Konstantin Sokolsky (also spelled: Sokolski, Rus. Константин Сокольский, original name Konstantin Kudryavtsev, Константин Кудрявцев) Russian singer (7 December, 1904- May 1991). Sokolsky was born in Saint-Petersburg, but the most of his life lived in Riga, Latvia (his father came from the Ludzas county , where the family moved after revolutionary turmoil of 1917 began in Saint-Petersburg).
There he worked as a woodcutter and loader, until in 1928 in Riga's 'Mars' cinema he first appeared on stage as a singer. In the first time he tried to imitate Alexander Vertinsky (for example, he too sang in a costume of Pierrot), but later found his own style. He acquanted with popular composer Oscar Strok , author of tango music, and became the first to sing all his new songs. In the same time, he himself wrote lyrics and music for several songs.
In 1930-40ies with the Riga's Bonzo theatre and later individually he went with performances to Romania, Chechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, where he became very popular among different audiences, including many Russian émigrés . Sokolsky's stage image was refined, but still — a 'Russian bear', with a sense of self-parody. Very tall, joyous, with self-respect, — for many Russian émigrés he reminded Russia, which they had to leave, soon or later after the Bolshevik revolution.
In Russia, his songs also became popular, released on L.P.'s of Bonophon and Bellaccord labels.
During WW2, he stayed in Latvia. In 1944 was arrested by the Germans, but fleed.
In Soviet time, he could easily mention that his favourite politician was Karlis Ulmanis (Latvian prime minister before Soviet occupation). Maybe because of this his songs were actually banned from radio broadcasting etc (In fact, all the romance music of Oscar Strok and other popular composers was banned as 'not-Soviet').
Being Russian, Sokolsky, unlike many Russians, who in Soviet times considered Latvia Russia's province, spoke Latvian very well. In 1991 he greeted the forthcoming Latvia's independence.
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