From Magadan to New York and back. The life path of Mikhail Shufutinsky

Our today's hero is the famous chansonnier Mikhail Shufutinsky, a biography whose personal life is of interest to many fans. Do you also want to know where he was born and studied? How did you get on stage? Why did you leave for the USA? Then we recommend that you read the contents of the article.

Mikhail Shufutinsky (biography): family

He was born on April 13, 1948 in Moscow. He has Jewish roots. In what family was the future singer brought up? His father, Zakhar Davidovich, took part in the Great Patriotic War. In peacetime, he got a job as a doctor. The man spent very little time at home.

Michael's mother died when he was 5 years old. The boy was raised by his grandmother Berta and grandfather David. It was they who instilled in Mikhail a love of art. And when the grandfather noticed that his grandson was showing interest in music, he began to teach him how to play the accordion.

School years

At the age of 7, Misha entered a music school located not far from home. The boy signed up for the button accordion class. Our hero attended every lesson with pleasure. Teachers predicted a bright future for him. And they were right. In just a couple of years, Mikhail mastered this musical instrument. He became a regular member of school ensembles and orchestras.

At the age of 15, our hero became interested in a new direction of music for the Soviet country - jazz. He played only on jazz. Only over time, the citizens of the USSR approved and fell in love with jazz.

student body

At the time of graduating from high school, Mikhail already knew what profession he would choose. He was going to connect his life with the stage. Having received a certificate in his hands, the guy submitted documents to the music school. M. Ippolitova-Ivanova. Shufutinsky successfully passed the exams. For several years, he mastered such specialties as a choirmaster, a singing and music teacher, and a conductor.

First appearances

Where did Mikhail Shufutinsky go after graduating from college? His biography as a performer began in Magadan. There he, together with his orchestra, performed at the Severny restaurant. The local public took them with a bang.

Later, our hero returned to Moscow. At various times, he performed as part of such groups as Leysya Song and Accord. At some point, Mikhail wanted creative development. But there were no opportunities for this.

Emigration

In the early 1980s, Shufutinsky and his family left for permanent residence in America. And all due to the fact that he had a serious conflict with representatives of the Soviet government.

In the United States, Mikhail Zakharovich did not sit idle. He organized his team. Performances were held in New York restaurants. The talented performer was noticed and invited to Los Angeles. Many Soviet immigrants and Russian-speaking citizens lived in this city.

Mikhail Shufutinsky managed to become a chanson star. His songs were listened to on both sides of the ocean. Such compositions as “Third of September”, “Night Guest”, “For Lovely Ladies” have become truly popular.

In 2003, the famous chansonnier returned to Russia. He bought a house in Moscow and continued his musical career. Between 2003 and 2013, 8 studio discs were released.

Mikhail Shufutinsky: biography, personal (family) life

From a young age, a talented musician was popular with girls. Some saw him as a thin and vulnerable soul, while others looked at him as an idol. Mikhail often had affairs with beautiful girls. But they did not go into a serious relationship. Everything is very simple: feelings faded away as quickly as they flared up.

When did Mikhail Shufutinsky meet his true love? Biography indicates that this happened in the early 1970s. The beautiful Margarita conquered his heart and deprived him of peace. After long and persistent courtship, the girl agreed to become the second half of Michael.

In January 1971, the marriage of Mikhail and Margarita Shufutinsky was registered in one of the capital's registry offices. Then the celebration "moved" to the restaurant. The guests at the celebration were close friends and relatives of the bride and groom.

A loving husband, a caring father and an exemplary family man - all this is Mikhail Shufutinsky. The biography of the singer in August 1972 was replenished with another joyful event - the first-born was born. The son was named David. The young father could not stop looking at the heir. He himself bathed him, swaddled him and laid him in the crib. Mikhail even tried to sing a lullaby to his son. But due to his low voice, he failed to do so.

In December 1974, another replenishment took place in the Shufutinsky family. Beloved wife gave the singer a second son. The boy received a common Russian name - Anton.

