For a long time, the press discussed what nationality Alla Pugacheva was. The future singer was born in a family of war veterans, after the war the family was provided by her father, Boris Mikhailovich Pugachev. Mother, Zinaida Arkhipovna Odegova, devoted all herself to the house. Unfortunately, their first-born died a couple of months after birth, but not even a year had passed before the couple was expecting a baby again. The father of the family once said: “There will certainly be a boy. I can feel it". But on April 15, 1949, not the long-awaited son was born, but no less beloved daughter. Parents named her in honor of the star of the Moscow Art Theater Alla. The true nationality of Alla Pugacheva is Russian.
Boris Mikhailovich still wanted a son, so soon Alla had a brother. Close families noted that no matter how the father wanted a son, his character turned into a mother, but Alla Borisovna inherited her paternal grip.
A. Pugacheva: biography and nationality
The biography of any celebrity is closely monitored by journalists. There are many rumors that Alla Pugachev’s nationality is whether the singer has a real name. Some believe that Zinaida Arkhipovna gave birth to her from another man - Joseph Bendetsky. Then it turns out that Alla Pugacheva is Jewish by nationality, like her "real" father. He was a front-line friend of Zinaida, in whom the girl managed to fall in love, and it seems that Alla became the result of their love. It is believed that Joseph had a wife and a child before the war, so Zinaida, in order not to ruin her family, quickly married another - a pilot who was seriously injured and died before Alla managed to be born.
Meanwhile, the “good people” managed to convey to Bendetsky’s wife about a child born on the side, and the indignant woman broke up with her gulennial husband. Rumor has it that Bendetsky moved to Zinaida and lived with her in a civil marriage for several years. But the couple could not build strong relationships, and then the same Boris Pugachev appeared in Odegova’s life, who adopted Alla. This story gave rise to disputes as to who is Pugachev by nationality, does the singer have a real name.
These rumors cannot be true because of the large temporary inconsistency. In order for this whole story to have a right to exist, Alla Borisovna had to be born in 1943. Official data excluding speculation is indicated by Wikipedia. How old is Alla Pugacheva, the singer’s nationality and other data are indicated exactly there.
If you think about it, then the rumors are unfounded. The six-year difference is too big to be hidden. The certificate of completion of the music school dates from 1968, and according to official figures, she went to school in 1956. So the version of Bendetsky’s adultery is only evil gossip. Moreover, among Jews, nationality is determined by the maternal side. So no matter who the “real father” of Alla was, she still remains Russian.
Singer's childhood
After the war, the young couple lived in a civil marriage in a small room of Boris on Kachanovka for a couple of years. After the death of the first-born, they decided to move to close the sad page in their lives. They settled in a two-story wooden house in Zontochny Lane, which was located near the metro station "Proletarskaya". The new Pugachevs apartment was located on the second floor. Alla spent her childhood in this small Moscow lane, she went to high school in 1956, and even earlier, in 1954, her parents sent her to music. Her mother, Zinaida Arkhipovna, loved to sing, was a member of front-line vocal groups and dreamed of becoming a singer, but failed. She decided to realize her dream in her daughter.
School years of Alla Pugacheva
At six, she made her first debut in the Hall of Columns. Her mother recalled that Alla, seeing the filled hall, turned pale and scared, but Zinaida Arkhipovna convinced her that she was already big and she needed to perform. Since then, Alla has behaved like a big one. At seven years old, she entered the 31st music school at the Ippolitov-Ivanov College. A shy and modest girl did not grow long, in the post-war period there was no special place for sentiment. Father taught his daughter that she should always be able to fend for herself. Although Alla Pugacheva’s parents are Russian by nationality, the girl’s lively character and her non-standard appearance became an occasion for funny nicknames. So, the yard boys called her Feldfebel. In high school, she was given another nickname - Shaya. So called one of her classmates, who suffered ridicule from other students, but Alla did not go on about the class, taking the side of the offended boy. She was nicknamed the Shaev Protector, and then reduced to Shai. The rebellious spirit of the singer was also manifested in bad habits: from the age of 14 she became addicted to smoking.
