Valery Obodzinsky is a cult Soviet singer, songwriter, and composer. The artist's calling cards were the compositions "These Eyes Opposite" and "Oriental Song".
Today these songs can be heard in the repertoire of other Russian performers, but it was Obodzinsky who gave the musical compositions "life".
Childhood and youth of Valery Obozdzinsky
Valery was born on January 24, 1942 in sunny Odessa. Obodzinsky was born at the height of World War II. Mom and father were forced to go to the front, so the boy was raised by his grandmother Domna Kuzminichna.
Together with Valery, they also brought up his own uncle, who was only a few years older than his nephew. During the capture of Odessa, Obodzinsky Jr. almost died. The fact is that a German soldier suspected him of theft and wanted to shoot him.
Post-war childhood did not allow Valery to do what he loved - singing and playing musical instruments. Although already in his school years, the boy and his friends sang on the local boulevard, earning his living.
The young man had to leave early for work. Valery's first profession is a stoker. In addition, he made furniture fittings, and also made one trip as an entertainer on the ship Admiral Nakhimov.
Obodzinsky got into the work quite by accident. About a year before coming of age, the young man was invited to take part in the episodic role of the film "Chernomorochka".
In the film, Valery played a musician. Obodzinsky never became an actor, his soul did not lie in this, but now he understood exactly what he wanted to do.
Soon Valery had the opportunity to move to Tomsk. There he entered a music school, where he mastered playing the double bass. The first serious scene of Valery Obodzinsky was the stage of the Tomsk Philharmonic.
A little later, the performances of the beginning star could be seen in the Kostroma and Donetsk Philharmonics, where Valery already performed as a vocalist.
In addition, he was part of the then popular orchestra of Oleg Lundstrem, with whom he traveled all over the USSR.
The creative path and music of Valery Obodzinsky
Valery gained his first popularity in 1967. It was then that the young singer had just returned from a tour of Siberia and the Primorsky Territory.
Obodzinsky decided to consolidate his success with a tour in Bulgaria, where he performed the composition "Moon on a Sunny Beach".
In the late 1960s, the disc “Valery Obodzinsky Sings” was released, which was instantly sold out from the shelves of music stores. It is interesting that the state was enriched by the voice of Valery by 30 million rubles.
Obodzinsky was awarded a fee of 150 rubles. Then the young singer first thought about financial injustice. This topic bothered him until the end of his life.
Obodzinsky's subsequent records sold out at the same speed. Genuine interest in the performer can be explained by the unusual manner of presenting musical compositions, velvety voice and honey lyrical timbre.
Valery has never studied professional vocals. When performing compositions, the singer used his innate hearing and voice.
You can not ignore the high professionalism and work capacity of the artist. Valery could rehearse the song for days, so that in the end the composition would sound the way it should.
Thus, the peak of the artist's popularity fell at the beginning of the 1970s. Interestingly, in 2020, musical compositions performed by Valery Obodzinsky did not lose their popularity.
We are talking about the songs: “These eyes are opposite”, “Eastern song”, “Leaf fall”, “How many girls in the world” and “March of paratroopers”.
Valery Obodzinsky managed to acquaint fans of his work with the songs of The Beatles, Karel Gott, Joe Dassin, Tom Jones. At that time, the tracks of these groups were almost banned in the territory of the CIS countries.
Valery Obodzinsky revived the songs of foreign performers in Russian. The meaning of the compositions has not changed. The Soviet performer managed to “spice up” the songs with his own sensual, passionate and slightly grotesque style.
The sunset of the creative career of Valery Obodzinsky
At the decline of his popularity, Valery Obodzinsky performed foreign songs and constantly reproached the authorities for beggarly fees, which the authorities could not help but notice.
Valery was accused of not singing patriotic songs that are alien to the citizens of the Soviet Union. In addition, officials called the singer to the carpet, attributing to him a desire to emigrate from the country, although the singer never wanted to leave the USSR.
The artist was suspended from touring the Soviet Union. In addition, he was not able to perform, as planned, in the territory of the United States of America.
Pressure from the authorities led to the fact that the once most popular performer Valery Obodzinsky began to work in the warehouse of a textile factory, which led to severe alcohol addiction.
Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Valery Obodzinsky returned to the recording studio and released the mini-collection Days Are Running. The new disc includes the best hits performed by Russia's leading pop tenor.
In the fall of 1994, Valery organized a concert that was very popular. He is not forgotten, he is remembered.
After the performance, the artist's songs were re-released annually, and Valery himself traveled around Russia and performed in several major concert halls in the country.
Personal life of Valery Obodzinsky
Officially, the Russian performer was married only once. In 1961, the beautiful Nelly Kuchkildina became his legal wife. In this family, two beautiful daughters were born - Angelica and Valeria.
Natalia and Valery were officially married until the 1980s. Then the singer had a creative crisis, which also led to the breakup of the family.
After the divorce and troubles at work, Valery lived for some time with his longtime friend Svetlana Silaeva. The woman not only provided the singer with a roof over his head, but also helped to cope with alcohol and drug addictions.
The singer's next lover was his longtime admirer Anna Yesenina. Soon the couple began to live in a civil marriage. It is to her that Obodzinsky owes his return to the big stage.
At that time, Anna worked as an administrator for the singer Alla Bayanova. She tried to help her husband return to the stage. The woman organized a meeting with journalists for the singer, “promoted” his songs on the radio, tried to motivate her husband so that he would not give up.
Interestingly, Valery Obodzinsky was an incredibly intellectually developed person. The man preferred to read classical literature.
A good lesson for him was the fall and alcohol addiction. Having chosen from this "pit", the singer revised his views on life.
In an interview, Valery said that only love rules life, and love can be in completely different forms.
Interesting facts about Valery Obodzinsky
- The popularity of Valery Obodzinsky in the USSR can be compared with the fame of Elvis Presley in America.
- The Philharmonic Society of the Soviet Union "tore apart" Obodzinsky. For just a few concerts, he gave them a month's box office. He put a modest amount of money in his pocket.
- He gained immense popularity and recognition throughout the USSR after the performance of Tukhmanov's song "These Eyes Opposite". It is interesting that the words to the song were written by Tukhmanov's wife Tatyana Sashko.
- In 1971, the Minister of Culture of the RSFSR visited Obodzinsky's concert. This day in the singer's career became fatal. The Minister of Culture said that Valery did not know how to behave on stage at all. An official could not tolerate such Westernism. Since then, there has been a serious “harassment” against Obodzinsky.
- The singer loved literature. Returning home from concerts, he replenished his home library with literary novelties. This was his tradition and hobby.
Death of Valery Obodzinsky
Valery Obodzinsky in the mid-1990s was completely cured of drug addiction and alcohol addiction. The man had no serious health problems. Although after a long addiction it's hard to believe.
On April 26, 1997, Valery Obodzinsky, unexpectedly for relatives and friends, passed away. On the eve of his death, the singer performed with his program in St. Petersburg.
Upon returning home, the performer died. The cause of death is heart failure. Valery is buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in the capital of Russia.
The famous Soviet and Russian singer is remembered. In memory of Valery Obodzinsky, a nominal star was laid in the capital on the "Square of Stars".
In his native Odessa, the singer was also not forgotten. A memorial plaque was attached to the house where he grew up.
In 2015, the biographical film "These Eyes Opposite" appeared on TV screens. The director spoke about the ups and downs and difficult life of Valery. The role of Obodzinsky was played by actor Alexei Barabash.
