Rangers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Rangers is a Czech
pop folk band
formed in 1964 by Milan Dufek and Antonín Hájek, playing country music
as well. Its classical ensemble consisted of Milan Dufek (1944–2005; tenor
), Antonín Hájek (1944–1989; baritone
), Miroslav Řihošek, Jan Vančura (countertenor
), Jiří Veisser, and Radek Tomášek. The band sold over one million carriers.
The Rangers quickly became famous for singing qualities of its members, from bass of Jiří Veisser to countertenor
of Jan Vančura.http://ifolk.cz/index.php?show=article-2153-milan-dufek-stezejni-soucastka-rangers Musical repertoire of the Rangers in that time consisted of Anglo-America
n Traditional
s, Folk Pop and Country music
with Czech lyrics
.
Between 1966–1969 Jarka Hadrabová sang in the band http://rangersband.cz/clanek-historie-kapely-rangers-plavci/ and they won the first two Portas (1967 and 1968) in the category Country & Western. The Rangers' hits were cover versions of The Water Is Wide
(1724, Rákosí), Cotton Fields
(1941, Pole s bavlnou) sung as Gospel music
, King of the Road
(1965, Král silnic), Come the Day
(1966, Ave Dies), or Nose For Trouble
, (1966, Nos pro trable). Exceptional success was Milan Dufek's Vysočina (Highlands).
In 1971 the Rangers were forced to rename into Plavci (Swimmers). The official reason was that a Czech band name cannot be the same as of "American killers in Vietnam
".http://rangers-plavci.hyperlink.cz/hhistory.htm Rivalry between Milan Dufek and Radek Tomášek caused Tomášek left the band in 1973. The host
Petr Nárožný
left the band as well and was replaced by Luděk Nekuda (1942–1988).http://rozhlas.cz/historie/vyroci/_zprava/8216 Plavci were often part of TV show
s and their popularity became nationwide. Although between 1974–1976 Nekuda was not with the band, enormous success of Plavci continued. After he rejoined Plavci they became No 1 music band of the Czechoslovakia
. Nekuda definitely left the band in 1978 and popularity of Plavci suffered steady decline.
On 17 November 2005 Milan Dufek died during scuba diving
. Radek Tomášek expressly refused reunion with the rest of the band.http://radektomasek.cz/kontakt.htm
s.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
pop folk band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in 1964 by Milan Dufek and Antonín Hájek, playing country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
as well. Its classical ensemble consisted of Milan Dufek (1944–2005; tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
), Antonín Hájek (1944–1989; baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
), Miroslav Řihošek, Jan Vančura (countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
), Jiří Veisser, and Radek Tomášek. The band sold over one million carriers.
The Rangers quickly became famous for singing qualities of its members, from bass of Jiří Veisser to countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
of Jan Vančura.http://ifolk.cz/index.php?show=article-2153-milan-dufek-stezejni-soucastka-rangers Musical repertoire of the Rangers in that time consisted of Anglo-America
Anglo-America
Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language, or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links...
n Traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
s, Folk Pop and Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
with Czech lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
.
Between 1966–1969 Jarka Hadrabová sang in the band http://rangersband.cz/clanek-historie-kapely-rangers-plavci/ and they won the first two Portas (1967 and 1968) in the category Country & Western. The Rangers' hits were cover versions of The Water Is Wide
The Water Is Wide (song)
"The Water Is Wide" is a folk song of Scottish or English origin that has been sung since the 1600s and has seen considerable popularity through to the 21st century...
(1724, Rákosí), Cotton Fields
Cotton Fields
"Cotton Fields" is a song written by blues musician Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly who made the first recording of the song in 1940.-Early versions:...
(1941, Pole s bavlnou) sung as Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, King of the Road
King of the Road (song)
"King of the Road" is a 1964 song written and originally recorded by country singer Roger Miller.The lyrics tell of a hobo who despite being poor revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously as the "king of the road"...
(1965, Král silnic), Come the Day
The Seekers
The Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
(1966, Ave Dies), or Nose For Trouble
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich , were a British pop/rock group of the 1960s. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached Number One in the UK with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu".-Biography:Five friends from Wiltshire, David John Harman,...
, (1966, Nos pro trable). Exceptional success was Milan Dufek's Vysočina (Highlands).
In 1971 the Rangers were forced to rename into Plavci (Swimmers). The official reason was that a Czech band name cannot be the same as of "American killers in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
".http://rangers-plavci.hyperlink.cz/hhistory.htm Rivalry between Milan Dufek and Radek Tomášek caused Tomášek left the band in 1973. The host
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
Petr Nárožný
Petr Nárožný
Petr Nárožný is a Czech actor and television presenter.Petr Nárožný attended Czech Technical University in Prague . He began his career as a presenter of the band Rangers in 1968. From 1973, he was engaged as an actor in the Semafor Theatre in Prague, together with Luděk Sobota and Miloslav Šimek...
left the band as well and was replaced by Luděk Nekuda (1942–1988).http://rozhlas.cz/historie/vyroci/_zprava/8216 Plavci were often part of TV show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s and their popularity became nationwide. Although between 1974–1976 Nekuda was not with the band, enormous success of Plavci continued. After he rejoined Plavci they became No 1 music band of the Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Nekuda definitely left the band in 1978 and popularity of Plavci suffered steady decline.
On 17 November 2005 Milan Dufek died during scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
. Radek Tomášek expressly refused reunion with the rest of the band.http://radektomasek.cz/kontakt.htm
Discography
only Czech sung LPLP 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...
s.
- The Rangers (I, 1969)
- Rangers 1970 (II, 1970)
- Rangers (III, 1971)
- Plavci (IV, 1973)
- Plavci (V, 1974)
- Sláva (1975)
- Chvála písni (1977)
- Plavci na Poříčí (1978), live
- Otvíráme plovárnu (1980)
- Galaportrét (1984), compilation
- Erb toulavého rodu (1984)
- Výzkumný ústav vodních radostí (1986)
External links
- Official page of the Rangers
- Official page of Rangers Band
- Official page of New Rangers
- Complete discography
- Lyrics
- Official page of Radek Tomášek
- Info about Antonín Hájek
- Obituary of Milan Dufek
- Encyklopedie Country music
- Staré televizní pořady s Rangers
- To nejlepší – samples with names of original songs
Video
- Balíček karet (original version) (1969)
- Balíček karet (new version)
- Mám radost (1971, I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I AmMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, 1968) - Láska je věc kouzelná (1971, Love Is Kind Love is WineThe SeekersThe Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
, 1967) - Orchidej (1973)
- Vysočina (1973)