Today, the children of Mikhail Shufutinsky are adults and accomplished people. David is married to Angela Petrosyan. They have three children - two sons and a daughter. The family lives in Moscow. The singer hoped that the eldest son would follow in his footsteps. But David is far from show business. He is a producer.

The youngest son (Anton) lives in the USA. He married an African-American woman named Brandi. They had 4 children. A few years ago, Anton worked as a physician at a US naval base, and now he teaches at one of the universities in Philadelphia.

Tragedy

Most pop stars who gained popularity in the 80s and 90s try to hide their personal lives from prying eyes and ears. Mikhail Shufutinsky was no exception. Biography, the wife of a chansonnier - all this continued to interest his fans. And in the summer of 2015, print media and popular online resources reported the sad news. On June 5, the wife of Mikhail Zakharovich, Margarita, passed away. She was buried in one of the cemeteries in Los Angeles.

New love

Mikhail Shufutinsky, whose biography we are considering, was very upset by the death of his wife. Still, because they lived together for 44 years. She always surrounded her husband with affection and care.

During this difficult period, the famous chansonnier was supported by a dancer from his show-ballet "Ataman". 39-year-old Svetlana Urazova was next to Mikhail Zakharovich, helped him around the house and gave valuable advice. At some point, the singer realized that their relationship had already outgrown the framework of friendship. He offered the woman cohabitation. There is no mention of any marriage. Mikhail Zakharovich had only one wife - Margarita. And no one can take her place. Sons understand and do not condemn their father. After all, they cannot see him as often as they would like. And loneliness is a terrible thing.

What is known about Svetlana Urazova herself? More than 15 years ago, she came to Russia from Ukraine. She has a choreographic education. Almost immediately, the blonde was accepted into the Shufutinsky show troupe. If you carefully watch the video from the concerts, you will notice that Svetlana always dances to the right of the chansonnier. Many can envy her natural flexibility and ability to stay on stage. It is impossible not to fall in love with such a beauty.

Currently, the singer has serious health problems. It became difficult for him to walk. Svetlana is literally a support for him.

Finally

Now you know what path to popularity did Mikhail Shufutinsky. Biography, family, photo of the singer - all this is contained in the article. We wish him good health and long life!

This April, Mikhail Shufutinsky turns 70 years old. Chansonnier still misses his beloved wife, with whom he lived for almost half a century. Margarita passed away more than two years ago. The couple have been married for almost 44 years.

www.akado.ru

Mikhail and Margarita got married in 1971, the couple had two sons - David and Anton. For a very long time, Mikhail Zakharovich lived in two countries. His wife and younger son and his family were in America, and the eldest son lives in Moscow. The Shufutinskys have 7 grandchildren.

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Despite the fact that quite some time has passed, Shufutinsky still feels pain from the loss of a loved one. He recalls with trepidation the time when they were infinitely happy with each other.

en.tsn.ua

Margarita died in Los Angeles. The sad news about the death of a loved one caught Michael on tour in Israel. The artist immediately interrupted the entire performance and flew to his family in America.

ivona.bigmir.net

“We were apart for a long time. When you sometimes see how, for example, they decorate the bridge across the Moscow River, you still think that you need to call, say ... Stop. Who to call? Where will you call? the performer thinks. “We must live, we must live,” Mikhail Zakharovich admitted in the program “Once” on NTV.

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After the death of his wife, Mikhail bought a house in the USA not far from his youngest son Anton.

tv.akado.ru

Margarita is the first and only wife of Mikhail Shufutinsky. They have been married for 44 years, and even though they were not there all this time, their love did not cool down even at a distance ...

This artist has a lot of fans - he is always elegant on stage, and he performs songs soulfully and sincerely. In life, he had to go through many trials, and one of the most difficult was the death of his wife for the singer. Wife of Mikhail Shufutinsky margarita passed away in June last year, during the artist's tour in Israel. This happened unexpectedly, and therefore became a real blow for Shufutinsky. Mikhail Zakharovich lived with his wife for forty-four years, and she has always been a true keeper of the hearth and a faithful wife.

