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Willi Tokarev

October 14, 2023

Willi Ivanovich Tokarev (Russian: Вилли Ива́нович То́карев; 11 November 1934 – 4 August 2019) was a Russian-American singer-songwriter.[1] In the 1980s, he became famous throughout the Soviet Union for his songs about life as a Russian émigré in New York in Brighton Beach.[2]

Willi Tokarev
Tokarev in 2012
Background information
Birth nameVilen Ivanovich Tokarev
Born(1934-11-11)11 November 1934
Chernyshev, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died4 August 2019(2019-08-04) (aged 84)
Moscow, Russia
GenresRussian chanson
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Websitewillitokarev.ru

Early life and education Edit

Vilen Ivanovich Tokarev was born in the small Cossack village of Chernyshev in Adyghe Autonomous Oblast, North Caucasus Krai, Soviet Union, on 11 November 1934. His father was a Kuban Cossack by birth.[3] His parents named him in honor of Vladimir Lenin (see names of Soviet origin), as the Soviet name "Vilen" is an acronym for "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin".[4][5]

In 1941 his family moved to the town of Kaspiysk in Dagestan. In 1948, he made his first sea voyage, as a fireman. After the obligatory military service, in which he served in the signal corps, Tokarev moved to Leningrad.[6] There he pursued a formal education in music by joining the string department of the music school at the Leningrad Conservatory (double bass class). During his study, Tokarev worked in the Anatoly Kroll Orchestra, in the Jean Tatlian Sympho-Jazz Ensemble, in the Boris Rychkov Ensemble, and later in the ensemble Druzhba, conducted by Aleksandr Bronevitsky with Edita Piekha as vocalist. As a music student, he also started writing songs, notably "Rain" ("Дождь"), which was recorded by Edita Piekha, and "Winter Song" ("Зимняя песенка"), recorded by her as well.[7]

Singing career Edit

Tokarev said that he "probably became a singer by chance. Nikolay Nikitsky, a film actor and singer very popular at the time, invited me to accompany him at his concerts. Once during a concert he offered me to sing one of my songs myself. When I finished, the audience gave me an ovation. Nikitsky, seeing such a success, told me, 'Willi, you have to sing!'" And Tokarev, in addition to playing double bass and writing songs, started singing.[7]

From 1970 to 1974 he lived and performed as a singer in the town of Murmansk.[8] According to Tokarev, he moved from Leningrad because at the time in Moscow and Leningrad, jazz fell out of favor with the authorities, while in Murmansk he could be himself.[8] In Murmansk Tokarev worked as a singer at the restaurant White Nights where he led the music band Nord-West.[9]

In 1973, Tokarev's song "Murmanchanochka" ("Murmansk Girl") became a huge local hit.[6][10][11][12][13]

In 1974, Tokarev emigrated from the USSR to the United States, to New York City. At first he accepted any job to survive. On one occasion, he was fired from a job as a courier on Wall Street because of his poor English;[6] afterward he studied the language on his own with an audio cassette course.[7] After getting a driver's license, Tokarev began working as a taxi driver and was finally earning decent money. It took him four years in a taxi to collect $15,000 to record and release an album.[14][15] The album, released in 1979 on vinyl record,[14] was a serious songwriting effort, but was only mildly successful. His second album, V Shumnom Balagane (1981), full of humorous songs stylized as urban folklore of the Russian criminal underground, made him famous in the Russian-speaking community of New York.[6][16] The restaurant where Tokarev worked as a singer started to pay him well and soon he was able to buy a flat on the seashore and a car.[7]

In the 1980s his songs were widely known among Russian emigrants in the United States. Tokarev worked as a singer in three big Russian-speaking restaurants on Brighton Beach: Sadko, Primorsky, and Odessa.[17]

Back in the Soviet Union, his songs about the United States written from the perspective of a Russian émigré also became very popular.[2][18][19] They were not broadcast and were de facto forbidden, but they were widely known.[20][21]

In the late 1980s, Tokarev began traveling back to the USSR.[2] As he recalls, when in 1988 he went on a "test trip" to the Soviet Union with Impresario Leonard Lev, he was greeted in the Sheremetyevo Airport by a crowd of people asking him for autographs and to take a photo with them, and was very surprised that the people knew him somehow.[22] His first tour across the Soviet Union, organized by Gosconcert (the Soviet Union State Concert Organization), took place in 1989 and consisted of 70 concerts.[23]

