At the beginning of the nineties of the last century, when poppy music was just blossoming in the post-Soviet space, singer Marina Zhuravleva gained immense popularity. The biography of this artist is bright and filled with difficult and dangerous events, and her songs are close to the people and penetrate the hearts of the audience for a long time.
Singer's childhood
Marina Zhuravleva was born in Khabarovsk in 1963, on June 8. The father of the future singer was a soldier, and her mother was a housewife. In general, the family was ordinary, average income and simple foundations.
From an early age, parents noticed musical talent in the little Marina, the girl herself strove for singing and dancing. Therefore, it was decided to send her first to music clubs for the youngest students, and then to a music school, in which the girl stood out for her talent and perseverance among other children.
The family of Marina Zhuravleva (whose biography is described in this article) decided to change her place of residence and move to Voronezh in 1976, when the girl was already thirteen years old.
Moving to Voronezh
The new city gave Marina new opportunities in the musical field. The girl continued her studies at school, and also entered a music school - in the piano class. Then Marina became a soloist of the local team. After graduation, she soloed in the ensemble of the City Palace of Pioneers.
As part of this ensemble, the young artist participated in various competitions of city and regional significance. Many of these performances were broadcast on television and on radio stations.
First professional success
At that time in Voronezh there was a popular amateur group called Fantasy. Marina Zhuravleva (biography, photo and personal life of which is covered in this article) became her soloist.
In Dnepropetrovsk, the All-Union contest of pop songs for young performers was held. Here, the chairman of the jury was Alexandra Pakhmutova, and the State Television and Radio Orchestra conducted by Yuri Silantyev accompanied all the participants in the competition.
Already being the lead singer of Fantasy, Marina decided to participate in this festival. And luck smiled at her, the jury appreciated her talent and manner of performing the song. As a result, the girl received a prize.
After that, the young artist decided to enter the local Voronezh College of Music for a flute class.
The conquest of the capital
But after a successful performance at the competition of pop singers, she transferred to the Gnesins Music College in Moscow, which she graduated in 1986, but already in the vocal class.
In addition to the aforementioned Fantasy collective, Marina Zhuravleva performed in many other musical groups. For example, in VIA “Silver Strings” from 1978 to 1983, then in a jazz orchestra called “Sovremennik”, led by Anatoly Kroll. In this group, Marina stayed for only three years. But during a soloist in Sovremennik, the artist sang a song by A. Kroll under the title “Luck, Luck” in the TV program “Saturday Night” in 1986. This composition sounded in the film "Winter Evening in Gagra" by Karen Shakhnazarov, and there it was performed by Larisa Dolina.
In the same year, Marina Zhuravleva released her first album, entitled "Kiss me only once." He had complex musical accompaniment and, as a result, did not receive much popularity and commercial success.
After thinking about the situation, it was decided to play simpler music in the then popular pop style. The lyrics of the songs performed have been greatly simplified, and the melodies have also become uncomplicated. Arrangements were not created for long - computer magnifiers helped in this matter.
All songs of Marina Zhuravleva were united by one common theme - love, often unrequited or unhappy. Songs came out in print runs one after another, people liked it, the singer gained immense popularity.
Critics of the work of Marina Zhuravleva
The biography, creative successes and failures of the artist were the most discussed topics in the nineties of the last century, and even today critics and journalists often recall that time.
For example, columnist Dmitry Shevarov recalls that Zhuravleva’s songs were very popular, sounded from every iron. The peak of the popularity of her work came in 1992-1994.
Alexander Gradsky together with Joseph Kobzon in 2011 spoke positively about the singer’s creative successes, calling her the manner of performing mastery, and her work itself - original and original, which was the hallmark of the early nineties in Russia and in the post-Soviet countries.
But not all critics were so loyal and positive about Zhuravleva’s work. Many spoke negatively about her songs and manner of performance, calling her work an example of bad taste, thereby exposing devastating criticism to everything that the singer did.
But, nevertheless, Zhuravleva and the creative niche that she occupied on the Soviet stage were the forerunner of such famous female Russian pop groups as Shiny, Strelka and others, which soon filled the stage.
Foreign appearances
When Marina realized the scale of her popularity on the national stage, she came up with the idea to expand the geography of her touring tours. It was decided to give solo concerts in Europe. The artist visited Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria with her recitals, and also tried to perform overseas - in Canada and the USA.
In these countries there were many Russian-speaking residents who also loved the work of the singer. In addition, a huge number of labor migrants surged from the post-Soviet countries in search of work and a better life.
And the work of Marina Zhuravleva, her simple and at the same time touching songs reminded of home and love.
The artist was lucky to collaborate with Star Media GmbH and the Alla Pugacheva Theater.
Marina Zhuravleva, whose biography is still of great interest today, was the author of many songs she performed. All texts proceeded from personal life experience. Maybe that is why these texts were so popular with the Russian people.
Reasons for leaving the Russian Federation
In the early nineties, the popularity of Marina Zhuravleva reached its maximum peak. In one day, the singer gave several concerts in huge stadiums, filled to capacity by loyal spectators.
Earned according to the labor expended. Such material successes were not disregarded by bandit groups whose activities flourished at that time and inspired fear.
The criminal situation in the country was serious, mafia communities created tremendous pressure on the creative and working team of Zhuravleva. She had to hire bodyguards.
The singer herself, even in hotel rooms, slept with a gun under her pillow, and her guards were always armed and were in full readiness.
The constant feeling of fear for her life and the nervous tension that accompanied her every performance over the years were the reasons why the singer decided to leave her native country.
Life and work in the USA
The biography of Marina Zhuravleva takes on a sharp turn, or rather, a flight to the United States of America. The singer got there with her husband Sergey Sarychev, who at that time was the leader of the Alpha group. A married couple flew away at the invitation to work. There Zhuravleva toured a bit, and then decided not to return to Russia, where, after the collapse of the USSR, a gangster atmosphere reigned.
At the new residence, the singer decided to continue her musical career, but in a different style. She tried herself in chanson, Latin American style of music and techno dance.
But such a success, as in her native Russia, the singer never achieved.
However, the artist stayed in the United States for twenty years. It was during this period that the biography of Marina Zhuravleva was replenished with difficult events - it turned out that her only daughter had a brain tumor. For many years, manpower and resources were given to combat this serious illness. Still managed to defeat the disease. It was her feelings for her daughter, constant observation and research of her condition that did not allow the artist to come home.
Singer Marina Zhuravleva, whose biography continues already in her native land, returned from the States already in 2010.
And now, after only three years, the album of this singer in the Russian Federation called “Migratory Birds” is released.
Personal life
The biography of Marina Zhuravleva was adorned by her three husbands.
The first of them was a student who studied at the musician. The marriage was hasty, early and short-lived. But in it was born the daughter Julia (1982).
The most striking spouse of the singer was rock musician Sergey Sarychev. He supported Marina in every possible way, composed songs for her, was her producer and was always there. But the couple broke up in 2000.
Zhuravleva’s third husband is an American, with whom the singer lived together for about ten years, but after the flight to Russia, the singer knows little about his further biography.
The family of Marina Zhuravleva, represented by her mother and daughter Julia, lives overseas.