In the photo - Shufutinsky with his wife and children

Margarita gave her husband two sons - David and Anton, who have long become adult men and have their own families. The singer was always kind to his wife and did not like it when someone interfered in their family life. According to Shufutinsky, news about his novels and even that he was divorcing his wife often appeared in the press. The artist treats these rumors philosophically, but the fact that this can offend his wife makes him very upset. Therefore, once he even sued one of the newspapers for reporting that he was going to part with Margarita.

The wife of Mikhail Shufutinsky lived in America, in Los Angeles, and the singer himself, mainly in Russia, and this is due to his work. This marriage could well be called a guest marriage, because the spouses saw each other from time to time - when Mikhail Zakharovich had a break in performances, he went to his wife. The artist said that over so many years of married life they became so close that they understood each other from a half-word and could recognize by the tone of voice what was happening in the life of each of them.

In the photo - Mikhail Shufutinsky with his wife Margarita

Shufutinsky called his wife the kindest person - Margarita never raised her voice, and for their entire large family, consisting of children and seven grandchildren, she was a real guardian angel. The children of Mikhail Shufutinsky also live in different countries - the elder David, having married Angela Petrosyan, remained in Moscow, and the younger Anton, together with his wife Brandi and his family, settled in Philadelphia. The whole large family of Mikhail Shufutinsky often gathered together either in Moscow or in Los Angeles, and therefore, despite the long distances that separated them, they always felt strong family ties.

The artist was very upset by the death of his wife, because, as one of the close friends of the artist's family said, Mikhail Shufutinsky's wife was not just a wife for him, but also a devoted friend, the mother of their sons and the grandmother of numerous grandchildren. Their house was always cozy and hospitable, and many called Margarita the ideal of a woman who understands and forgives.

In the photo - with Svetlana Urazova

Svetlana Urazova, thirty-nine-year-old Svetlana Urazova, a participant in his show ballet Ataman, helped to get out of the severe depression that covered the artist after the death of his wife. She is almost twenty-eight years younger than Shufutinsky and has long felt sympathy for Mikhail Zakharovich. Svetlana has been working in the artist's show for fifteen years, but earlier, when Shufutinsky was married, there was no close relationship between them. When Mikhail Zakharovich, having learned about the death of his wife, flew to Los Angeles, Svetlana followed him, and from that time they became inseparable. According to friends, after Shufutinsky had an affair with Urazova, he became much calmer, a new love helped the artist recover from the tragedy. Mikhail Zakharovich looked after his new darling very beautifully, they are always inseparable on tour. Svetlana receives expensive gifts from Shufutinsky, and in the future they are going to rest together in Israel. Svetlana has an adult daughter with whom she shares all her secrets.

Shufutinsky's wife, Margarita Mikhailovna Shufutinskaya, died on June 5, 2015. Married to his wife, Mikhail Zakharovich lived for 44 years. It is not easy to bear the loss, and even after 3 years the chanson performer yearns and suffers without a loved one. What is known about Shufutinsky's wife? What did she do and what was the reason for her death? We will talk about this in detail in our article.

Margarita Shufutinskaya

Margarita married Mikhail in January 1971 in Magadan, where Shufutinsky was just working on distribution. In a joint marriage, the couple raised two children - the son of David, born in 1972, and Anton, who was born two years later. The sons, in turn, gave Mikhail Shufutinsky and his wife seven granddaughters and grandchildren.

Margarita Mikhailovna lived in the United States of America, raising children.

Spouses' children

The eldest son with his wife and children lives in the capital and produces sound in films. His wife is Angela Petrosyan. The youngest son served as an army special forces officer in the United States of America. His wife, an African American named Brandi, bore him a daughter and three sons. They live in Philadelphia, where Anton teaches at the university and is also working on completing his dissertation. The whole family regularly gathered together in Los Angeles or in Moscow.