Tokarev permanently returned to Russia in 1996.[24] From 2005, he was a resident of Moscow. He lived in the famous Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building[25] and was named a Honorary Resident of Moscow's Tagansky Raion.[26]

Tokarev was still active at the age of 80, touring and recording new songs.[27] As of March 2013, his discography included 48 studio and five compilation albums. He also had cameo appearances in several movies, including Day Watch.[28]

In early 2017, Tokarev performed a new song, "Trumplissimo America!", at a function in Moscow in support of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th President of the United States.[29][30]

Personal life Edit

At the age of 62, Tokarev married for the fourth time. His wife Julia, who became a Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography graduate, was over forty years his junior. They had two children: daughter Evillina (born around 1999) and son Milen (born around 2003). Tokarev also had two sons from previous marriages.[31]

Death Edit

Willi Tokarev died in Moscow on 4 August 2019, reportedly from cancer.[32] He was 84 years old at the time of his death.

Awards Edit

Tokarev was a multiple winner of Radio Chanson's Chanson of the Year Award, the final time being in 2014.[33]

References Edit

  1. ^ "The New Emigration". The Moscow Times. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Вилли Токарев в Нью-Йорке: и не страшно, и не грустно... (in Russian). Voice of America. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Вилли Токарев выступил с концертом на своей исторической родине". Voice of Adygea (Голос Адыга). 2 November 2013.
  4. ^ Dmitry Gordon (2006). Диалог длиною в жизнь: беседы с великими и знаменитыми. Izdatelʹskiĭ Dom "Skhili Dnipra". ISBN 9789668881015.
    Anne Nivat (2014). "Chapter 21. Wing A. Entryway 9, Third Floor: Willy and Julia Tokarev". The View from the Vysotka: A Portrait of Russia Today Through One of Moscow's Most Famous Addresses. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466865815.
  5. ^ Aleksandr Kazakevich (2 September 2009). "Вилли ТОКАРЕВ: "Когда тебя подгоняют, надо говорить "О'кей", и делать по-своему…"".
  6. ^ a b c d "Biography". Willi Tokarev official website.
  7. ^ a b c d "Вилли Токарев: "Мне лет 40. И ни годом больше!"". Vecherny Saransk. 7 November 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Мурманский календарь: 11 ноября. Признание Мурманчан было Токареву особенно приятно" [Murmansk calendar: 11 November. Tokarev enjoyed the acclaim by Murmansk residents]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). 1 November 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Не стало автора легендарной "Мурманчаночки"" [The author of legendary "Murmanchanochka" passed away]. SeverPost.ru (in Russian). 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Здесь люди умеют дружить". Murmansky Vestnik. 1 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Мурманский календарь: 11 ноября. Признание Мурманчан было Токареву особенно приятно". Komsomolskaya Pravda. 1 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Тайсон тоже человек. К нему можно подойти, поговорить". Gorod 812. 2 September 2009.
  13. ^ "Самый известный певец-уроженец Адыгеи отмечает 80-летие". Agygea Segodnya. 1 November 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Юбилей Вилли Токарева: балалайка для Карнеги-Холла". Radio Svoboda. 1 November 2009.
  15. ^ "Вилли Токарев | Новые Известия". Newizv.ru. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Willi Tokarev. Biography". TV Chanson.
  17. ^ ""Рожденные в СССР" с Владимиром Глазуновым. Вилли Токарев (2013, Биография)". Seteola. 2013.
  18. ^ Bohlen, Celestine (10 January 1989). "From Russia, With Love for U.S. Goods". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  19. ^ "The Last of the Defectors". What's On, No. 7 (2014). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ^ "Для тамбовчан выступит легендарный Вилли Токарев". Komsomolskaya Pravda. 4 March 2014.
  21. ^ "В Тамбове отменили концерт известного шансонье". Komsomolskaya Pravda. 1 March 2014.
  22. ^ "Тот самый Вилли". Russian Bazaar (#17 (313)).
  23. ^ "Вилли Токарев: "Россия – страна высочайших талантов. Но на сцену пускают только тех, кто платит"". Komsomolskaya Pravda. 1 December 2012.
  24. ^ "Токарев Вилли Иванович". Внутригородское муниципальное образование Таганское в городе Москве (официальный сайт).
  25. ^ Okorokova, Lidia (28 February 2011). "Inside Moscow's titans". The Moscow News (online newspaper). Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  26. ^ "Honorary citizens". Внутригородское муниципальное образование Таганское в городе Москве (официальный сайт).
  27. ^ "Вилли Токарев – 80 лет не срок". Blatata.com. 2014.
  28. ^ "В Тамбове выступит Вилли Токарев". OnlineTambov.ru. 5 March 2014.
  29. ^ May Bulman (2 January 2017). "Donald Trump supporters in Russia wear 'Anonymous' masks during inauguration party in Moscow". The Independent.
  30. ^ Dragana Jovanovic (2 January 2017). "Russia Celebrates on the Eve of Donald Trump's Inauguration". ABC News.
  31. ^ Вилли токарев: «Люба Успенская на своих концертах частенько забывает объявить, что песню «Люба-Любонька» написал я… Но я на нее не обижаюсь» (in Russian). Fakty i Kommentarii (newspaper). 2 April 2002.
    "Заслуженный "еврей" Брайтон-Бич". No. 45. Solidarnost (newspaper). 1 December 2004.
    "Вилли Токарев: Евреи научили меня жить!". Zriteli.co.il. 2 April 2005.
    Вилли Токарев: «Мы с женой планируем еще завести детей» (in Russian). Fakty i Kommentarii (newspaper). 1 November 2009.
    "Вилли ТОКАРЕВ: "Жена моложе меня не намного – всего на 43 года. Мне уже 71, дочери шесть лет, а сыну – два с половиной"". Bulvar Gordona. 6 September 2005.
    Вилли токарев: «Когда в 89-м я вернулся на Родину, мне пришлось судиться с Аллой Пугачевой» (in Russian). Fakty i Kommentarii (newspaper). 1 November 2014.
  32. ^ Andry Kut. "The cause of death of Willy Tokarev. | Russian news EN". Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Вилли Токарев: "Получать "Шансон года" почетно!"". Radio Chanson. 2 February 2014.

