Nikolai Shchukin: Soviet singer from Hawaii whose leg was blown off during the war. About the path to the profession (biographical essay) Nikolai Shchukin singer
On June 3, Mordovia said goodbye to the former adviser to the Head of Mordovia, Nikolai Shchukin, who died suddenly. He would have turned 55 on July 27...
Nikolai Nikolaevich was born in the Zubovo-Polyansky village of Vadovy Selishchi. In 1987 he graduated from Moscow State University. Ogarev, having received the specialty “mechanical engineer”, and entered the post of first secretary of the Tengushevsky district committee of the Komsomol. In 1989, after studying at a higher school under the Komsomol Central Committee, he became secretary and later head of the ideological department of the Mordovian regional committee of the Komsomol. In 1992-1996 he worked at the company AgroMordovia. Since 1996 – assistant, senior assistant to the Head of the Republic of Moldova, head of a group of assistants to the Head of the Republic of Moldova. Since 2012 – State Advisor to the Head of the Republic of Moldova. Supervised issues of physical culture and sports. In January 2016, he ended his career as a government official. Awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1986), Honored Worker of Physical Culture of the Republic of Mordovia (2008)... On June 3, hundreds of people came to the Ice Palace to say goodbye to the former official, many of whom knew Nikolai Shchukin personally. The head of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation for the Saratov region, Alexander Grishnev, Olympic medalist Denis Nizhegorodov, classmate of Nikolai Shchukin - Minister of Housing and Communal Services of the Republic of Moldova Alexey Tyurkin and others expressed their condolences to their families and friends. Natives of Mordovia, members of the team of Samara Governor Nikolai Merkushkin, also came to Saransk to say goodbye to their former colleague. Nikolai Shchukin was buried at Saransk Cemetery No. 5.
“Nikolai Nikolaevich made a great contribution to the creative processes in Mordovia, including at the most difficult and crucial stages of development,” Governor of the Samara Region Nikolai Merkushkin expressed deep condolences to the family and friends of Nikolai Shchukin. “Thanks to his competent and efficient work, the most important projects for the republic were implemented in a number of areas in sports, youth, social policy, and economics. He was a man of deep integrity, high professionalism, exceptionally reliable in his work and human relationships.”
Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin is one of the idols of the Soviet stage of the 50-60s, a brilliant performer of domestic and foreign songs, a singer with an amazing timbre of voice. Nikolai Shchukin was born on June 15, 1924 in Armavir. He was brought up in an orphanage. In 1939 - trumpeter of the cavalry regiment. During the war he served in intelligence, was seriously wounded, and lost a leg. In 1945, Nikolai entered the Moscow Conservatory of Music, but soon realized that he would not make an opera singer and a year later he went to the stage. He began performing professionally on stage in 1946. At the beginning of his creative career, he worked in various provincial philharmonic societies, sang on summer park stages, in films...
Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin is one of the idols of the Soviet stage of the 50-60s, a brilliant performer of domestic and foreign songs, a singer with an amazing timbre of voice. Nikolai Shchukin was born on June 15, 1924 in Armavir. He was brought up in an orphanage. In 1939 - trumpeter of the cavalry regiment. During the war he served in intelligence, was seriously wounded, and lost a leg. In 1945, Nikolai entered the Moscow Conservatory of Music, but soon realized that he would not make an opera singer and a year later he went to the stage. He began performing professionally on stage in 1946. At the beginning of his creative career, he worked in various provincial philharmonic societies, sang on summer park stages, in cinemas and restaurants. Since the late 40s, Nikolai Shchukin, under the stage name Nika Stefan, performed with the Rostov jazz big band led by I. Stelman, popular in the North Caucasus. Widespread success came to the artist in the mid-50s. On the Soviet stage, after decades of bans, foreign songs began to sound again. The very first and most famous hit of Nikolai Shchukin was the lyrical song “Come Back”, which sold gigantic copies of records. According to eyewitnesses, he performed hits as no one in the world had ever sung them. Sometimes Nikolai Shchukin appeared on stage in a chic tuxedo (he always dressed and looked brilliant), fit, sparkling with a “Hollywood” smile, with grease, which was extremely fashionable at that time. The lyrical and spectacular image of the singer Nikolai Shchukin, who at the beginning of his work did not perform Soviet patriotic songs, did not suit the cultural “figures” from the authorities. Very zealous officials from the Ministry of Culture disparagingly called him “refined, salon and pro-Western,” and were not too keen to support the singer in his creative career, despite his great popularity among listeners. Since 1959, Nikolai Shchukin became a soloist of the Ukrkoncert. He performed in Kyiv with the famous and best pop-jazz big band in the country of the late 60s, the orchestra. and conductor V. Lyudvikovsky (orchestra created by Leonid Utesov). Since 1969, Nikolai Shchukin has been a soloist of the Mosconcert. In Moscow he worked with the famous State Television and Radio Orchestra under G. Garanyan, with the pop-jazz ensemble "Krugozor" under V. Kuprevich and other groups. Recorded on records. Until 1970, he mainly performed popular seasonal hits and lyrical songs of famous Soviet and foreign composers. He toured abroad several times as part of groups of Soviet artists. In the last years of his life, the singer successfully performed in concerts with the repertoire of the war years, which reflected his own biography. Participated in commemorative television programs dedicated to war veterans. Since 1984, Nikolai Shchukin has been Honored Artist of the RSFSR. Later, in the 90s, he received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. Passed away on July 25, 1999. There are fewer and fewer of us, But there were many of us... Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin - this name was not given to him from birth, because he was brought up in an orphanage. Perhaps the people who brought the little dark boy with a shock of hair as coarse as a crow's wing to the orphanage knew his real name. But he was recorded as Kolya Shchukin, crying bitterly when they took off his beautiful sailor suit and put on the gray uniform that all the orphanage children wore. The name of Nikolai Shchukin was covered in legends. Nikolai Nikolaevich told about himself that he was the son of a regiment, was wounded during the war, lost a leg, was awarded two Orders of Glory... That’s how I recognized him. But there were other versions of his life. In the very first post-war years, on the streets of Rostov, among complete devastation, padded jackets and greatcoats, one could meet a man who amazed the entire city. In a cream-colored striped suit and boater, he walked with a slight limp along the main street of Engels, followed by crowds of onlookers. This was the new soloist of Rostov jazz, and his name was Nika Stefan. Moreover, they announced him at the concert as a singer from the Hawaiian Islands! Nika Stefan performed mainly lyrical songs in languages incomprehensible to everyone. In Russian, but with a strong accent, he sang only a song about Rostov. In fact, it was Nikolai Shchukin, performing under the pseudonym “Nika Stefan”. The head of the Rostov jazz orchestra, trumpeter Joseph Stelman, came up with this image for him, and the young singer successfully used his pseudonym for several years. Even in life, Nika Stefan was forbidden to speak without an accent. But it seems to me that he willingly played this role, because he always recalled this period with pleasure! After Rostov, Nika Stefan worked in Kyiv for a long time and enjoyed resounding success. It was impossible to get to his concert. At one Shchukin anniversary, Joseph Kobzon said that, while still a boy, he tried to get to his concert, but to no avail: mounted police, crowds of fans, mountains of flowers and not a single extra ticket. All this was connected with the name - Nika Stefan. And his main hit “Evening, rustling at your feet...
On June 1, in Saransk, at the age of 55, former assistant to the Head of Mordovia Nikolai Shchukin suddenly died. Despite the fact that in terms of his formal status he was by no means an official of the first rank, the role he played in the sporting achievements of Mordovia is difficult to overestimate. However, Nikolai Shchukin knew how to solve other issues that were not part of his direct responsibilities. The scale of this man’s personality can be evidenced by the fact that the leadership of almost all ministries and departments of Mordovia, as well as representatives of other regions of the country, came to his farewell ceremony. The life and death of Nikolai Shchukin - in the material of the VS correspondent.
