Willi Tokarev
| Willi Tokarev | |
|---|---|
Tokarev in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vilen Tokarev |
| Born |
11 November 1934 Chernyshov, Adyghe Autonomous Oblast, USSR |
| Genres | Russian chanson |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Website | willitokarev |
Vilen "Willi" Tokarev (born 11 November 1934) is a Russian-American singer-songwriter. In the 1980s, he became famous all over the Soviet Union for his songs about life as a Russian émigré in New York in Brighton Beach.
He was born Vilen Tokarev in the small Cossack village of Chernyshov in Adyghe Autonomous Oblast, North Caucasus Krai, Soviet Union, on 11 November 1934. His father was a Kuban Cossack by birth. His parents named him in honor of Vladimir Lenin, as the Soviet name "Vilen" is an acronym for "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin".
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. 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.
Tokarev says 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.
From 1970 to 1974 he lived and performed as a singer in the town of Murmansk. 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. Tokarev was immediately employed as a singer by the fanciest restaurant in town, where he earned good money by singing songs upon request, and gained recognition as a singer-songwriter.
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