Further reading Edit

  • Nivat, Anne (2014). "Chapter 21. Wing A. Entryway 9, Third Floor: Willy and Julia Tokarev". The View from the Vysotka: A Portrait of Russia Today Through One of Moscow's Most Famous Addresses. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466865815.

External links Edit

  • Official website   (in Russian)
  • Willi Tokarev's channel on YouTube
    • "I'm Here in America" (medley) on Dmitry Gordon's channel
    • "Skyscrapers" (Tokarev's classic with English subtitles)
  • Willi Tokarev discography at Discogs

October 14, 2023
willi, tokarev, willi, ivanovich, tokarev, russian, Вилли, Ива, нович, То, карев, november, 1934, august, 2019, russian, american, singer, songwriter, 1980s, became, famous, throughout, soviet, union, songs, about, life, russian, émigré, york, brighton, beach,. Willi Ivanovich Tokarev Russian Villi Iva novich To karev 11 November 1934 4 August 2019 was a Russian American singer songwriter 1 In the 1980s he became famous throughout the Soviet Union for his songs about life as a Russian emigre in New York in Brighton Beach 2 Willi TokarevTokarev in 2012Background informationBirth nameVilen Ivanovich TokarevBorn 1934 11 11 11 November 1934Chernyshev Russian SFSR Soviet UnionDied4 August 2019 2019 08 04 aged 84 Moscow RussiaGenresRussian chansonOccupation s Singer songwriterWebsitewillitokarev wbr ru Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Singing career 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 Awards 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksEarly life and education EditVilen Ivanovich Tokarev was born in the small Cossack village of Chernyshev in Adyghe Autonomous Oblast North Caucasus Krai Soviet Union on 11 November 1934 His father was a Kuban Cossack by birth 3 His parents named him in honor of Vladimir Lenin see names of Soviet origin as the Soviet name Vilen is an acronym for Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 4 5 In 1941 his family moved to the town of Kaspiysk in Dagestan In 1948 he made his first sea voyage as a fireman After the obligatory military service in which he served in the signal corps Tokarev moved to Leningrad 6 There he pursued a formal education in music by joining the string department of the music school at the Leningrad Conservatory double bass class During his study Tokarev worked in the Anatoly Kroll Orchestra in the Jean Tatlian Sympho Jazz Ensemble in the Boris Rychkov Ensemble and later in the ensemble Druzhba conducted by Aleksandr Bronevitsky with Edita Piekha as vocalist As a music student he also started writing songs notably Rain Dozhd which was recorded by Edita Piekha and Winter Song Zimnyaya pesenka recorded by her as well 7 Singing career EditTokarev said that he probably became a singer by chance Nikolay Nikitsky a film actor and singer very popular at the time invited me to accompany him at his concerts Once during a concert he offered me to sing one of my songs myself When I finished the audience gave me an ovation Nikitsky seeing such a success told me Willi you have to sing And Tokarev in addition to playing double bass and writing songs started singing 7 From 1970 to 1974 he lived and performed as a singer in the town of Murmansk 8 According to Tokarev he moved from Leningrad because at the time in Moscow and Leningrad jazz fell out of favor with the authorities while in Murmansk he could be himself 8 In Murmansk Tokarev worked as a singer at the restaurant White Nights where he led the music band Nord West 9 In 1973 Tokarev s song Murmanchanochka Murmansk Girl became a huge local hit 6 10 11 12 13 In 1974 Tokarev emigrated from the USSR to the United States to New York City At first he accepted any job to survive On one occasion he was fired from a job as a courier on Wall Street