Cause of death of Shufutinsky's wife

The woman died on June 5, 2015 in Los Angeles. At the time of her death, Margarita Mikhailovna was 66 years old. The cause of death of Shufutinsky's wife is acute heart failure. According to Mikhail, at that time there were no signs of trouble. The singer was on tour and could not get through to Margarita for a long time. But I thought that this is due to the large difference in time.

Margarita Mikhailovna was in Los Angeles, and Mikhail Zakharovich was in Israel. When he learned that his wife was gone, he canceled all concerts and flew to Los Angeles to say goodbye to his wife.

The organizers of the concerts apologized and confirmed the information about the death of Margarita Mikhailovna. All proceeds from ticket sales were returned to the audience. Shufutinsky was going to perform in Haifa, Beersheba and Tel Aviv.

Who was the first to know about Margarita's death?

The alarm was raised by the youngest son of the spouses, and he called the first to the police. When the police arrived at the house, the woman had already died. She was buried in the local cemetery. The ceremony was attended only by the closest people.

Despite the fact that quite a lot of time has passed since the death of his wife, Mikhail Zakharovich still feels pain from the loss of a loved one. He recalls with excitement and awe the time when he was happy with his wife. It happened that they were apart for a long time. However, things are different now. Sometimes Mikhail Shufutinsky wants to call and talk with his wife, but, alas, this is impossible.

What a pity that people die. In the family he was a tree, and his beloved wife was the earth from which a tree grows and bears fruit. Dealing with loss is not easy.

In addition, Mikhail Zakharovich always claimed that Margarita Mikhailovna was also a cementing material that connected his entire family. The chanson performer also believes that his wife was a great martyr. She always and everywhere followed him, although she was well aware that her husband had a complex, difficult character.

After the death of Margarita Mikhailovna, Shufutinsky acquired a mansion in Philadelphia, not far from the cottage of Anton's youngest son. In addition to this house, he has a ranch-style estate, which is located in Los Angeles. It was there that the wife of Mikhail Zakharovich lived.

Biography, life story of Shufutinsky Mikhail Zakharovich

Mikhail Zakharovich Shufutinsky (b. 04/13/1948) - pop singer, composer and poet,

Childhood and youth

Born April 13, 1948 in Moscow. Father - Zakhar Davidovich, a doctor who participated in the Great Patriotic War, a Jew by nationality. Unfortunately, Mikhail's mother died when the boy was only five years old. Misha was brought up by his grandparents, Berda Davidovna and David Yakovlevich.

Education

He graduated from a music school in the bayan class and from the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music College with a degree in choir conductor.

Career

He played as part of various ensembles in the restaurants "Warsaw", "Metropol". Accompanied the vocal-comedy duet of Shurov and Rykunin.

In the early 70s, together with musicians Igor Logachev, drummer Leonid Lobkovsky, saxophonist Valery Katsnelson and singer Nikolai Kasyanov, he moved to Magadan. He performs at the Severny restaurant, performing songs from the repertoire, and makes his first tape recordings there.

After returning from Magadan, he worked for a short time as a pianist in the Accord ensemble. Then he became the leader of the vocal and instrumental ensemble "Leysya, song", whose repertoire was built mainly on songs. In 1978, the team won first place at the All-Russian competition of pop song performers in Sochi.

In February 1981 he emigrated with his family to America. As an accompanist, he performed with the singer N. Brodskaya. As part of various ensembles, he played in the restaurants "Russian Izba", "Pearl", Moscow Nights.

Produced two solo albums (ex-Gems), M. Gulko's albums "The Blue Sky of Russia" and "Burnt Bridges". He assembled his own orchestra "Ataman Band" and in 1984 recorded his debut album "Escape" at the Prince Enterprises studio.

In the summer of 1990, he began touring in Russia, performing with the Express Ensemble. Recorded at the firm "Melody" disc "M. Shufutinsky in Moscow." Since 1996, she began producing a new group, Taste of Honey.

CONTINUED BELOW

In 2003, Shufutinsky returned to Russia.

