Mikhail Zakharovich Shufutinsky (genus. Honored Artist of Russia and laureate of dozens of "Chanson of the Year" awards.
In the biography of Shufutinsky, there are many interesting facts, which we will tell about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Mikhail Shufutinsky.
Biography of Shufutinsky
Mikhail Shufutinsky was born on April 13, 1948 in Moscow. He grew up and was raised in a Jewish family. His father, Zakhar Davidovich, worked as a doctor. The head of the family knew how to play the guitar and trumpet, and also had good vocal abilities.
Childhood and youth
The first tragedy in the biography of Shufutinsky occurred at the age of 5, when his mother died. After that, his grandmother Berta Davidovna and grandfather David Yakovlevich took up the upbringing of the child.
When Mikhail's grandfather noticed his grandson's musical abilities, he began to teach him to play the button accordion. Soon, the boy was sent to a music school, where he fully mastered playing the instrument. In this regard, he often performed at various events as part of school orchestras and ensembles.
Having received a certificate, Mikhail Shufutinsky successfully passed the exams at the local music school. At that time, he became seriously interested in jazz, which was only gaining popularity in the USSR. Upon graduation, he became a certified "Conductor, Choirmaster and Singing Teacher."
An interesting fact is that Alla Pugacheva herself was a classmate of the future chansonnier.
Soon, Shufutinsky with various ensembles began touring Moscow and Magadan. During the biography of 1971-1974. the guy worked in the Magadan restaurant "Severny". It was here that he tried himself as a vocalist, when one of the main singers was sick or absent for any other reason.
According to Mikhail, then he liked the work of two famous artists - Alexander Vertinsky and Petr Leshchenko, whose songs he often performed in front of the public.
Music
Later, Shufutinsky returned to the capital, where he was entrusted with directing the VIA "Lace, song". According to the artist, together with an ensemble that collected stadiums, he traveled to many cities. In addition, the musicians have recorded many records, which sold in millions of copies.
Despite this, the country's leadership "did not notice" the success of the team. The guys were forbidden to travel abroad and appear on television. Mikhail claims that the reason for this attitude was his beard, which he did not want to shave off.
The fact is that in the Soviet era, only three people could appear on TV and on posters with a beard: Lenin, Mark and Engels. The rest were not allowed to wear it, since such an appearance was supposedly alien to the builders of communism.
As a result, in 1981 Shufutinsky emigrated to America with his family. A couple of years later, he managed to assemble the Ataman show group, with which he performed on the stages of New York restaurants. In the 80s, he recorded 9 albums, the first of which was called "Escape". It was on it that the famous song "Taganka" was present, which brought the man great popularity.
Every year Mikhail Shufutinsky became an increasingly famous musician. This led to the fact that he was invited to perform on the stage of the Russian restaurant "Arbat", located in the Hollywood area.
By a happy coincidence, at that moment in the United States there was a boom for a Russian song in the chanson genre. Thanks to this, Mikhail Zakharovich became a real star overnight.
It is worth noting that Shufutinsky's work was also in demand in the USSR, which was confirmed by the first tours in his homeland. He managed to collect not only large halls, but entire stadiums.
In the 90s, the musician decides to return home, settling in Moscow. In 1997, he published an autobiographical book "And here I stand at the line ...", in which he talks about many interesting facts from his biography.
In 2002, Shufutinsky for the first time won the prestigious Chanson of the Year award for the songs Alenka, Nakolochka and Poplar. By that time he had released 20 albums!
An interesting fact is that from 2002 to 2019, the man was annually awarded the Chanson of the Year awards both for his own songs and for compositions performed in a duet with various artists.
The repertoire of Mikhail Shufutinsky included many songs by Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Igor Krutoy, as well as a number of other authors. The most famous hits are “For lovely ladies”, “September 3rd”, “Candles”, “Palma de Mallorca”, “For lovely ladies”, “Jewish tailor”, “Soul hurts” and many others ...
Over the years of his creative biography, Shufutinsky recorded 29 albums, and also shot about three dozen clips. In 2009 he took part in the TV show "Two Stars", where his partner was Alika Smekhova. After 7 years, the chansonnier became an academician of the Russian Academy of Music.
Personal life
Mikhail Shufutinsky can rightfully be called an exemplary family man. At the age of 23, he married a girl named Margarita Mikhailovna. In this marriage, the couple had two boys - David and Anton.
In June 2015, a tragedy occurred in the personal biography of the musician. His wife died of heart failure. At that time, Shufutinsky was on a tour in Israel.
The man very hard suffered the death of his wife, who was his faithful friend and companion. The couple lived together for 44 years. According to the 2020 regulations, Shufutinsky had seven grandchildren and granddaughters: Andrey, Mikhail, Dmitry, Noy, Zakhar, Anna and Hannah.
Not far from Moscow, Mikhail has a 2-storey mansion with an area of 913 m². He also owns a cottage in Philadelphia and a villa in Los Angeles.
Mikhail Shufutinsky today
The artist continues to successfully tour the world. He often attends various television projects as a guest, where he shares details from his biography. In 2019, Shufutinsky was awarded the Chanson of the Year award for the song Repeat After Me, performed in a duet with Maria Weber.
Not so long ago, the singer introduced his new darling - dancer Svetlana Urazova. Interestingly, the girl is 30 years younger than her lover. Time will tell how their relationship will end.
Shufutinsky Photos