A leader by nature
You know, I never crossed paths with him at work,” two men near the Mordovia business incubator building are discussing the death of Nikolai Shchukin. - I knew him more from personal affairs. The main thing for me is that when I turned to him for help, he helped me. And what kind of cockroaches he had in his head - that didn’t interest me. The main thing is that it helped. I didn’t promise, you know, but I really helped!
The farewell ceremony for Nikolai Shchukin took place at the Saransk Ice Palace. Perhaps there was no better place for this. Already in the morning people with flowers flock to the building. Many go with whole families. The entrances to the Ice Palace are blocked by the police. Cars are not allowed through. The ground floor of the building is cramped. The coffin with the body of Nikolai Shchukin is installed to the left of the entrance. Numerous awards and photographs are also displayed here.
It's hard to imagine him dead! - a woman in a black dress whispers to her companion. - He was always so lively and energetic! I still can't believe he's gone.
This statement will be repeated more than once on this day by those who were personally acquainted with Nikolai Nikolaevich. He was always distinguished by pressure, energy and love of life. And in the Soviet army, where Nikolai Shchukin rose to the rank of foreman, and after service, when he worked as an ordinary tractor driver on a collective farm, and later, when, as the head of a construction team, he helped to raise the national economy in the fraternal countries of the USSR. It was for leading a construction team in Bulgaria that Nikolai Shchukin received his first state award, the Order of Honor. This was in 1986. By this time, Nikolai Shchukin, having served his military service and worked on a collective farm, was finishing his studies at Moscow State University named after N.P. Ogareva. A year later, he is an ordinary labor education teacher at the Tengushevskaya secondary school. But Nikolai Shchukin did not teach for long. In the same 1987, he was elected first secretary of the Tengushevsky district committee of the Komsomol. They say that his appointment to this position was facilitated by his acquaintance with Nikolai Merkushkin, who at that time held the position of first secretary of the Tengushevsky district committee of the CPSU. Perhaps it was the Komsomol that played a significant role in the formation of the future official during the perestroika years. In 1989, Nikolai Shchukin headed the ideological department of the Mordovian regional committee of the Komsomol. He worked in this position until 1992, when both the Komsomol and the country ceased to exist. But it is difficult for an energetic nature to remain idle. Like many in those years, Nikolai Shchukin went into commerce. Until 1995, he was the commercial director of the well-known company AgroMordovia in the republic. In 1995, he headed this company, but a year later he was invited to the public service. Nikolai Shchukin joined the newly formed team of the new leader of Mordovia, Nikolai Merkushkin. And even though the position he took sounded rather modest - assistant to the Head of the Republic, the issues that he had to resolve were indeed very large-scale.
Curator of Mordovian sports
Sorry, I can't right now! - two-time Olympic medalist Denis Nizhegorodov shyly refuses a request to talk about a sad topic. Then he will still say that this event shocked almost the entire sports community of the republic. And he will be right. By the way, the Mordovian Olympic Training Center named after Viktor Chegin arrived at the farewell ceremony for Nikolai Shchukin almost in full force. Both Olympic champions Olga Kaniskina and Valery Borchin came, as well as very young track and field athletes just starting their sports career. Viktor Chegin, who recently announced his retirement from coaching, also came. And he couldn’t help but come.
