Mikhail Shufutinsky


Mikhail Zakharovich Shufutinsky is a Russian pop singer. He was born in Moscow on 13 April 1948. He was once a citizen of the United States from 1990 to 2003, but now lives in Russia. He is currently the pre-eminent singer of Russian chanson music. He was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist of Russia in 2013.

Biography

Shufutinsky was born on 13 April 1948 in Moscow. His father was Zakhar Davidovich Shufutinski, a Jewish Second World War doctor and veteran. When he was five years old, his mother died and he was then raised by his grandmother, Berta Davidovna, and his grandfather, David Yakovlevich.
Majoring in the accordion, Shufutinsky graduated from the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Musical Pedagogical Institute with a specialization in the choral Coryphaeus style.
He appeared with different bands in Moscow and Magadan, performing songs by Alexander Vertinsky and Pyotr Leshchenko, and later became leader of the instrumental band "Leisya, Pesnia", which usually played songs by Vyacheslav Dobrynin.
At some point, Mikhail visited Los Angeles for a concert and immediately fell in love with the city. This was during the boom of the Russian restaurant business in Los Angeles. As a famous singer and musician, Shufutinsky was offered a job in the restaurant in Burbank, California. Shufutinsky had surprising success as an immigrant performer despite American expectations against Russians.
In 1981, Shufutinsky and his family immigrated to the USA. Within 10 years, he had appeared with many bands in different restaurants, and created his own show, "Ataman-band". Nowadays, he regularly tours in Russia. In 1990, he accepted an invitation to visit Russia and sang concerts in 75 sold-out stadiums.
In 1998, Shufutinsky wrote an autobiography named I vot stoiu ia na puti….
In 2003, Shufutinsky returned to Russia as a permanent resident.
His repertoire contains songs by songwriters Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Igor Krutoy, Oleg Mityaev, Aleksandr Rozenbaum, Oleg Gazmanov, Igor Zubkov, Vatslav Lisovskii, Olesia Atlanova, Karen Kavaleryan, and many others.

Discs

Roles