The life of the Pugachev family was not as smooth as they would like. In 1963, Boris Mikhailovich was arrested for fraud in a factory. Caring for the children fell completely on the shoulders of the mother. In the meantime, Alla devoted herself entirely to her musical career. She recalls that she once sang a song of her own composition by one of the teachers in a music school, and she liked it so much that she asked why Alla didn’t play the piano with the same feeling. Then the girl decided for herself to go to the conductor-choral department.
The beginning of a musical career
In the fall of 1965, Alla went on her first tour. She was sixteen, and then she was distinguished not so much by vocals as by incredible charisma. Then Alla Borisovna performed her debut song “Robot”, lyrics to which were written by Mikhail Tanich, and music by Levon Merabov. She and her friend somehow accidentally wandered into the audition, and Alla was so amused by the performance of other vocalists that she decided to try her hand. Later, she will sing “Robot” in the program “Good morning” on All-Union Radio. In 1966, Pugacheva went on tour in Tyumen and the Arctic with the propaganda team of the Yunost radio station.
Over the next couple of years, her repertoire expanded significantly, Pugacheva performed with such songs:
- "Do not argue with me".
- "Blackbirds."
- "How would I fall in love"
- "I'm coming from the cinema"
- "The only waltz."
The first tour with vocal ensembles
From the tour began not only her vocal career, but also a full-fledged independent life. In 1969, she came to get a job as a singer in a circus, where she met her first husband, Mykolas Orbakas. The artist himself was of Lithuanian descent, so their joint daughter Kristina received the surname Orbakaite. Some fans thought that since Kristina had such an unusual surname, it was A. Pugacheva’s other nationality. No, Orbakaite received a sonorous name and Lithuanian nationality from her father.
For some time the couple toured together, but soon Alla decided to focus on the career of the singer, while Mykolas devoted himself to the Moscow Regional Philharmonic. My daughter, meanwhile, remained with my grandparents on my father’s side in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. Different goals and everyday troubles led to the fact that after two years of marriage, the couple decided that their family life was unsuccessful. In 1973, Orbakas and Pugacheva divorced, the daughter remained with her mother.
Alla Pugacheva’s biography and nationality were overgrown with new rumors, they were mixed with stories about the unconventional orientation of her first husband as a reason for divorce. It is ironic that the couple broke up on October 8, the same day that they officially registered their relationship. In the official biography of Pugacheva Alla Borisovna, nationality never changed, and the star subsequently responded ambiguously about rumors about her first husband.
Her growing popularity as a performer was strengthened by the performance of three ballads in the movie The Deer King, which was released on January 4, 1972. The picture was shown in prime time and enjoyed by the audience success. In the same year, Alla decided to change her vocal group: she left VIA Muscovites, becoming part of the more popular group, Oleg Lundstrem’s orchestra.
Duet with Julius Slobodkin
In 1974, Alla Borisovna found a new muse: they became a young performer, Julius Slobodkin, with whom they performed together as part of VIA Muscovites. Together they formed a song duet, which was considered one of the most successful union duets of the time. There was no romance between them, but the listeners quickly attributed the pair to one that only benefited their career. Then she received the first flattering review of her work in the eminent magazine "Musical Life". Journalist Tatyana Butkovskaya described their Moscow tour program as a combination of excellent voices and undoubted dramatic talent. Then they began their program in Sokolniki with White Birch, written by V. Shimansky, with a lyrical digression.
The first successes of Pugacheva
And yet, Alla Borisovna dreamed of great achievements. She was determined to take part in the 5th All-Union Pop Art Competition, the reward for winning which was to participate in a concert that was broadcast throughout the country. She submitted two songs to the contest: “We'll sit and have a shovel” and “Ermolova from Chistye Prudy”. Presenting two different mood compositions, Alla hoped to show her versatility and prove that she was worthy to perform solo. Many of the pop artists of that time were not imbued with the performance of Pugacheva, considering her provocative and vulgar. However, Konstantin Orbelian, together with Helena Velikanova and Joseph Kobzon, insisted on including Pugacheva in the list of winners: she shared third place with other performers.