Then, in 1996, the new leadership of Mordovia relied on the development of sports in the subsidized region. The main emphasis was on athletics. This was greatly facilitated by Irina Stankina’s victory at the World Race Walking Championships. But there was devastation and criminal chaos in the country. The winners of international competitions did not claim the status of heroes of the nation. Like the majority of the country's population, they had to think first of all about their daily bread, and only then about the prestige of the state. Nikolai Merkushkin took the athletes under his wing. And Nikolai Shchukin became the wing itself. It was under his supervision that sports facilities were built in the republic, new sections and federations for various sports were opened, and the authority of Mordovia in the sports world of the country was strengthened. Of course, Nikolai Shchukin did not make key decisions for the republic; he was a skillful implementer of these decisions. He never came to the fore, did not strive to advance through a trusting relationship with the Head of the Republic, which, however, was known to all representatives of the administrative activists of Mordovia. On the sidelines, however, there was talk that at a certain point he was ready to expand the scope of his activities. Considering that he really had great trust from the leadership of the republic, and no one doubted his good organizational skills, Nikolai Shchukin could well count on a much more prominent position than assistant to the Head of the region. An assistant whose word was more significant than the position of another minister, but still an assistant. On the other hand, apparently, it was in this capacity that management valued him. It was valued so much that some high-ranking officials owe their positions to Nikolai Nikolaevich - his word meant a lot when making personnel decisions on a number of candidates.
Again, ask any famous athlete in Mordovia who was next to him when he was preparing for competitions, winning at the World Championships and Olympic Games. The answer will be the same: Nikolai Shchukin. For sports people, he was truly his own person. And not only in moments of triumph. When doping scandals began to flare up one after another, no one abandoned our athletes. No one ran to tear off their medals and shoulder straps. Once they found themselves under the wing, they remained under it, no matter what. Perhaps this is why Sergei Kirdyapkin was so nervous while handling the wreaths, Viktor Chegin was so nervous near the entrance, and the director of the Mordovia football team, Vladimir Bibikov, was in such a hurry to get inside. For people directly related to sports, the death of Nikolai Shchukin was truly a loss. He himself was fond of sports. He could often be seen kicking a ball and skating at the Ice Palace. This is probably why the coffin with his body installed in the hall looks so ridiculous, and the realization that he will no longer enter the Ice Palace seems so unnatural.
In 2008, Nikolai Shchukin became an Honored Worker of Physical Culture of Mordovia. The key word here is “deserved”. If anyone deserved this title, it was he. His contribution to the success of Mordovian athletes and the creation of excellent sports infrastructure in the republic cannot be overestimated. However, Nikolai Shchukin oversaw not only sports projects. Many note his contribution to youth work, social policy and economics. He had an important quality for any manager - he knew how to listen to a person, even if the question or initiative was purely hypothetical. But at the same time, Nikolai Shchukin did an excellent job of resolving even the most difficult situation, and personally helped in solving specific problems of many people who turned to the authorities for help. And he never considered that anyone owed him anything for this.
It's hard to talk! I have already buried so many... - ex-Minister of Internal Affairs of Mordovia Nikolai Larkov, as always, is laconic. Former head of the Ministry of Industry Viktor Akishev also stands a little aloof. Prime Minister of Mordovia Vladimir Sushkov approaches the coffin with flowers in his hands. The recently retired Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic Vladimir Ruzhenkov and the ex-head of the republican drug control Alexander Grishnev have already paid tribute to the memory. Middle-ranking officials are not buried like that.
Remained as an assistant
The work of Nikolai Shchukin in the administration of Nikolai Merkushkin was indeed associated with colossal emotional tension and stress. It had to be removed. They say that at such moments Nikolai Nikolaevich’s behavior changed greatly, and he could afford much of what evil tongues later reproached him for. But everyone agrees on one thing - Nikolai Shchukin was a deeply decent person whose word you could always rely on. Honest with himself and the people around him. And many, even the most prominent representatives of the political elite of Mordovia, valued their friendly relations with him.
Many people call 2012 a turning point in the biography of Nikolai Shchukin. The appointment of Nikolai Merkushkin to the post of governor of the Samara region was unexpected for many. But it was this personnel decision that played an important role in the future career of Nikolai Shchukin. Of course, given his enormous work experience, he could count on using his organizational and managerial abilities in the Samara region. But... he remained in his previous position in Saransk. On Internet forums, residents of the Mordovian capital say that this event seriously undermined Nikolai Shchukin. At the end of last year, he was completely dismissed from his post as assistant to the Head of the Republic. At the same time, his transfer to another responsible post was not excluded, but due to known circumstances, he was never offered another job. “This resignation broke him!” - people write, paying tribute to his decency and professionalism.