Personal life

On January 2, 1971, Mikhail Shufutinsky married Margarita Mikhailovna, his first and only lover. Margarita gave her husband two wonderful sons - David (born in 1972) and Anton (born in 1974). Margarita Mikhailovna passed away on June 5, 2015.

Press (interviews from previous years)

Mikhail Shufutinsky: "I got married in Magadan".

Mikhail Shufutinsky is destined to be between America and Russia. In the States, he has a chic mansion in the vicinity of Los Angeles, in Moscow - no less representative, but a hotel room. In America - the son Anton, who managed to acquire two charming children, in Russia - the eldest son David. In the USA - his wife Margarita, with whom they lived for more than 30 years, and in Russia ... work. With work, in other words, with music, Shufutinsky's romance lasts several years more than with his legal wife. It all started with a music school, in which Mikhail Zakharovich studied, by the way, with the future Primadonna herself.

“We were often turned up at the entrance to the school - we didn’t pass face control, you know. Long hair, a super short miniskirt - they were very progressive. We had already gathered a small orchestra at that time: piano, double bass, drums, saxophone. Singing then not particularly cultivated, more and more instrumental. But if a soloist was required, they called with them. To play at dances at Moscow State University and earn a dozen for us was considered happiness. And so we worked part-time ".

"After graduating from the music school, the work became more serious?" .

“Work is never frivolous at all. I got on a schedule at the Mosconcert. And how is it there? There was a schedule: today you play at a bakery, and tomorrow somewhere in the construction department. Universal accompanists were needed everywhere: for a gymnastic number, which singer to play along with, a satirist. Therefore, literally everyone used us: from to ... And you never know where you could earn extra money then. At dances, in fashionable cafes: "Blue Bird", "Aelita", "Youth". Well, the restaurant is, of course, the best, what could be invented. There is still a permanent orchestra, stable money. And it was not at all shameful to play in a restaurant. On the contrary, many envied - then, after all, all the stage in restaurants worked ".

"If everything was going so well, why did you decide to leave for distant Magadan at the age of 23?" .

“Everything is very simple. I was somehow called to the Department of Internal Affairs. There was a man in uniform who specifically told me: “You have now graduated from a music school. We can offer you a good job at the Krasnoyarsk Musical Theater as an assistant conductor. We are watching you closely. Think about whether you should stay in Moscow. "And Krasnoyarsk ... What kind of orchestra could there be? 12 people sitting in an orchestra pit, a conductor who should have retired a hundred years ago. There is simply nothing for an assistant conductor to do there. And then time was terrible. Nixon was supposed to come and everyone was shaking for a sweet soul. I had to seriously think. And just before that, I was with a jazz singer on tour in the North. Then with the musicians, and they offered me to work in Magadan. And then such here's the story. I realized, it's better to leave for a while. I wasn't even a member of the Komsomol, after all, they could have simply been sent away ... ".

"And you, a pampered metropolitan resident, were not afraid of the conditions of the North?" .

“Yes, it’s not so terrible cold there. Of course, in winter it’s cooler there than in Moscow, but the summer is hot. Everything is quite bearable, people live there somehow. ", a man met me, took me to the city. I looked: the desert and the desert were all around. Further - more. It's just a disaster with housing: not only to get, it was impossible to rent an apartment. We, five musicians, were settled in one room, together on one sleeping on the couch".

"But they probably earned decently?" .

"Yes, it's a sin to complain - from a thousand to one and a half a month. They worked every day, sang everything in a row. They played, as they say, in all keys, for all nationalities: "Lilies of the valley", and "Bear, Bear", and "Caravan" Ellington By that time, the first records had already appeared, and these songs were, of course, with a bang ".

"What, so rich was the clientele in Magadan restaurants?" .

"Where?! Then the rich did not shine, as they do today, at restaurants in diamond rings. It was impossible. Sailors, fishermen, prospectors went to the mines between seasons. They walked, of course, in black. This is Magadan, the North, Kolyma !".

"You got married, in my opinion, in Magadan?" .