because of his poor English 6 afterward he studied the language on his own with an audio cassette course 7 After getting a driver s license Tokarev began working as a taxi driver and was finally earning decent money It took him four years in a taxi to collect 15 000 to record and release an album 14 15 The album released in 1979 on vinyl record 14 was a serious songwriting effort but was only mildly successful His second album V Shumnom Balagane 1981 full of humorous songs stylized as urban folklore of the Russian criminal underground made him famous in the Russian speaking community of New York 6 16 The restaurant where Tokarev worked as a singer started to pay him well and soon he was able to buy a flat on the seashore and a car 7 In the 1980s his songs were widely known among Russian emigrants in the United States Tokarev worked as a singer in three big Russian speaking restaurants on Brighton Beach Sadko Primorsky and Odessa 17 Back in the Soviet Union his songs about the United States written from the perspective of a Russian emigre also became very popular 2 18 19 They were not broadcast and were de facto forbidden but they were widely known 20 21 In the late 1980s Tokarev began traveling back to the USSR 2 As he recalls when in 1988 he went on a test trip to the Soviet Union with Impresario Leonard Lev he was greeted in the Sheremetyevo Airport by a crowd of people asking him for autographs and to take a photo with them and was very surprised that the people knew him somehow 22 His first tour across the Soviet Union organized by Gosconcert the Soviet Union State Concert Organization took place in 1989 and consisted of 70 concerts 23 Tokarev permanently returned to Russia in 1996 24 From 2005 he was a resident of Moscow He lived in the famous Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building 25 and was named a Honorary Resident of Moscow s Tagansky Raion 26 Tokarev was still active at the age of 80 touring and recording new songs 27 As of March 2013 his discography included 48 studio and five compilation albums He also had cameo appearances in several movies including Day Watch 28 In early 2017 Tokarev performed a new song Trumplissimo America at a function in Moscow in support of Donald Trump s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States 29 30 Personal life EditAt the age of 62 Tokarev married for the fourth time His wife Julia who became a Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography graduate was over forty years his junior They had two children daughter Evillina born around 1999 and son Milen born around 2003 Tokarev also had two sons from previous marriages 31 Death EditWilli Tokarev died in Moscow on 4 August 2019 reportedly from cancer 32 He was 84 years old at the time of his death Awards EditTokarev was a multiple winner of Radio Chanson s Chanson of the Year Award the final time being in 2014 33 References Edit The New Emigration The Moscow Times 2 January 2010 Retrieved 10 October 2014 a b c Villi Tokarev v Nyu Jorke i ne strashno i ne grustno in Russian Voice of America 1 October 2013 Retrieved 10 October 2014 Villi Tokarev vystupil s koncertom na svoej istoricheskoj rodine Voice of Adygea Golos Adyga 2 November 2013 Dmitry Gordon 2006 Dialog dlinoyu v zhizn besedy s velikimi i znamenitymi Izdatelʹskiĭ Dom Skhili Dnipra ISBN 9789668881015 Anne Nivat 2014 Chapter 21 Wing A Entryway 9 Third Floor Willy and Julia Tokarev The View from the Vysotka A Portrait of Russia Today Through One of Moscow s Most Famous Addresses St Martin s Press ISBN 9781466865815 Aleksandr Kazakevich 2 September 2009 Villi TOKAREV Kogda tebya podgonyayut nado govorit O kej i delat po svoemu a b c d Biography Willi Tokarev official website a b c d Villi Tokarev Mne let 40 I ni godom bolshe Vecherny Saransk 