The band 2 plus 1, founded by Janusz Kruk and Elżbieta Dmoch in 1971, released one of their greatest hits seven years later. “Elevator to Heaven” is a joint work of the composer Janusz Kruk and Marek Dutkiewicz, who wrote the words. This is one of the few songs in Dutkiewicz’s career (the author of such hits as “Jolka, Jolka, you remember”, “Glass weather” or “Ddandelions, kites, wind”), when the text was written first, not the notes. “Very few people can write a text or a poem,” he says.
How did the song “Elevator to Heaven” come about? “
Time passed, the bottles were getting smaller
About the words themselves in an interview with “Gazeta Pomorska” in 2016:
The text must be specific, the core that the recipient is supposed to remember. The song must surprise, move. Wojciech Młynarski gave a fantastic “tailor’s” definition: the song should lie well on the client and not drink under the armpits. I do not write for a drawer, but for specific performers. I imagine who will sing my songs, because the words must be believable. He has to sing it as if he lived it himself.
As it turns out, work on the music for “Elevator to Heaven” took place at, as Dutkiewicz recalls, “a well-stocked bar”. They met in Kruk and Dmoch’s apartment in Warsaw’s Służew nad Dolinką.
Time passed, the bottles dwindled. We recorded our ideas on a Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder. In fact, we spent the whole night like this. In the morning we shot the last bottle, a very dusty orange, and died.
When they got up the next day in the afternoon, they were not sure that the result of the night’s work would be of any use. – Around noon we were woken up by the stamping of pigeons on the balcony. We drank a bucket of water and for a long time we were afraid to press the play button for fear of what was created there. It turned out to be morning [ostatnia nagrana – red.] version is exactly the one we all know – .
45 years later, it is still danced at weddings
This is how they created a timeless melody in which the guitar part was played by Zbigniew Ho³dys. – “Elevator to Heaven” still plays at weddings around the world. Several times I had calls from Chicago, and even from Australia, my interlocutor at four in the morning with not very clear diction assured me that “your windee is playing here” – Gutowski told “Vivie”. Many people choose this song for the first dance, although it is not about happy love. Dutkiewicz was reportedly inspired by many brides he observed and noticed that they did not look happy on their wedding day.
“Elevator to Heaven” was included on the band’s fourth album. In 1978, the songs “Windą do heaven” and “Ding-dong” in Sopot gave the groups 2 plus 1 the first place at the festival. The band has not only hits such as “Come, paint my world”, “Red sun”, “Wstawaj, it’s a shame for the day”, “Go towards the sun” or “Big little man”, but also songs that have achieved international success , e.g. “Easy Come, Easy Go” and “Singapore”. Unfortunately, in 1992, Kruk died of a heart attack. Later, the band reactivated with Dmoch in the line-up, but in 1999 the artist completely withdrew from public life. Then the vocals of 2 plus 1 were taken over by Urszula Blaszyńska.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
