Jiří Zmožek is clearly one of the most successful composers in the history of Czech popular music. Among his hits are Bells of Happiness, Biography of Love, I have to manage it myself or My love is no longer 20 years old. Zmožek withdrew into seclusion years ago and left Czech show business. But he made an exception for Life in the Stars and gave an interview.
In order for a singer to become famous, it takes not only a voice, but also someone to write hits. Jiří Zmožek is one of such composers in our country. His songs broke the charts and were sung by singers such as Karel Gott, Hana Zagorová or Marie Rottrová.
He could write pop, brass and rock. The hitmaker also made a significant impact on the career of Dara Rollins. “I discovered her by going to Slovakia every month and doing my radio show there. I heard Darinka sing there for the first time at the age of 12 and I was amazed,” he outlined the beginnings of the collaboration with Dara Zmožek.
His idea of cooperation with Karl Gott was a breakthrough, and thanks to him the young Darinka found her way into the hearts of listeners not only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. “A lady came to me who wanted me to write a song for her. She went into the living room, sat down on the chair. I told her we were going to do a duet with Gott. She fell off the chair,” the composer described.
And so the Lucky Bells came. But the composer had to fight for Gotta’s favor. “I’ll sit next to Karl, he’s behind the wheel, and I’ll start singing the beginning of the song The Bells of Fortune. He perked up and turned around and said, ‘Good, man, really good.’ And I say, Karl, and now she,” said Zmožek, singing Dara’s part to Gott.
But Karl didn’t really like how long Dara should sing. “So I told him, ‘But, Karl, it’s a duet. You’re going to take turns. She’s going to sing the Singing and, Karl, you’re going to sing the Singing and so on.’ And he said to me: ‘I hope you don’t think I’m going to answer her,'” Zmožek recalled with a laugh.
Bells of Happiness was a hit not only here, under the name Fang das Licht, the song scored a hit in German-speaking countries as well. “In Austria it was played on ten stations at number one and it looked so funny because Elton John was second,” the composer described.
But he had to promote his songs. “I had to keep fighting through those songs. It wasn’t like they were jumping around my neck saying how happy they were that I wrote it for them,” the hitmaker said, adding that he once even threatened Karl Gott with the finger over a song he wrote.
“I had a demo of There at the Gates of Heaven ready for him, but it didn’t have lyrics. I play it for him and he’s sitting there, wearing headphones, and he always says it’s going somewhere. And I couldn’t stand it, so I jumped out of my chair, I pointed my finger at him and said, ‘Mister Gott, remember, this is going to be a big hit and it doesn’t matter if you sing it or not.’ Then Michal Tučný sang it,” Zmožek described the now-laughable story.
In 1994, the Carmen publishing house, which the composer founded, went bankrupt, his marriage broke up and, on top of everything, he fell ill. It led him to believe and love God. This was also reflected in the creation of Christian songs. Today, the 80-year-old composer lives a contented life and has big plans. She is preparing a book about her life with her daughter and is especially looking forward to the fans in Lucerne in February.
TN.cz
2024-01-14 11:57:00
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