the German-speaking market, and about 15 million in former Czechoslovakia and its successor states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Čas růží (Delilah)
Požehnej, bože můj
Gott was born in Pilsen, at that time Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, now Plzeň, Czech Republic, and has lived in Prague since age 6. His family was German Bohemian descent, but has assimilated into Czech national identity.
He initially wanted to study art, but failed the exams at UMPRUM, the renowned School of Industrial Art, 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.
Láska bláznivá
Oči barvy holubí
In 1958, he participated in an amateur 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. 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 (to Poland) for the first time with the Jazz Orchestra of the Czechoslovak Broadcast, conducted by Karel Krautgartner.
Amen
In 1962, Gott released his first single with Supraphon. Titled Až nám bude dvakrát tolik (When we are twice as old), it was a duet with the leading jazz singer, Vlasta Průchová. It was also at this time that Gott was voted into the Zlatý slavík (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.
Korunou si hodím
In 1963 Gott was offered a place at the recently founded Prague Semafor theater, 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’s Moon River, 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 many Golden Nightingale awards, given to the most popular artist of the year.
Gott then 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).
Kávu si osladím
In 1967, Gott performed at MIDEM, 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’ 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 with the song Tausend Fenster, finishing in 13th place.
The same year, Gott spent six months performing daily at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, an experience which made a great impression on him.
During 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. One of his most best-known pop hits was the title music to the animated film series Biene Maja (English title: The Adventures of Maya the Bee).
On May 3, 1977, he was awarded the title of Merited Artist, and in the following year received the Golden Hat of Cologne, given yearly to a personality in the cultural and social sphere.
Má první láska se dnes vdává
Not only could Karel Gott sing in Czech and German, he also sang in English…
It takes a Worried Man
And he seems to have mastered the art of crowd surfing as well with the tens of thousands of fans that adored him.
Slunce a já
If you love his music as much as we do and are worried you won’t be able to find it in the USA, don’t worry – there are many albums and CDs on ebay.
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