Married his son shortly before his death
Members of Nikolai Shchukin's family huddled in tears around the coffin with his body. He raised two good sons. After retirement, his family is all he has left. Shortly before his death, Nikolai Shchukin celebrated the wedding of his youngest son Anton... According to VS, Nikolai Shchukin died as a result of a sharply worsened health crisis in a car near his home, just a month and a half short of his 55th birthday. He was buried at Saransk Cemetery No. 5.
"There are fewer and fewer of us,
But there were a lot of us..."
Singer from Hawaii
(Nikolai Shchukin)
Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin. This name was not given to him from birth, because he was brought up in an orphanage.
Perhaps the people who brought the little dark boy with a shock of hair as coarse as a raven's wing to the orphanage knew his real name. But he was recorded as Kolya Shchukin, crying bitterly when they took off his beautiful sailor suit and put on the gray uniform that all the orphanage children wore.
The name of Nikolai Shchukin was covered in legends.
Nikolai Nikolaevich told about himself that he was the son of a regiment, was wounded during the war, lost a leg, was awarded two Orders of Glory... That’s how I recognized him.
But there were other versions of his life.
In the very first post-war years, on the streets of Rostov, among complete devastation, padded jackets and greatcoats, one could meet a man who amazed the entire city. In a cream-colored striped suit and boater, he walked with a slight limp along the main street of Engels, followed by crowds of onlookers. This was the new soloist of Rostov jazz, and his name was Nika Stefan. Moreover, they announced him at the concert as a singer from the Hawaiian Islands!
Nika Stefan performed mainly lyrical songs in languages incomprehensible to everyone. In Russian, but with a strong accent, he sang only a song about Rostov.
«Teatralnaya Square,
Poplar shelter.
Crystal lanterns
The light is pouring out cheerfully.
Aksai beeps in the morning
Selmash is listening.
And the Don wave roars,
Washing the beach."
In fact, it was Nikolai Shchukin, performing under a pseudonym. Jazz leader Joseph Stelman came up with this image, and the young singer successfully exploited it for several years. Even in life, Nika Stefan was forbidden to speak without an accent. But it seems to me that he willingly played this role, because he always recalled this period with pleasure!
Nikolai Nikolaevich once told me a funny incident from that time.
One day he arrived in Rostov and in the only hotel “Delovoy Dvor” there was not a single free room. He was asked to spend one night in a shared room. Nika Stefan had a thorough dinner at the restaurant, went into the common room, undressed and fell asleep in a dead sleep. When he woke up, it turned out that there was neither a suitcase nor a suit... In only his shorts, he rushed to the hotel authorities.
The director just threw up his hands:
- Nikochka, this is Rostov! Here, whoever wakes up earlier dresses better.”
After Rostov, Nika Stefan worked in Kyiv for a long time and enjoyed resounding success. It was impossible to get to his concert. At one Shchukin anniversary, Joseph Kobzon said that, while still a boy, he tried to get to his concert, but to no avail: mounted police, crowds of fans, mountains of flowers and not a single extra ticket.
All this was connected with the name - Nika Stefan. And his main hit “Evening, the sea surf is noisy at your feet...” was sung by literally everyone:
“Come back, love is calling you, come back.
Do you remember how heartily
We are pure and eternal
They swore to love.
Come back, I call again and again, come back,
Just one word from you
Will give us back again
Love and life!
At Mosconcert we worked for some time with one instrumental ensemble. Nika Stefan was already Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin, a veteran, and sang songs not only about love, but also about war. We were very friendly with him, we performed in the same concerts both in our country and abroad.
Once, I remember, we performed in some cold club. We decided to warm ourselves up with tea. But in this club, even in the dressing rooms, there were no sockets, and I settled down with my boiler behind the scenes, next to the stage. When the water boiled, steam began to pour onto the stage. Nikolai Nikolaevich noticed this with peripheral vision, probably decided that it was a fire, and forgot the words of the song: He sang: “I have no end…” And turning to the wings he asked me:
“Rybonka, what’s next?...”