“Yes. One drummer Lenya played with me at the Warsaw restaurant, and we became very friends. One day he says: “I meet on Sunday with a girl alone, and she has a friend. Let's go together." On Sunday, we meet near the Kuzminki metro station. I approach: there is no one, there is only some kind of lonely girl standing. Well, I, so arrogant, come up and say: "Are you waiting for me?" - not you, for sure. "And just then Lenya and the girl appeared. "Ah, - they say, - have you already met Rita?" It turned out that the same girlfriend. We went to the cinema, then took wine. , she had to go to work in the evening shift soon. Well, of course, I took a taxi, saw me off. I wanted to kiss at the entrance, but she dodged. I asked for a phone - she didn’t give it, she just took mine. I’ll call you sometime. "Well, I think it’s a pipe. And a few days later Rita took it and called. We met for about a year with short breaks. We parted a couple of times. I left for Magadan when we quarreled. And suddenly she came to the airport see me off. A few days later I called her from there".

"So it's all a matter of chance?" .

"Yes, all the time there were some accidents that did not allow us to part. Yes, and there was no particular reason. Rita is a very accommodating girl, it was me who was a daredevil, I behaved not quite correctly, impudently. Still, a restaurant job, a musician ", always in public, money, again, was found. Of course, I walked with the girls, did not limit myself in anything, did not tie myself to anything: back and forth, taxi-maxi, culture-multur. When you are 20 - you get to know one , on the other hand, you went somewhere, you don’t spend the night at home. Like everyone else ".

"And what, at one fine moment, such a reveler decided to settle down?" .

“Well, we fell in love with each other. In the North, you rethink a lot, there is a completely different life. Rita moved in with me. And, interestingly, secretly. She lied to her parents that she was going to Dagomys, to a rest home. I rented an apartment for 60 rubles a month , which was considered very decent money. They began to live together. She cooked for me, looked after me, waited for work, became a wife. We officially got married on January 1 (according to other sources, January 2 - ed.), 1972. We decided that this day - the most successful for the wedding. New Year, they thought everyone was free. And indeed, 22 people came, took a walk - be healthy. And on August 29, David was born with us".

"But a quiet family life still did not work out. I had to wander around the cities and villages ..." .

"We were invited to Kamchatka. The climate is warmer there, Japanese, Korean ships - interesting. Kamchatka was then a closed border zone - you can't just take it and come. They sent me someone else's passport in the name of a certain Semyon Belfort, a saxophonist from Petropavlovsk. Except for the beard, which at that time I already had, we were like twin brothers. And I left, and sent Rita and my son to Moscow. And so we lived: we left and came. And then everything got tired and we rushed with the musicians to Sochi, which at all times were a Mecca for everyone who likes to walk, relax. In addition, they paid much more tips than in Kamchatka. But a year later I finally returned to Moscow, where by that time my second child was born ".

"Is it hard to enter the same river twice? Do you mean to return to Moscow?" .

“Yes, it didn’t cost anything, there are so many acquaintances around. I was invited to the Mosconcert: I collected orchestras, made arrangements. And then he got me an artistic director in the Leisya Song ensemble, which sang his hits: “Farewell”, “Do you want me in the eye. .. "," Where have you been? scary, they broke through any police barriers. There was a terribly scandalous group - there were always problems with artistic councils ".

"Isn't it then that you had your first thoughts of leaving the country?" .

“Probably ... Everything was annoying. They didn’t let them go abroad, they didn’t show it on TV. And why, one wonders, can’t I be shown on TV? Because I have a beard? Sochi to the pop song festival. And we have a line-up: 2 pipes, a trombone, a saxophone, a cool guitarist, a drummer - a supergroup. We played all "Chicago" by heart. And here's the competition. We play the first round, go to the second. And then comes the "cart "from the Ministry of Culture with a demand to remove us from the festival, because we violated the tour plan. They remove us. They gather all the jury under the chairmanship and suddenly bang their fists on the table:" No! No one will take them off - or I will turn around and drive away. I won’t sit on the jury. "It was only thanks to us that we stayed. And then we also won first place. And when we returned to Moscow, we were removed from the tour schedule for six months and deprived of our tour certificates for failing to comply with the order of the Ministry of Culture. This was the last straw, I'm serious thinking about getting out of here.

