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1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The beginnings
Helena Vondráčková was born on June 24, 1947 in Prague but as a child she lived in a little town of Slatinany in the Eastern part of Czech Republic. Her first appearance as singer took place in 1964 at the Lucerna hall in Prague where she participated and won the contest "We are looking for new talents".
In June 1964 Helena appeared for the very first time on Czechoslovakian TV with her first hit "Cervena reka" (Red River Valley) - an American folk song with Czech lyrics. In the autumn 1964 she started working at the theatre "Rokoko" in Prague.
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At "Rokoko" she met for the first time two other singers: Marta Kubisova (already a big name on Czechoslovakian scene) and Vaclav Neckar. Occasionally all three of them worked together and recorded some duets. The three singers recorded absolutely fabulous amount of hits during the first period at "Rokoko". They were loved by the audience and TV viewers. They became super stars.
Ballad with rag
On November 28th, 1965 the theatre Rokoko in Prague had premiere of the play "Ballad with rag" featuring Helena and Waldemar Matuska.
In 1965 she won "The Golden Nightingale" as the most popular singer in Czechoslovakia.
Waiting for Fame
New musical at the Rokoko theatre in Prague was entitled "Waiting for Fame" and it had its premiere on January 1st, 1966. The songs were written mostly by Jan Schneider & Bohuslav Vondracek and the show featured Helena, Vaclav Neckar and Marta Kubisova playing main parts. They sang songs which would become big hits in Czechoslovakia.
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Bratislava Bratislava...
In the summer Helena and Marta Kubisova participated in the Song Festival "Bratislavska Lyra" in Bratislava. They performed the song "Oh Baby Baby" written by Jan Schneider and Bohuslav Ondracek and won the second prize - The Silver Lyra.
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Helena and Marta participated even in a new started festival of dance music which was held also in Bratislava in June 1966. They performed "Oh Baby Baby" and won the third prize.
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Summer
Helena, Marta and Vasek performed on the student festival "Majales" in the summer 1966. Helena and Marta performed their latest hit "Oh Baby Baby" which by the same time had entered the Czechoslovakian hit list at #2.
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In Rio
In November 1967 Helena represented Czechoslovakia on the music festival in Rio de Janeiro. She performed the song "Vzdaleny hlas" (Distant voice) written by Karel Svoboda who followed with Helena to Rio.
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A very sad princess - the first film
The same year Helena had a possibility to act in a real movie picture. She played the main role together with Vaclav Neckar in the film "Silene smutna princezna" (A very sad princess). In 2005 the film was released on DVD.
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Prisahej - new recording
At the beginning of December 1967 Helena recorded a new song called "Prisahej" (Swear) for the top popular in Czechoslovakia radio show "Pisnicky pro Petra a Lucii" (The songs for Petr and Lucia) written by Jan Schneider well-known poet in Czechoslovakia. (read more below)
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The lyrics written for Helena by Jan Schneider and his dedication for raffem.com |
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Focus on... Jan Schneider |
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The Czech poet Jan Schneider was one of the first working with Helena Vondrackova, Marta Kubisova and Vaclav Neckar. He wrote lyrics for them from mid sixties until 1969 when he was forced to leave Czechoslovakia for forthcoming 20 years. Jan Schneider was born in 1934 in the beautiful city of Tabor. The first steps as a poet he took in... Poland and France where he worked as journalist and translator in 1956. The first works published in Czechoslovakia were for the paper "May and culture". At the beginning of the 1960s he started collaboration with the famous theatre "Semafor" in Prague and one year later with the theatre "Rokoko". He worked with various theatres in Czechoslovakia and it made possible to meet Marta Kubisova who by that time performed at the theatre "Stop" in Pardubice. In Plzno Schneider met another talented singer - Vaclav Neckar. Both Kubisova and Neckars came finally to Prague to the Schneider theatre "Rokoko". Even Helena Vondrackova joined them after winning the talent competition in 1964. Vondrackova, Kubisova and Neckar were at the beginning three solo artist on their own rights before they started the group "Golden Kids". During the first period of 1964-69 Jan Schneider wrote lyrics to about 11 songs recorded