I was speechless from the unexpected question. And then the audience unanimously said: “It’s a pity...”
- Of course of course! Nikolai Nikolaevich was delighted:
"I'm eternally sorry
My unfulfilled dreams
And only the pain of memories...
It oppresses me"
And behind the scenes I lost my favorite “saying”: “Haben zi geweisen machen zi fuz.”
Now, when I write these lines, Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin is no longer with us. But I remember him with tenderness, the singer from the Hawaiian Islands Nick Stefan, our Nikolai Nikolaevich!
Author - Domenika_Live. This is a quote from this post
“I’m infinitely sorry...” Nikolai Shchukin: Soviet singer of the Hawaiian IslandsNikolay Shchukin. The name of this artist is remembered primarily by older generations. It was incredibly popular in the first post-war decade, when Soviet television was just beginning to appear, and not everyone had televisions.
However, the concerts of this singer were always sold out. In the 1950s, he performed under the name Nika Stefan and remained “in the people’s memory” as the first performer of the song “Hello, someone else’s darling” and the luxurious tango “Come Back.”
Nikolai Shchukin was born on June 15, 1924 in Armavir. However, what his real name was and who his parents were is not known.
The boy was found on the street and sent to an orphanage. There he was given a first name, a surname, and a patronymic - Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin. Therefore, the real date of birth in this regard is suspicious.
He stayed in the orphanage - with all its pros and cons - until he was 15 years old. And in 1939, Kolya became the “son of the regiment” - he was accepted into the cavalry regiment and taught to play the trumpet. So, by and large, as a teenager, Nikolai Shchukin had already become a musician - a bugler in the cavalry. Just like in the legendary film “The Elusive Avengers”.
In 1941, with the outbreak of war, Nikolai Shchukin found himself at the front, on the front line. At the age of 17, he already served in intelligence - until 1944, when he was seriously wounded. It was so severe that he left the hospital without a leg - it was amputated.
But the combat foreman, holder of two Orders of Glory, Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin, had the strength and courage to resist fate.
He did not want to be disabled and in 1945 he entered the Moscow Conservatory of Music in the vocal department.
However, Shchukin quickly realized that he would not make an opera singer.
He leaves the conservatory and goes to the stage.
Nikolai Shchukin’s voice has been heard on the professional stage since 1946.
At the beginning of his creative career, Nikolai Shchukin worked in various regional philharmonic societies, sang on summer park stages, in cinemas and restaurants - he traveled around the country in search, as they say, of a better life.
It seems that it was not without reason that he ended up in Rostov-on-Don in the late 40s. In the post-war period, this city became a kind of mecca of Soviet jazz. Maybe because Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra came there with its entire lineup from Harbin?
In any case, every self-respecting establishment in Rostov - summer cafes, cultural centers, educational institutions - had its own small big band playing jazzy pop melodies.
In one of these jazz orchestras, led by trumpeter Joseph Stelman, Nikolai Shchukin was also a soloist. It was I. Stelman who came up with the stage name Nika Stefan for Shchukin. Stelman also suggested a style, not least thanks to which the singer became extremely popular.
The late forties and early fifties were a time of craze for Latin American rhythms. Europeanized rhythms of tango and bossa nova sounded literally from everywhere.
And N. Shchukin was introduced on the stage as follows: “singer of the Hawaiian Islands Nika Stefan.” And he took the stage in an impeccable cream and striped suit with bleached hair and soulfully sang popular tunes in languages incomprehensible to most with a subtle accent. Nikolai Shchukin maintained the peculiar shockingness of the overseas dandy in everyday life.
He walked along the streets of Rostov-on-Don in the same elegant suit, invariably attracting the attention of passers-by. And he even deliberately spoke with an accent - as if he were a foreigner.
Later, Nikolai Nikolaevich told his friends such an episode. Once he arrived in Rostov, and in the only hotel “Delovoy Dvor” there was not a single free room. He was asked to spend one night in a shared room.
