Budka Suflera
Encyclopedia
Budka Suflera is a Polish
rock
band which was started in 1969 in Lublin
by Krzysztof Cugowski, and, after disbanding soon thereafter, resurrected by Cugowski and Romuald Lipko in 1974 and active to this day. They are perhaps best known for their rock ballads, such as "Jolka Jolka" and "Za ostatni grosz" that are often quoted as some of the best songs of Polish rock
.
, Jimi Hendrix
and Led Zeppelin
in local venues and disbanded after making a few radio recordings and several concerts.
In 1970 Cugowski joined a band Stowarzyszenie Cnót Wszelakich, led by his school mate Romuald Lipko. Soon the band was renamed to Budka Suflera. After few member changes the band finally made in March 1974 to be their first major recording, "Sen o dolinie" as the Polish cover of Bill Withers
' "Ain't No Sunshine
". The song received much airplay, which resulted in an offer from Polskie Nagrania record label, as well as numerous concert proposals.
in 1973. It instantly became a hit and appeared on many compilations and live albums since then. The band also recorded "Lubię ten stary obraz" in November 1974 and "Memu miastu na do widzenia" in the beginning of 1975. The drummer Zbigniew Zieliński was replaced by Tomasz Zeliszewski soon after this.
The first album, entitled Cień wielkiej góry after its first track, was released in 1975. This record saw some contributions from Czesław Niemen, who played his Moog synthesizer
psychedelic parts in a majestic rock suite
called "Szalony koń". Clocking over 19 minutes, this track took a whole B-side of the long play
.
The radio hit "Sen o dolinie" as well as "Memu miastu na do widzenia" were not placed on the album. The first one was rejected by the record label
, because it was a cover of a foreign artist and the latter was written by Lipko solely (there was a sort of deal among the band members, they wanted only songs written by Cugowski and Lipko together on the first album).
The release became a success and the band went on a tour to East Germany. There, few German versions of band's greatest hits were recorded. There were plans to release an album in Germany, but they failed as Cugowski missed a recording session. A second attempt failed, too, because of the exhausting tour that ended just before.
In 1976 another band's record, named Przechodniem byłem między wami was released. It did not repeat the success of its predecessor. After the release, Cugowski decided to leave the band and start a solo career. He was replaced by Stanisław Wenglorz, an ex-singer of Skaldowie
. He has only appeared on few records ("Rozmowa", "Kula nocnego światła", "Ślady na piasku", "Życiowy numer"), then unreleased and quit soon after. The next vocalist became Romuald Czystaw.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band which was started in 1969 in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
by Krzysztof Cugowski, and, after disbanding soon thereafter, resurrected by Cugowski and Romuald Lipko in 1974 and active to this day. They are perhaps best known for their rock ballads, such as "Jolka Jolka" and "Za ostatni grosz" that are often quoted as some of the best songs of Polish rock
Polish rock
One of the earliest pioneers of Polish rock was Tadeusz Nalepa, a singer, guitarist and songwriter who began his career playing pop music in his group, Blackout before turning to blues rock and changing the band's name to Breakout in 1968....
.
Early days (1969-1974)
The band was started in 1969 with jam sessions by Krzysztof Cugowski (vocals), Krzysztof Brozi (lead guitar), Janusz Pędzisz (bass guitar) and Jacek Grün (drums). They performed cover versions of John MayallJohn Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
in local venues and disbanded after making a few radio recordings and several concerts.
In 1970 Cugowski joined a band Stowarzyszenie Cnót Wszelakich, led by his school mate Romuald Lipko. Soon the band was renamed to Budka Suflera. After few member changes the band finally made in March 1974 to be their first major recording, "Sen o dolinie" as the Polish cover of Bill Withers
Bill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...
' "Ain't No Sunshine
Ain't No Sunshine
"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album Just as I Am, produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar and Al Jackson, Jr. on drums, as well as Withers on lead vocals and guitar. The song was released as a single in September...
