Alexander Gradsky

Artist: Alexander Gradsky

LP: Variety Soloists Parade

Song: "We Can't Live Without Each Other"

[ listen ]

This 1983 "Variety Soloists Parade" LP offers a collection of songs by contemporary Russian pop artists of the time. Born in Kopeysk, Russia in November of 1949, young Alexander Gradsky was introduced to artists like Elvis Presley and Little Richard through the records his dancer uncle brought back with him from travels abroad. In 1963, when Alexander was just 13, he performed vocals with The Cockroaches for a show at the International Club of Moscow State University. This is reportedly the very first time rock-n-roll was performed in the Soviet Union. Gradsky went on to become one of the biggest rock stars in Russia (figuratively and literally), earning the flattering moniker "The Granddad of Soviet Rock," along with an unflattering one, "The Russian Meatloaf," after putting on a few extra pounds. You can read more about the life and career of Alexander Gradsky here, and go here to see some pictures of Alexander and his lovely young wife, along with a bunch of other startling photos of physically mismatched couples. This one is my favorite.

 [ Alexander Gradsky ]