by Vondrackova. Even one of the biggest hits ever recorded by Vondrackova and Kubisova "Oh baby baby" was written by Schneider as well as another smash hit "Hribe" performed by Vondrackova and Neckar. At the end of 1960s Schneider was one of the biggest songwriters in Czechoslovakia with the highest prizes from several festivals but in 1969 he was stopped by the regime which did not like Schneider and his lyrics. His songs became forbidden from 1969 until 1989. Schneider and his wife were banned from Czechoslovakia for 20 years to come. Jan and his wife Libuse lived in Munich and worked as journalists at the Radio Free Europe. After coming back to Czechoslovakia after 1989 the Schneider couple moved to the beautiful city of Trebon in the southern part of Böhmen. Schneider is still working with his old pals Kubisova and Neckar. The latest big collaboration with Kubisova was a whole album with Jan's "small stories" which has even its stage version at the theatre "Ungelt" in Prague. |
The song for Rudolf III - TV series
In 1967 the Czechoslovakian TV started a very popular musical series "Pisen pro Rudolfa III" (The song for the king Rudolf III) where the most popular Czechoslovakian artists performed their latest hits and acted. Among the biggest pop stars there was already established Marta Kubisova and the new in business 20-year-old Helena Vondrackova. The series were aired until August 1968 when the Russian troops entered Prague.
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Vzdaleny hlas - Distant voice - the single
The end of the year 1967 saw the release of the single containing two classical Karel Svoboda compositions the hit "Vzdaleny hlas" (Distant voice) and "Posledni prazdniny" (The last holidays). The single was released with two different covers.
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The Midem fair in Cannes
At the beginning of the year Helena together with other Czechoslovakian artists represented the country on the record company fair MIDEM in Cannes. Helena performed two songs solo (Cink Cink and French language version of Vzdaleny hlaz - Voice on long distance). Together with Kubisova and Neckar Marta sang two more songs which were warmth welcome by the audience.
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Paris
On April 1, 1968 Helena, Marta Kubisova and Vaclav Neckar left Prague for Paris. The trio would appear within a bigger show with a 20-minute-performance including three solo songs each and two songs sung by all three of them. They performed as three artists on their own rights and not as a group. The stay in Paris was a great time for three young people from Czechoslovakia and great contrast comparing the capital of France to communist Prague somewhere in East Europe. They did not know that 32 years later Prague would become a new Paris in Europe and much more overcrowded by tourists from all over the world than any other European city.
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Bratislava festival
Helena participated in the International Festival of pop songs "Bratislavska Lyra" in the capital of Slovakia - Bratislava in the summer 1968. Helena performed together with Waldemar Matuska "To se nikdo nedovi" (Nobody will know) and took the second prize. The first prize went to Marta Kubisova.
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Namaluj dest (Paint the rain) - the single
Two big hits performed by the future members of Golden Kids were released as a single in 1968. The composition on the A-side "Namaluj dest" (Paint the rain) was performed by Helena together with Vaclav Neckar and the song on the B-side featured the duet Helena-Marta Kubisova who performed "Hej, pane Zajicii". Lyrics to the both songs had been written by Jan Schneider and the music by Bohuslav Ondracek.
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Helena on Polydor
Helena started her career in West Germany already in 1968 when Polydor released her single "Frag' nicht". Helena, Marta and Vaclav Neckar were by that time the absolute biggest artist in Czechoslovakia in there was a certain interest for them in West Europe. Helena would release several singles and two albums in West Germany during the 1970s.
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Golden Kids
On November 1, 1968 she started together with Kubisova and Neckar the pop group called "Golden Kids".
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The Golden Kids were the absolute highlight on the Festival MIDEM in Cannes in 1969 and were invited to Paris for several performances at Olympia.
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The group was disbanded 15 months later. Marta became forbidden by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia (go.to/Marta). Golden Kids recorded two LPs: "Golden Kids 1" and "Micro Magic Circus".
Micro-Magic-Circus - the single
The Golden Kids' hit "Micro-Magic-Circus" was released as Vaclav Neckar single in 1969.