Although Alla didn’t get exactly what she expected, it was at the competition that she made many useful acquaintances. Among her new friends was the director Evgeny Ginzburg, composer Raymond Pauls and the head of the VE "Jolly Fellows" Paul Slobodkin. Working with Pavel promoted Pugacheva as a singer in many ways. Slobodkin, in fact, made her the lead vocalist of his ensemble.
The beginning of the triumph of the singer
At that time, Alla Borisovna was already dreaming of participating in another competition, the Golden Orpheus, which could bring her real fame. According to his conditions, she was supposed to perform three songs, two of which were supposed to be Bulgarian. Alla Borisovna decided to take a chance and arrange the popular song, which claimed the status of national - “Harlequin”. The Bulgarian audience accepted the performance of Pugachev so favorably that Emil Dimitrov, the author of the song, called the contest day "Harlequin's second birthday." The star of the singer, whom Alla dreamed about for so long, finally caught fire.
International tours and questions of true nationality Alla Pugacheva
Glory fell upon Pugacheva. In 1977, she went on a solo tour and, as eyewitnesses recall, entire lines lined up for tickets. She was reminded of the performance of songs in the movie “The Irony of Fate, ” which regained significance. The popularity of the singer brought her recognition not only from allied listeners, but also from foreign fans. Alla Borisovna recorded the German version of her hit "Harlequin", which was released under the name Harlekino. Her promotion tour took place in East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Then questions about the nationality of Pugacheva again surfaced. Many were struck by her ability to sing in so many languages (her repertoire includes songs in Russian, German, English, Finnish and others).
The era of a woman who sings
Secured her the status of an all-Union star participation in the autobiographical film "The Woman Who Sings." The picture revealed the difficult fate of Alla Borisovna, her long creative search and the long-awaited path to the top. The soundtrack of the film was composed by such famous songs:
- "A song about me."
- "Come."
- "If you suffer for a long time."
- "The woman who sings."
- “Don't talk about love.”
- "Sonnet number 90."
It is noteworthy that the text of the title song was originally in Balkar language - it was a poem by Kaysyn Kuliev. He was translated into Russian by Naum Grebnev, entitled "Woman I Love." For the film, Alla Borisovna personally made corrections in the lyrics afterwards. At this time, she still did not dare to openly present songs of her own composition, preferring to promote them under the pseudonym Boris Gorbonos.
The peak of fame performer
The singer’s golden time continued, and it was then that a distant competitive acquaintance with Raymond Pauls came in handy. The eighties passed for Pugacheva under the sign of successful cooperation with him and the poet Ilya Reznik. Their joint work replenished Pugacheva’s repertoire with such famous songs:
- "Maestro".
- "Antique clock".
- “Rejoice.”
- Encore Song.
- "Cause the time."
At the same time, with the growing popularity of the English pop culture, Alla Borisovna began to conquer international music pedestals. From 1985 until the beginning of the 90s, she actively released songs in English, and did it so successfully that the foreign listener was amazed at the recognition of Pugacheva's nationality. Among the singles that foreigners liked, were:
- Every night and every day.
- Love can hurt.
- Sacred lie.
- Every song you sing.
A new round of interest in the nationality and biography of Alla Borisovna arose during her duet performances with the German performer Udo Linderberg. Their joint performances were held as part of the XII World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, where Pugacheva tried out a new image of a rock singer.
Recognition of Pugachev as the best allied singer
Her performance in 1986 for the liquidators of the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the village of Zeleny Mys is noteworthy. One of the songs she performed then was “Hey, you up there.” Not indifferent to what happened, Alla Borisovna added in the refrain “Why did they blow up the station?”. For the moral support of firefighters in a difficult time, she was awarded the title of liquidator of the Chernobyl accident.
Success spoke for itself: from 1976 until 1990, she was recognized as the best singer of the Soviet Union, having earned the status of an allied superstar and abroad.
