Klavdiya Ivanovna Shulzhenko (, ; – June 17, 1984) was a Soviet popular female singer and actress.

Biography

Shulzhenko started singing with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

bands in the late 1920s. She rose to fame in the late 1930s with her version of Sebastián Iradier's ''

La Paloma "La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basques, Basque comp ...

''. In 1939, she was awarded at the first all-Soviet competition of pop singers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Shulzhenko performed about a thousand concerts for Soviet soldiers in besieged Leningrad and elsewhere. The lyrics of one of her prewar songs, "The Blue Headscarf", were adapted so as to suit wartime realities. Another iconic song of the

Eastern Front (World War II) The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, "Let's Have a Smoke", was later used by Vladimir Menshov in his

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning movie '' Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears''. In 1945, Shulzhenko was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

. She, as traditional pop singer, was named

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1971. On April 10, 1976, Shulzhenk
performed to enraptured audience
in the

House of the Unions The House of the Unions (, also called ''Palace of the Unions'') is a historic building in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets. History The first building ...

in what would become her most famous concert.

References

External links

Klavdiya Shulzhenko on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shulzhenko, Klavdiya 1906 births 1984 deaths Musicians from Kharkiv People from Kharkov Governorate People's Artists of the USSR Soviet people of World War II Soviet actresses Soviet pop singers Soviet sopranos Women in World War II Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery