Sarolta Zalatnay
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Sarolta Zalatnay (born Charlotte Sacher in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, 14 December 1947) is a Hungarian singer. She has been noted for a flourishing popular music career under Communism, and evolved from
teen pop Teen pop is a sub genre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards Preadolescence, preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop". About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Often, the artists themselves are teenagers during their break ...
to rock music.


Career

Zalatnay was born with the name Charlotte Sacher; her family later adopted Hungarian naming conventions and her official name became Zalatnay Sarolta. She appeared on stage for the first time in 1963, using the nickname Cini. In 1966, at age 18, she finished in second place in the Hungarian Television song contest
Táncdalfesztivál ''Táncdalfesztivál'' (literally ''Festival of dance music'') was a series of Hungarian pop music competitions and exhibition shows, airing on the National Television from 1966 to 1994. Significance In a country with only one television channel ...
, with the song "Hol jár az eszem?" ("Where is My Mind Running?"). During this period she worked with the backing bands Bergendy Együttes and Metró. In 1967 she appeared in the contest again and finished in first place with the song "Nem várok holnapig" ("I Am Not Waiting Till Tomorrow"), on which she was accompanied by the Hungarian rock group
Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...
. Thanks to the relatively lenient travel restrictions managed by the Communist-era
Hungarian government The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...
, Zalatnay was able to tour England in 1968–69. While there she became acquainted with the
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
, and had a brief personal relationship with
Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...
. She again won the first prize in the Táncdalfesztivál contest in 1971 with "Fák, virágok, fény" ("Trees, Flowers, Light"). By this time she had moved into rock music, with a singing style that has been compared to that of
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...
; Zalatnay is known to have attended a musical festival featuring Joplin during this period. Furthermore, a vocal cord operation during this period changed the tone of Zalatnay's voice, allowing her to tackle grittier rock songs. She later worked frequently with Metró member
Károly Frenreisz Károly Frenreisz (born 8 November 1946, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian rock singer and songwriter. Life Frenreisz first studied piano and then learned to play the clarinet, saxophone, and bass. He was from 1965 to 1971 part of the band Met ...
, who assisted with songwriting and production. Frenreisz's
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
-oriented bands
Locomotiv GT Locomotiv GT (often abbreviated LGT, and sometimes using the nickname Loksi) was a Hungarian rock band formed in 1971. Starting out as a progressive rock band, they later experimented with many other styles including jazz, funk, and pop. During ...
and Skorpio provided backing for Zalatnay's albums in the early 1970s. Zalatnay's first full-length album, ''Ha fiú lehetnék'' (''If I Could Be a Boy''), was released in 1970 and featured a cover on which Zalatnay transformed from a teen pop star to an adult rock singer. Her frequent changes of image and attitude during her rock music period have been compared to the similar strategy used later by
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
. Her 1973 album ''Hadd mondjam el'' (''Let Me Tell You'') received attention from international rock critics. During her most successful musical period, she also performed small roles in several Hungarian films. Later critics and journalists speculated that Zalatnay could have achieved international stardom were it not for the Communist-era restrictions on popular music, notwithstanding the relatively lenient strictures of her native Hungary. Zalatnay's music career slowed down in the 1980s when Hungarian fans moved on to new genres of Western music. She released the autobiography ''Nem vagyok én apáca'' (''I’m No Nun'') during this period. By the 1990s, she had become a post-Communist political activist in Hungary, as a board member of the Felicity Party and chairwoman of the Hungarian Animal Protection and Nature Federation. Zalatnay's music remained relatively unknown outside of Hungary until the release of a self-titled compilation in 2007. The compilation gained the notice of Western rock critics, who were inspired to evaluate Zalatnay's place in rock and pop history. One such reviewer called Zalatnay one of the most important entertainers of her nation and era, noting that her music was impressively varied and often ahead of its time. Another reviewer stated that Zalatnay adapted typical American rock music into the Hungarian milieu, with an
acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage rock, garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelia, psychedelic subculture. While the term has sometimes been used interchangeably with "psyc ...
/
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
sound and particularly powerful vocals. By this time, Zalatnay's musical career had been largely forgotten in Hungary, and her personal life and appearances on Hungarian reality TV were mostly of interest to local tabloids. The 2007 compilation revived interest in her music and she resumed live performing. In 2017, she returned to the
Erkel Theatre The Erkel Theatre is a theatre in Budapest, Hungary. Being the largest public building in the city for decades (and the largest theatre in the city), it was made part of the Hungarian State Opera House in 1951. History With the idea of bri ...
in Budapest, the site of her early performances for Táncdalfesztivál, for a seventieth birthday concert.


Personal life

In 1968 Zalatnay had a short relationship with
Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...
. In 1974 she married Sándor Révész of the Hungarian rock band Piramis but they later divorced. Her second marriage was to László Benedek in 1987, and they had a daughter in 1989. In 1995 she married for the third time, to pornography director Márton Csaba. Csaba persuaded her to pose nude in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' at age 53 in 2001. In 2004, she was sentenced to three years in prison for tax fraud. She served 16 months, and was released on parole in 2006. She currently lives in
Tárnok Тárnok is a large village in Pest County, Hungary located 23.3 kilometers from Budapest. The Benta Creek runs through the village. It has a population of 10,488 people. Located between and the M7 motorway, the Nr. 30 Budapest–Murakereszt ...
.


Albums

*''Ha fiú lehetnék'' (''If I Could Be A Boy'', 1970) *''Zalatnay'' (1971) *''Álmodj velem'' (''Dream of Me'', 1972) *''Hadd mondjam el'' (''Let Me Tell You'', 1973) *''Szeretettel'' (''With Love'', 1975) *''Színes trikó, kopott farmer'' (''Coloured Jerseys, Shabby Jeans'', 1976) *''Minden szó egy dal'' (''Each Word Is a Song'', 1978) *''Tükörkép'' (''Mirror-Image'', 1980) *''Privát levél'' (''Private Letter'', 1988) * ''Ave Maria'' (1989) *''Sarolta Zalatnay'' (compilation, 2007)


References


Sources


Sarolta Zalatnay Official SiteSarolta ZalatnaySarolta Zalatnay59 éves Zalatnay Sarolta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zalatnay, Sarolta 1947 births Living people 20th-century Hungarian women singers Hungarian pop singers Hungarian women pop singers Hungarian rock singers Hungarian women rock singers