"Is everything so fed up?" .

"But what, I give the impression of a frivolous person? I am an adult, I have a family, two sons - why should I adapt to someone all my life? But it was incredibly difficult to leave at that time. Therefore, I resigned from the team in advance. But in order to to apply, it was necessary to receive a call from relatives from Israel, which, of course, I did not have. Friends sent calls, but they did not reach me, they settled in the KGB. But good people taught me. I came to the Main Post Office, ordered a telephone conversation with a friend in Israel and openly declared: "I'm not getting a call, do something." The next day I received three calls at once. International conversations were listened to not only by the KGB ... I submitted documents, but then two more I was waiting for permission for a year. It was hard: I couldn’t work - I was already under the hood. Money began to run out, they mortgaged both the apartment and the car. And when my nerves were already at the limit, they called me from OVIR: "We are thinking here whether to let you go or not ". That's it, I realized that they let me go. On February 9, 1981, we left".

"There were no fears that you were leaving for the unknown?" .

“I dreamed of America. I knew exactly what I could lose here, but I didn’t know what I could get there. I didn’t leave there, but from here. My wife was afraid to go to New York. To Australia, for example. "But I was not afraid of anything. Although, when I arrived at Brighton Beach, I was a little surprised. I thought it was at least Kalininsky Prospekt. But I saw these small houses, a subway rattling around the clock and tons garbage in the evenings at the shops. But nothing annoyed me. I arrived in a country where for the first time in my life no one told me what to say, how to dress. I settled with a friend and almost immediately got a job. They offered to accompany the singer Nina Brodskaya, ride through the Russian-Jewish centers - $ 100 per concert. Of course, I agreed. I was offered a job in A-me-ri-ke! In two weeks we leave for Canada. Without documents, without a passport, without anything. We’re driving in a car, two border guards come out: “Who are you?” They ask. She: “We are Russians, we have a wedding in Toronto.” They say: “Drive on.” It was such a shock for me. Then we drove back: Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia... I made $2,000, bought some tools, started working full-time in a restaurant, the kids went to school. Yes, I'm fine!".

"For the first time they began to sing also in the States?" .

"Yes. Once the singer I accompanied suddenly fell ill. And the hall was full, as many as forty people were sitting. And I began to sing, but what was there to do? I sang all the songs I knew: according to Magadan, hooligan, different. me too. So we were paid 40 dollars, and here I was alone - 60. And I began to sing. Why chanson? I absorbed these songs with my mother's milk. When I was five years old, I fell asleep to the singing of my dad, to "Taganka" And, of course, our emigrants were drawn to everything that was forbidden here".

"Mikhail Zakharovich, did you know then that your songs became popular on the other side of the ocean?" .

"No, back then no one knew about them here. It started later, when I started recording cassettes. I borrowed 3.5 thousand dollars, went to the studio and recorded the first album, Escape. Three months later, I returned the money. The cassette that is called, "went". And the second album "Ataman" with songs literally bombed everyone there. I had an orchestra, the best in exile, we received the richest works, the most prestigious evenings. But we couldn’t earn a lot of money. The circulation of cassettes was very small "First circulation - a thousand copies. Yes, and it was sold tight, for almost half a year. As soon as someone bought a cassette, he immediately copied it to all his friends, and even sent it to other cities. It only worked for popularity, to get rich at the expense of sales was impossible. Of course, I made money, but not with this. Before coming here, I received about a thousand dollars a week. But my success then far exceeded my earnings ".

"What is the reason that you came back here? Money?" .

“Why money? A hundred times more people listen to me here than there. So, I’m in demand a hundred times more. Where should a person live? Where is he in demand. Really? came on tour. It turned out that in three months we gave 75 concerts at the stadiums. The collapse was perfect! Of course, for this country I was a hero and earned much more - a completely different level".

"At that time you had some problems with