The legend of the Russian chanson Vilen Ivanovich Tokarev was born on November 11, 1934 in the Chernyshev farm of the Adygea Republic, his father was a hereditary Kuban Cossack. The father of the future chansonnier was a zealous communist and therefore gave his name to his offspring in the spirit of the times, calling him Vilen, which is deciphered by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Musical abilities began to manifest in the boy as a child, he organized an ensemble with friends, and they regularly set up concerts for fellow villagers. The basis of their repertoire was Cossack songs. And already in school he showed himself as a poet, his poems were regularly published in the school wall newspaper.
After the Second World War, Willy's father is transferred to Kaspiysk to a leadership position, the family moves after the head of the family. Willie continues to hone his musical talents and enters a music school.
But unexpectedly for relatives in 1948, he decides to look at the world and settles down as a fireman on a ship. In his youth, Willy manages to visit the ports of France, Norway and China.
Career
Tokarev says he accidentally became a singer. Nikolai Nikitsky, a film actor and a very popular singer at that time, invited me to accompany him at his concerts. Once during a concert, he himself invited me to sing one of my songs. When I finished, the audience applauded me. Nikitsky, seeing such a success, said to me: "Willy, you have to sing!" And Tokarev, in addition to playing the double bass and writing songs, began to sing.
From 1970 to 1974. He lived and performed as a singer in the city of Murmansk. According to Tokarev, he moved from Leningrad because at that time in Moscow and Leningrad, jazz fell out of favor with the authorities, and in Murmansk he could be himself. Tokarev was immediately hired as a singer in the most fashionable restaurant in the city, where he earned good money and gained recognition as a singer-songwriter.
In 1973, Tokarev’s song “Murmansk Girl” became the unofficial anthem of the peninsula.
Relocation to the USA
Unexpectedly for relatives and friends Willy Tokarev in 1974 decides to emigrate to the United States. At first he undertook any work in order to survive. Once he was fired from work as a courier on Wall Street due to his poor knowledge of English, after which he studied the language on his own from the audio cassette. After obtaining a driver’s license, Tokarev began working as a taxi driver, and finally earn decent money. It took him four years in a taxi to raise $ 15, 000 to record and release an album. The album, released in 1979 on vinyl, was serious, but alas it was not successful. But the second album, “In a Noisy Shed” (1981), full of humorous songs stylized as urban folklore of the Russian criminal underground, made him famous in the Russian-speaking community of New York.
In the 1980s, his songs became widely known among Russian emigrants in the United States. Tokarev worked as a singer in the three largest Russian-language restaurants on Brighton Beach: Sadko, Primorsky and Odessa, and he was soon able to buy an apartment on the beach and a car.
Homecoming
The first tour of Willie Tokarev in Russia took place in the late 80s. The artist attended more than 70 concerts in all corners of the USSR, and everywhere he was sold out.
The first hits that brought fame to Willy Tokarev in his homeland were the songs Fisherman's and Skyscrapers. They are still popular today among fans of chanson.
In the 90s of the last century, a chansonnier regularly runs between Moscow from New York. In 2005, Willie decides to buy an apartment on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment and stay in Russia forever. Near the house, he opens a recording studio, in which he still regularly records his new hits.
Personal life
Willy Tokarev, possessing phenomenal charm and charisma, always aroused love among the weaker sex, this could not but affect his personal life. For the first time, the singer tied the knot during his youth in Leningrad, in this marriage very quickly the son of Anton appeared to the young couple. He decided to follow in the footsteps of his parent and took up vocals in the style of chanson. Alas Tokarev’s first marriage fell apart just a couple of years. Willy married for the second time in 1990, but this time also not for long, although he had a second son in him, who was named Alex. The third time Willy was ringed for only a month, but the singer does not like to remember about him. The third marriage lasted only a month, and Tokarev never mentions him in his interviews.
A chance meeting in the subway, introduced him to his fourth wife, Julia Bedinsky. And despite the difference in age of 43 years, after some time the couple celebrated the wedding.
In union with Julia, Willy had two children - daughter Evelina and son Milen. Now they are studying in the USA, but they are Russian citizens.
