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“We’re Hitchhiking”, “Jimmy Joe” or “Boy with a Guitar”. Who doesn’t remember these great hits? Their author, Karin Stanek, has permanently entered the history of Polish popular culture. Its greatest years of activity were in the 1960s, which are still considered the hottest period of pop music in post-war Poland.
It is not difficult to understand its cultural phenomenon. During concerts, this energetic girl with braids captivated crowds, and fans loved her performances. Although her stage image was brimming with emotions, in her private life she was quite a modest and quiet person. After concerts, what she appreciated most was the quiet corner of her hotel room with her favorite book.
A gift that changed the fate of music. The crowds went crazy for her
The future big-beat star was born in Bytom in 1943 (years later, the artist herself denied this and pointed to the year 1946) in a mining family. Raised by her mother with five siblings, she quickly had to stop studying and take over some of the household duties. He continues his education in the evenings, combining it with his work as a messenger. Around the same time, she receives a guitar from her parent that was to change her life.
Stanek was self-taught and did not show any stage fright. And it was these features that Poland was soon to learn about. During one of the competitions organized in Silesia by Czerwono-Czarni, she put on such a great show that the band immediately decided to take her on a tour around the country in 1962. The same year, during her performance at the Festival of Young Talents in Szczecin, the audience literally grabbed her off the stage and carried her in their arms to the hotel. It was together with Czerwono-Czarni that she warmed the hearts of listeners with her greatest hits. Everyone sang them and they could not be missing during any music broadcast. Interestingly, thanks to this competition we also got to know the talent of, among others: Czesław Niemen or Krzysztof Klenczon.
In 1963, she received a distinction for “Boy with a Guitar” at the festival in Opole, and a year later her song “Jedziemy autostopem” received a special award. Stanek will soon go on tour around the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Citizens of Czechoslovakia and the USSR are also crazy about her. She and her band also went to perform in the United States. However, towards the end, there are internal discords within the group and the artist decides to go solo. The authorities of the Polish People’s Republic also turn their backs on the artist, conducting a slander campaign against her.
A communist bloc is not enough. Germans from the west are also crazy about her
He goes outside the Eastern Bloc for the first time in 1972, and six years later he decides to live in Cologne permanently. He lives there with his family. Until 1982, he extended the validity of his visa for stay behind the Iron Curtain every year. She had no choice – after all, she was loved all over Germany. After 15 years, the artist returns to Poland to perform during the “Three Decades of Rock in Sopot” concert, and her songs still ignite emotions among the crowds. She will give her last concert in our country in 2005.
Karin Stanek had flu in 2011, which resulted in complications. As it turned out, their consequences were fatal. The singer died on February 15 in a German hospital and was then buried in Wolfenbüttel. Although more than a decade has passed since her death, the memory of her work will be eternal.
Sources: viva.pl, polskieradio.pl
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.
