Eduard Khil
| Eduard Khil Эдуард Хиль |
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 Eduard Khil receiving a 4th class Order of Merit for the Fatherland in 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Эдуард Анатольевич Хиль |
| Born | September 4, 1934 Smolensk, Western Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR |
| Origin | Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Associated acts | Prepinaki |
| Website | http://edhill.narod.ru/ |
Eduard Anatolyevich Khil (Russian: Эдуард Анатольевич Хиль; born 4 September 1934, Smolensk, Western Oblast), sometimes referred to as Edward Hill or Eduard Khil,[1] is a Soviet-Russian baritone singer and a recipient of the People's Artist Award of the RSFSR.
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Life
Eduard Khil was born on September 4, 1934 in Smolensk. In 1960 he graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory, where he studied under direction of Evgeni Olkhovksky and Zoya Lodyi. He began performing as a soloist. Khil currently lives at Tolstoy House (Толстовский дом) in St. Petersburg.
He was the first artist to sing such songs as Woodcutters (Лесорубы in Russian) and Moon Stone (Лунный камень) by Arkady Ostrovsky, and Song about Friend (Песня о друге), Blue Cities (Голубые города), And People Go To the Sea (А люди уходят в море) by Andrey Petrov. Other popular songs performed by Khil included From What the Homeland Begins? (С чего начинается Родина?), How the Steamers Are Seen Off (Как провожают пароходы), Winter (Зима), Birch Sap (Берёзовый сок), Alder Catkin (Серёжка ольховая), We Need Only the Victory (Нам нужна одна победа), and many others.
In 1977-1979, Khil taught solo singing at the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy.
After his singing career faded in the early 1990s, Khil reentered private life and worked in a cafe in Paris. Since 1997, Khil has been involved with his son in a joint project with the rock group Prepinaki.
After retiring from a singing career, Khil slowly faded into obscurity in his later years. In 2010, Khil reclaimed the spotlight when he became the subject of the viral "Trololo" internet meme on YouTube, featuring a 1976 video of a vocalised version of the song, "I Am Glad I'm Finally Going Home" (Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой).[2]
Family name
The family name Khil is not derived from Hill. The singer stated in an interview that he probably has a Spanish ancestor with the surname Gil, which is pronounced similar to hill.[3]
Internet meme
In 2009, a 1976 video of Khil singing a non-lexical vocable version of the song I Am Glad, Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home (Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой) was uploaded to YouTube,[4] and quickly became an Internet meme[1] known as "Trololololololololololo" or "Trololo"[5], giving Khil the nickname "Mr. Trololo" or "Trololo Man"[5]. The song itself was written by Arkady Ostrovsky, and was also performed by Valery Obodzinsky[6][7], Hungarian singer János Koós[8] and by Muslim Magomayev on the Little Blue Light program in the Soviet Union.[9] The name "trololo" is an onomatopoeia of the distinctive way Khil vocalises throughout the song.
It first appeared on some sites beginning on February 21, 2010,[10][11] and gained prominence on March 3 during a segment on The Colbert Report and was also parodied by actor Christoph Waltz on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[12][13] The song has also been used as a bait and switch prank amongst YouTube users, with many users considering that the "trololo" meme may become the new Rick Roll, having re-emerged under other names such as "Russian Rickroll", "Trololo'd", or "Communist Roll'd" in March 2010 [14].
The "trololo" meme in turn re-ignited interest in Khil's singing career aside from his vocalised performance; the "trololo" website includes a petition for Khil to come out of retirement to perform on a world tour.
I haven't heard anything about it. It's nice, of course! Thanks for good news!There is a backstory about this song. Originally, we had lyrics written for this song but they were poor. I mean, they were good, but we couldn't publish them at that time. They contained words like these: "I'm riding my stallion on a prairie, so-and-so mustang, and my beloved Mary is thousand miles away knitting a stocking for me". Of course, we failed to publish it at that time, and we, Arkady Ostrovsky and I, decided to make it a vocalisation. But the essence remained in the title. The song is very naughty – it has no lyrics, so we had to make up something for people would listen to it, and so this was an interesting arrangement.
—Eduard Khil, LIfe News (Russian)
- Я об этом ничего не знал, в первый раз слышу. Приятно, что и говорить! Спасибо за хорошие новости!
- С этой песней связана целая история. Для нее сначала были написаны стихи, но они были неудачные. То есть удачные, но в то время их нельзя было публиковать. Содержание было такое: «я скачу по прерии на своем жеребце, мустанге таком-то, а моя любимая Мэри за тысячу миль отсюда вяжет для меня чулок». В то время опубликовать такое, конечно, не получилось, и мы с поэтом Аркадием Островским решили - что ж, пусть это будет вокализ. Но в названии все-таки осталась суть: «Я очень рад, ведь я наконец возвращаюсь домой». Песня очень озорная - слов в ней, конечно, нет, но надо было придумать что-то такое, чтоб ее слушали, поэтому была очень интересная аранжировка.
Arkady Ostrovsky's son, Mikhail, gives another version of the vocalise story:
Nobody banned its lyrics, but my father just composed the music when his relations with Lev Oshanin deteriorated. The latter told him that the lyrics are more important and that a composer is nothing without a lyricist. So Dad told him during the argument, "Well, I don't need your verses at all, I'll manage without them."—Mikhail Ostrovsky, Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russian)
...никто ее слов не запрещал, просто музыку отец сочинил в период размолвки с поэтом Львом Ошаниным. Тот сказал ему, что стихи в песне главное и без поэта композитор - ноль. Вот папа и сказал ему в пылу ссоры: "Да мне вообще твои стихи не нужны, обойдусь".
Khil's son was quoted as saying "He thinks maybe someone is trying to make a fool of him," and "He keeps asking, 'Where were all these journalists 40 years ago?'"[5]
Awards
- Sopot International Song Festival second prize (1965)
- Meritorious Artist of the RSFSR (1968)
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971)
- People's Artist of the RSFSR (1974)
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (1981)
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class (2009)
- Utyosov Prize
Filmography
- 1965 – Cheryomushki (Черёмушки) – vocal
- 1974 – Eduard Khil (documentary, directed by Marina Goldovskaya)
- 1985 – Golubye goroda (Голубые города, Blue Cities; film-concert, music by Andrey Petrov)
- 2004 – Yatinsotests – club manager
References
- ^ a b http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/edward-hill-russian-rickroll
- ^ Christian Science Monitor - YouTube drags reluctant Soviet star Mr. Trololo back into spotlight
- ^ Эдуард Хиль: Я не открываю рот под «фанеру» - я пою (Russian)
- ^ Video at YouTube
- ^ a b c Weir, Fred (March 12, 2010). "YouTube drags reluctant Soviet star Mr. Trololo back into spotlight". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0312/YouTube-drags-reluctant-Soviet-star-Mr.-Trololo-back-into-spotlight. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ Video at YouTube
- ^ Валерий Ободзинский (Russian)
- ^ Video at YouTube
- ^ Video at YouTube
- ^ "Eduard Hill, Aka Eduard Anatolyevich, Wins Russian Idol". Anorak News. http://www.anorak.co.uk/240025/strange-but-true/anorak-tv/eduard-hill-aka-eduard-anatolyevich-wins-russian-idol.html. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ Is This Weird Russian Guy The Best Lyricist Of All Time? No. (VIDEO)
- ^ Colbert Report - Jim Bunning Ends Filibuster
- ^ Christoph Waltz on His Role in Der Humpink
- ^ Video at YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRefK6OyvHU