Nika Stefan had a thorough dinner at the restaurant, went into the common room, undressed and fell asleep in a dead sleep. When I woke up, it turned out that there was neither a suitcase nor a suit...
Widespread success came to Nikolai Shchukin in the mid-50s. On the Soviet stage, after decades of bans, foreign songs began to sound again. According to eyewitnesses, he performed hits as no one in the world had ever sung them.
Sometimes Nikolai Shchukin appeared on stage in a chic tuxedo (he always dressed and looked brilliant), fit, sparkling with a “Hollywood” smile. Shchukin retained this same image when he was a soloist of the Ukrkoncert.
The lyrical and spectacular image of Nikolai Shchukin remained in the memory of the older generation for life...
Irina Gvozdeva recalls Gin in her book of memoirs “Friends by Happiness” (2007).
“At Mosconcert we worked for some time with one instrumental ensemble.
Nika Stefan was already Nikolai Nikolaevich Shchukin, a veteran, and sang songs not only about love, but also about war. We were very friendly with him, we performed in the same concerts both in our country and abroad.
Once, I remember, we performed in some cold club. We decided to warm ourselves up with tea. But in this club, even in the dressing rooms there were no sockets, and I settled down with my boiler behind the scenes, next to the stage. When the water boiled, steam began to pour onto the stage. Nikolai Nikolaevich noticed this with peripheral vision, probably decided that it was a fire, and forgot the words of the song; sang: “I have no end...” and, turning to the wings, asked me: “- Rybonka, what’s next?...”. I was speechless by the unexpected question. And then the audience unanimously said: “It’s a pity...”. "- Of course of course!" - Nikolai Nikolaevich was delighted:
I'm eternally sorry
My unfulfilled dreams.
And only the pain of memories...
It oppresses me.
He moved from Rostov to Kyiv in 1959 and performed with the famous Ludvikovsky Orchestra. This group was created at one time by L. Utesov, and it was considered the best pop-jazz big band of the Soviet Union in the 1960s.
Later, at one of N. Shchukin’s anniversaries, Joseph Kobzon said that, while still a boy, he tried to get to his concert in Kyiv, but to no avail: mounted police, crowds of fans, mountains of flowers and not a single extra ticket. All this was connected with the name - Nika Stefan.
And his main hit “Evening, the sea surf is rustling at your feet...” (“Come back”) was sung by literally everyone.
Come back, love is calling you, come back.
Do you remember how heartily
We are pure and eternal
They swore to love.
Come back, I call again and again, come back,
Just one word from you
Will give us back again
Love and life!
Nikolai Shchukin worked at the Kyiv Philharmonic for ten years. Nika Stefan’s performance of another hit dates back to this period, which, as they say, went to the people. Yes, so deeply that later it was performed by Arkady Severny, and in our time this song is performed by Alexander Solodukha. We are talking about the song “Hello, someone else’s darling.”
True, the version of the 50s and today’s, naturally, differ. And not only in arrangement and rhythms. In the fifties, Ukrainian composer Anatoly Gorchinky wrote music for the poems of Leonid Tatarenko. The song was even recorded on a record, and then firmly entered Nikolai Shchukin’s repertoire.
According to eyewitnesses, he performed it for the first time in public at one of the concerts in Lviv in 1959. They say that the audience asked him to perform “Alien Darling” four times as an encore...
Today, music critics claim that the Belarusian composer Eduard Hanok actually heard this song in his time. However, this did not stop him from writing his own version of the melody to the poems of L. Tatarenko in the seventies.
Hanok even offered his song to Valery Obodzinsky, who for some reason then refused to include it in his repertoire.
- All about raising rabbits for meat: tips and tricks Raising rabbits for meat is the best breed
- Why does a mother rabbit eat her babies?
- Why does a mother rabbit scatter her babies immediately after giving birth?
- Soviet merino: characteristics of the productivity of fine-wool sheep and features of caring for them Merino animal