Edita Piekha

Edita Stanislavovna Piekha (Эди́та Станисла́вовна Пье́ха, Edita Stanislavovna Pyekha, Edyta Piecha, Édith-Marie Piecha) is a Soviet and Russian singer and actress of Polish descent.

Edita Piekha was born in Noyelles-sous-Lens, France in 1937 to an ethnic Polish family.

Her father was Stanisław Piecha, a mining worker, and her mother was Felicja Korolewska.

From 1945 to 1955, Edita Piekha lived in Boguszów, Poland with her mother and stepfather.

There, she studied music, sang with a choir, and excelled in Russian at her school, graduating at the top of her class.

In 1955, Piekha moved to Leningrad to study psychology on a state scholarship.

From 1955 to 1957, she attended A. A. Zhdanov Leningrad State University (now known as Saint Petersburg State University).

There, she met composer and pianist Aleksandr Bronevitsky.

Together, they formed the first popular band in Russia, named Druzhba, and gave their first TV performance on New Year's Eve, 31 December 1955, with the Polish song "Autobus czerwony", which became a popular hit in the USSR.

Piekha has been residing in Saint Petersburg since 1955.

Her daughter, Ilona Bronevitskaya, has been a popular singer and actress in Russia.

In 1956, Piekha began studying singing and composition at the Leningrad Conservatory.

In 1957, the ensemble Druzhba and Edita Piekha won Gold Medal and the First Prize at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow.

There, Piekha made history with her performances of the popular hit "Moscow Nights", which she was able to sing in several languages to international audiences from 130 nations.

In 1968, she won a gold medal at the IX World Festival of Youth and Students in Sofia with a song "Ogromnoe nebo" ("Vast Sky").

Piekha was especially popular among international audiences because of her ability to sing and speak in many languages, such as French, German, Polish and Russian, among others.

After the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students, ensemble Druzhba and Piekha released several sold-out records of their songs, eventually becoming one of the most popular bands in the former Soviet Union.

On her 70th birthday, Piekha received an "Anniversary greeting" from the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and was decorated with the "Order of Merits" for her lifelong contribution to music and international cultural relations of Russia.

French singer Daniele Vidal's French and Japanese renditions of "Nash Sosed" were popular in Japan in the 1970s.

In 1972, Piekha and the ensemble Druzhba entertained international audiences at the XX summer Olympics in Munich.

In 1976, she formed her own band, and remained one of the popular female singers in the USSR.

She also continued performing internationally and toured over 20 countries.

Over the years, Piekha made more than 30 concert tours in East Germany alone.

Among the highlights of her career were her appearances at Carnegie Hall, New York and at the Paris Olympia.

She was the third popular female singer, after Klavdiya Shulzhenko and Sofia Rotaru, to be named a People's Artist of the USSR (1988).

Edita Piekha is a well known public activist for humanitarian causes, and is a supporter of orphanages in Russia.

Piekha got a star on the Moscow Star Square in 1998.

Brooklyn band Svetlana and the Eastern Blokhedz has been paying tribute to Piekha, bringing her music to an American audience that was, until then, mostly unfamiliar with the singer.

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During the 2000s (decade), Piekha gave several performances on Russian television.

She also has been giving annual birthday performances in Saint Petersburg, a popular tradition she has been maintaining for many years.

Her grandson, actor and singer Stas Piekha, emerged as one of the winners of the Star Factory show in 2005.

In 2012, British dance group Ultrabeat, recording under the name WTF!, remixed Piekha's "Nash Sosed" and called their version "Da Bop", which rose in the Dutch charts to No. 4, while in the same year "Nash Sosed" was also remixed into a song, "Party People", by DJs Gary Caos and Rico Bernasconi.