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The single from the TV show
In 1969 the record company Supraphon released a single containing two songs from the TV series "The song for Rudolf III". On the side A there was Helena's song "Pojd zpatky" (Go back) and on the side B "Legendy" (Legends) performed by Marta Kubisova.
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The first solo album
After 5 successful years with lots of hits the record company Superaphon released Helena's first album called "Ruze kvetou dál" after the song of French singer Gilbert Bécaud "L'important c'est la rose" which was Helena's favorite song from the very beginning as she heard it for the first time. She did her own interpretation of the song which was included on the album among other well-known world hits as "Down Town", "Red River Valley", "I Only Want to be With You" and "They Say it's Wonderful". Totally the LP contained 13 songs.
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Golden Kids in West Germany
All the three members of Golden Kids released several singles in West Germany. The most successful of them all was Helena who even released two albums in West Germany as well as in East Germany where she became quite a big star during the 1970s. Golden Kids released two singles in West Germany and recorded a TV special for Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt in 1969. The first single featured the songs "Wo ist der Clown" and "Wir leben mit dem Sonnenschein". The latter song was the German version of Helena's hit : "Chytila jsem na pasece motylka" which was cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You".
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The second single released by Golden Kids in West Germany contained the songs "No" and "Was vorbei ist". The song "No" was the German version of Golden Kids' very first hit "Hej, pane zajici" (feat Marta and Helena). "Was vorbei ist" was the German version of Vaclav Neckar's hit "Dobra zprava".
Golden Kids appeared in several West German TV shows singing their hits before the decision about split up taken by Czechoslovakian socialist party and goverment was taken at the beginning of 1970.
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The Island of Helena - the album
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In 1970 Helena released her second studio album. The LP "Ostrov Heleny Vondrackove" (The island of Helena Vondrackova) had been recorded at the beginning of February 1970. The group Golden Kids still existed during the first recording sessions for Helena's solo album but a couple of months later Marta Kubisova became forbidden as singer and it seemed natural for Helena to drift apart from the Golden Kids era. Marta Kubisova participated on the album where she sang background vocals on 4 tracks.
In Poland
In September 1970 Helena appeared in German TV show filmed in Kraków in Poland. It was one of the first solo performances after the split up of Golden Kids earlier this year. Helena performed the song "I am sorry" in German. The video was recorded in the new constructed part of the Kraków called "Nowa Huta".
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Yamaha Festival - Tokyo
In November 1970 she had a big success in Japan winning the Prize of Hitachi on the Yamaha international song festival in Tokyo.
Tva mala Jane - Your little Jane - the single
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The most successful Helena single in 1970 featured the hit "Tva mala Jane" (Your Little Jane) b/w "Mr Sen" (Mr Dream).
The 1970 photo sessions
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Raj - the single
The Golden Kids era was definitely over when Marta Kubisova became forbidden as a singer by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Both Helena and Vaclav decided to continue as solo artists. At the end of 1970 Helena released her cover of the well-known hit "Free again" b/w "To je tvy Waterloo" (This is your Waterloo). The biographical note on the back of the single did not mention Helena's work together with Kubisova and Golden Kids. The story of Helena had been changed by the record company "Supraphon"...
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Milacku - Honey Pie - the single
The year 1971 did not bring any new LP release from Helena but four singles which became big hits in Czechoslovakia. Three of the songs released on singles during this year became Helena's evergreens still performed on concerts. The classical "Milacku" (Sweet heart) was the first single to be released that year.
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What Have They Done to My Song, Ma
Helena made her own cover of the song performed originally by Melanie Safka "What Have They Done To My Song, Ma" (Top 40 hit in Great Britain and Top 10 hit in Norway in 1971). The song was entitled "Tam zmizel ten stary song" (There disappeared this old song) and it became one of the biggest hits of Helena in the 1970. The single was released in Czechoslovakia in 1971 with "Fanfan" on the other side.
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Helena Live
On June 30 Helena performed in front of audience in the "Supraphon" studio in Prague. This performance was recorded for a future album release (see 1972).