". The song received much airplay, which resulted in an offer from Polskie Nagrania record label, as well as numerous concert proposals.
Breakthrough (1975-1976)
In autumn 1974 the next song is recorded, "Cień wielkiej góry", inspired by death of two Polish mountaineers (Zbigniew Stepek and Andrzej Grzązek) in HimalayasHimalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
in 1973. It instantly became a hit and appeared on many compilations and live albums since then. The band also recorded "Lubię ten stary obraz" in November 1974 and "Memu miastu na do widzenia" in the beginning of 1975. The drummer Zbigniew Zieliński was replaced by Tomasz Zeliszewski soon after this.
The first album, entitled Cień wielkiej góry after its first track, was released in 1975. This record saw some contributions from Czesław Niemen, who played his Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
psychedelic parts in a majestic rock suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
called "Szalony koń". Clocking over 19 minutes, this track took a whole B-side of the long play
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
.
The radio hit "Sen o dolinie" as well as "Memu miastu na do widzenia" were not placed on the album. The first one was rejected by the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, because it was a cover of a foreign artist and the latter was written by Lipko solely (there was a sort of deal among the band members, they wanted only songs written by Cugowski and Lipko together on the first album).
The release became a success and the band went on a tour to East Germany. There, few German versions of band's greatest hits were recorded. There were plans to release an album in Germany, but they failed as Cugowski missed a recording session. A second attempt failed, too, because of the exhausting tour that ended just before.
In 1976 another band's record, named Przechodniem byłem między wami was released. It did not repeat the success of its predecessor. After the release, Cugowski decided to leave the band and start a solo career. He was replaced by Stanisław Wenglorz, an ex-singer of Skaldowie
Skaldowie
Skaldowie, a Cracow, Poland, rock group, was particularly popular from the 1960s to the 1980s. With their musical training and proximity to the folklore-rich area of Podhale, many of their tracks were a fusion of rock, folk, and classical music....
. He has only appeared on few records ("Rozmowa", "Kula nocnego światła", "Ślady na piasku", "Życiowy numer"), then unreleased and quit soon after. The next vocalist became Romuald Czystaw.
Members
The band's line-up has changed many times over the years. Since 2005 the band members are:- Krzysztof Cugowski – vocalsVocal musicVocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
- Romuald Lipko – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Tomasz Zeliszewski – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Łukasz Pilch – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Mirosław Stępień – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Piotr Kominek – keyboards
- Anna Patynek – percussion
- Małgorzata Orczyk – backing vocals
- Irena Kijewska – backing vocals
Studio albums
- Cień wielkiej góry (1975)
- Przechodniem byłem między wami (1976)
- Na brzegu światła (1979)
- Ona przyszła prosto z chmur (1980)
- Za ostatni grosz (1982)
- Czas czekania, czas olśnienia (1984)
- Giganci tańczą (1986)
- Ratujmy co się da (1988)
- Cisza (1993)
- Noc (1995)
- Nic nie boli, tak jak życie (1997)
- Bal wszystkich świętych (2000)
- Mokre oczy (2002)
- Jest (2004) POL #2
- Zawsze czegoś brak (2009) POL #19
Live albums
- Budka w Operze, Live from Sopot '94 (1994)
- Akustycznie (1998)
- Live at Carnegie Hall (2000)
Compilation albums
- 1974-1984 (1984)
- The Best of UrszulaUrszula KasprzakUrszula Kasprzak, usually known simply as Urszula, is a Polish pop/rock singer and also a piano player and accordionist....
& Budka Suflera (1988) - Greatest Hits (1992)
- Underground (1993)
- Greatest Hits II (1999)
- Antologia 74-99 (1999)
- Budka Suflera dla tp.internet (2000)
- The Best Of (5 track CD) (2002)
- Palę sobie... (5 track CD) (2003)
- Posluchaj sobie (5 track CD) (2003)
- Leksykon Budki Suflera 1974-2005 (2006)
- Gwiazdy Polskiej muzyki lat 80: Budka Suflera (2007)