7 November 2014 a b Murmanskij kalendar 11 noyabrya Priznanie Murmanchan bylo Tokarevu osobenno priyatno Murmansk calendar 11 November Tokarev enjoyed the acclaim by Murmansk residents Komsomolskaya Pravda in Russian 1 November 2013 Retrieved 6 August 2019 Ne stalo avtora legendarnoj Murmanchanochki The author of legendary Murmanchanochka passed away SeverPost ru in Russian 6 August 2019 Retrieved 6 August 2019 Zdes lyudi umeyut druzhit Murmansky Vestnik 1 October 2011 Murmanskij kalendar 11 noyabrya Priznanie Murmanchan bylo Tokarevu osobenno priyatno Komsomolskaya Pravda 1 November 2013 Tajson tozhe chelovek K nemu mozhno podojti pogovorit Gorod 812 2 September 2009 Samyj izvestnyj pevec urozhenec Adygei otmechaet 80 letie Agygea Segodnya 1 November 2014 a b Yubilej Villi Tokareva balalajka dlya Karnegi Holla Radio Svoboda 1 November 2009 Villi Tokarev Novye Izvestiya Newizv ru Retrieved 10 August 2019 Willi Tokarev Biography TV Chanson Rozhdennye v SSSR s Vladimirom Glazunovym Villi Tokarev 2013 Biografiya Seteola 2013 Bohlen Celestine 10 January 1989 From Russia With Love for U S Goods The New York Times Retrieved 29 November 2014 The Last of the Defectors What s On No 7 2014 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Dlya tambovchan vystupit legendarnyj Villi Tokarev Komsomolskaya Pravda 4 March 2014 V Tambove otmenili koncert izvestnogo shansone Komsomolskaya Pravda 1 March 2014 Tot samyj Villi Russian Bazaar 17 313 Villi Tokarev Rossiya strana vysochajshih talantov No na scenu puskayut tolko teh kto platit Komsomolskaya Pravda 1 December 2012 Tokarev Villi Ivanovich Vnutrigorodskoe municipalnoe obrazovanie Taganskoe v gorode Moskve oficialnyj sajt Okorokova Lidia 28 February 2011 Inside Moscow s titans The Moscow News online newspaper Retrieved 10 October 2014 Honorary citizens Vnutrigorodskoe municipalnoe obrazovanie Taganskoe v gorode Moskve oficialnyj sajt Villi Tokarev 80 let ne srok Blatata com 2014 V Tambove vystupit Villi Tokarev OnlineTambov ru 5 March 2014 May Bulman 2 January 2017 Donald Trump supporters in Russia wear Anonymous masks during inauguration party in Moscow The Independent Dragana Jovanovic 2 January 2017 Russia Celebrates on the Eve of Donald Trump s Inauguration ABC News Villi tokarev Lyuba Uspenskaya na svoih koncertah chastenko zabyvaet obyavit chto pesnyu Lyuba Lyubonka napisal ya No ya na nee ne obizhayus in Russian Fakty i Kommentarii newspaper 2 April 2002 Zasluzhennyj evrej Brajton Bich No 45 Solidarnost newspaper 1 December 2004 Villi Tokarev Evrei nauchili menya zhit Zriteli co il 2 April 2005 Villi Tokarev My s zhenoj planiruem eshe zavesti detej in Russian Fakty i Kommentarii newspaper 1 November 2009 Villi TOKAREV Zhena molozhe menya ne namnogo vsego na 43 goda Mne uzhe 71 docheri shest let a synu dva s polovinoj Bulvar Gordona 6 September 2005 Villi tokarev Kogda v 89 m ya vernulsya na Rodinu mne prishlos suditsya s Alloj Pugachevoj in Russian Fakty i Kommentarii newspaper 1 November 2014 Andry Kut The cause of death of Willy Tokarev Russian news EN Retrieved 6 August 2019 Villi Tokarev Poluchat Shanson goda pochetno Radio Chanson 2 February 2014 Further reading EditNivat Anne 2014 Chapter 21 Wing A Entryway 9 Third Floor Willy and Julia Tokarev The View from the Vysotka A Portrait of Russia Today Through One of Moscow s Most Famous Addresses St Martin s Press ISBN 9781466865815 External links EditOfficial website nbsp in Russian Willi Tokarev s channel on YouTube I m Here in America medley on Dmitry Gordon s channel Skyscrapers Tokarev s classic with English subtitles Willi Tokarev discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Willi Tokarev amp oldid 1169570829, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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