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The elections in Czechoslovakia
The November 1971 elections in Czechoslovakia were the first to be held since 1964. These, like every election, proposed single slates of candidates for the Federal Assembly. Several concerts were arranged before the elections under the title "I give my vote" with the biggest artists as Karel Gott and Helena Vondrackova.
The interview
At the end of the year Helena gave a big interview for the Czechoslovakian music paper "Melodies". New pictures of the singer were published in connection to the article.
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More single hits
The single containing "Kam zmizel ten stary song" b/w "Fanfan" became Top 10 hit in October 1971. The last single in 1971 was "Admiral".
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Golden Nightingale 1971
Helena became the second most successful female artist in Czechoslovakia in 1971 and she received the Silver Nightingale during the traditional "Golden Nightingale" show in December 1971 in Prague.
Jak mam spat - the single
One of the most successful Helena songs was her cover version of the world hit "Apres toi" which received the Czech title "Jak mam spat" (How can I sleep). The B-side contained an Ukrainian folk song "Spi, vsecko spi" (They all sleep).
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Helena Helena Helena
The year 1972 saw the release of Helena's live album called simply "Helena Helena Helena". The album contained 11 hits recorded in the Czechoslovakian record company "Supraphon" studio's in Dejvice (Prague) with audience. The recording was made on June 30, 1971.
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Isle of Helena - the international album
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At the beginning of 1970s Helena became very successful abroad. The first attempt to promote the singer abroad was done in 1972 when her first English language album "The Isle of Helena" was released in some countries. The album contained 12 songs partly songs written especially for Vondrackova partly covers. Among the covers there were Lennon/McCartney's "Honey Pie", Bacharach's "I Say a little Prayer" and Legrand's "The Windmills of your Mind".
Helena in a TV show in March 1972.
In Japan
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In 1972 Helena worked a lot abroad. For a singer in a socialistic country it was very important to work in Soviet Union by that time. On Helena's concert in Yerevan in 1972 there was an audience of 70 000 people. After the Soviet tour it was time for Japan. Helena's Czech record company tried to promote the singer in Japan and the Japanese side showed some interest. She made 16 concerts in Japan and signed a contract for one LP. She even appeared on the NHK TV in a 45-minute show. A great success for a young singer.
The Supraphon Golden Records
Helena received the Golden Record of the record company Supraphon in 1972 for her LP sales in Czechoslovakia.
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The Bratislava Festival
Helena participated in the Song Festival in the capital of Slovakia - Bratislava. The pictures from the even show Helena having good time...
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Helena in West Germany
In 1972 Polydor in West Germany released Helena's single "Eine weiss was Liebe ist". By that time Helena was still remembered as a member of Golden Kids, the group that was quite successful in West Germany in 1969. Even Helena became a star in both East and West Germany where she still has a great group of fans.
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Jak mam spát - Aprés toi - the single
The single release featuring the cover of the French hit "Aprés toi" translated into Czech as "How should I sleep" became a huge success for Helena in 1972.
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Ptaci hnizda - the single
The single with "Ptaci hnizda" (The bird clutches) b/w "Pocitej do dvou" (Count to two) was released at the beginning of 1973.
Fanfan - the single in East Germany
Helena became a big schlager star in East Germany already at the beginning of 1970s. In 1973 she released a single by the record company Amiga with two smash hits in her homecountry: "Fanfan" and "Die kleine Jane" (Little Jane). Both songs were even released on an compilation album "Schlagersterne aus Prag" which was released the same year.
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The night on Karlstejn
The movie "The night on Karlstejn" (Noc na Karlstejne) with the music of Karel Svoboda - probably the most talented composer in Czech Republic in the 19th & 20th centuries - had its premiere in 1973 and became one of the most important milestones in Helena's career even if she did not acted in it. Helena performed one of her biggest hits in the movie "Lasko ma ja stunu".
Ma te rad - the single
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The most successful Helena single in 1973 was her Czech language version of the world hit "Mama Loo" entitled in Czech "Ma te rad" b/w "Sul a med" (Salt and honey). "Ma te rad" would become one of the most popular songs performed by Helena on her concerts.
Helena in West Germany
The record company Polydor in West Germany released in 1973 the single "Wenn du wieder bei mir bist" b/w "Wenn du mich liebst".
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Helena & Strici - the album
In June 1974 Helena started collaboration with the group "Stryci". The first album "Helena a Stryci" was recorded in June 74 in Prague. Helena and Stryci would work together for 7 years to come. After the recording of the record Helena and her group left for an international tour which started at Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin.
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Malovany dzbanku - the single
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Probably the most fascinating hit story in Helena's career is the song "Malovany dzbanku" - a catchy folk-based pop hit which was recorded by the artist in 1974 and reeleased the same year as a single in Czechoslovakia. The single became quite successful in Helena's homeland but nobody thought by that time that it would be the greatest Helena hit in the neighbour country Poland two years later. The B-side of the single featured the Czech version of the song "Sugar Me" originally the UK Top 5 hit from 1972 recorded by Lynsey De Paul.
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More film music
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In 1975 Helena's songs were used in two Czechoslovakian films: "Romance za korunu" (Romances for one crown) and "Noc na Karlstejne" (The night at the Karlstejn castle). For the single release from the latter one there were chosen two songs written by Karel Svoboda "Lasko ma, ja stunu" which became a huge hit already in 1974 and "Do vezi" on the side B.
Film Melodies - the album
In September 1973 Helena was in the studio and recorded the album "Film Melodies" in English. The album was a co-production of Nippon Columbia in Japan and Supraphon in Czechoslovakia. The arrangements and the orchestral playbacks originated from Tokyo, while the vocal parts were mostly synchornized in Prague. Twelve evergreens were chosen for this project and the album was released both in Czechoslovakia and Japan.
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Movie star
In 1975 Helena acted in the film "Romances for one crown". She played herself - pop star Helena Vondrackova. In the movie she performed several songs written by Karel Svoboda.
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In the TV special "9 apples for Helena" she performed her latest hits solo and together with her guests as for instance Karel Gott.
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Stage-fright - the new single
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At the beginning of the year Helena released a new single containing "Tremou nedychas" (Stage-fright) b/w "Laska tvoje jmeno ma" (Love has your name). The photo cover had been in 1975 and there are alternative takes from this boat session.
Helena sings Burian
In June 1976 Helena recorded 4 songs for a forthcoming album celebrating a famous Czech composer, song writer, actor E.F. Burian (1904-1959). The album entitled simply "The songs of E F Burian" was released later the same year and today it's very hard to find rarity for all Helena fans.
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Helena worked a lot in East and West Germany. She performed at the Friedrichstadtpalast in East Berlin which is well-known for its great shows with song and dance. The dance has always been an important part in Helena's shows and working with German choreographers was according to the singer herself a great fun. The first hit in East Germany was "Archimede" and in 1976 it was time for a new success with Helena's big hit "Malovany dzbanku" which would be even a smash hit in Poland one year later.
Helena performed in the show "Ein kessel buntes" on German TV. ABBA performed in the same show two years earlier. In November 1976 Helena recorded a new album containing 12 new composed songs. The release of the album would though wait until next year. According to Helena after having recorded the new album she got a personal crisis and the beginning of 1977 was the period of low artistic activity.
Music Week's award
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At the end of the year Helena received the award "The Star of the Year" from the British paper "Music Week".
I'm Running with a Song to You - new album
The new album was called "S pisni vstric ti bezim" (I'm running With a Song To You) and it was released at the beginning of 1977. It featured 12 new songs and the recording sessions had taken only 3 days at the beginning of November 1976 in the recording studio "Dejvice" in Prague. Surprisingly the album did not bring any big single hits even if it contained a lot of nice compositions delivered by a.o. Jiri Vondracek, Bohuslav Ondracek, Jan Neckar and Jiri Malasek, four experienced and talented composers in Czechoslovakia.
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Single in Poland
Helena appeared regularly in Poland and she got more and more fans there. In 1977 the Polish record company Tonpress released her single featuring the hit "Ctyrlistejcek" (Four-leaf clover) b/w "Trapim se jen vlastni hlouposti" (I'm afraid I'm stupid).
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