Born in Košice, Slovakia, Waldemar Matuška grew up in Prague. He had inherited his father’s musical talent and played guitar and double bass. But his favorite instrument was the banjo.
His debut at the Semafor theater
In 1960, Waldemar Matuška became one of the singers of the Semafor theatre, where he sang the songs of Jiří Šlitr and Jiří Suchý. Some of the songs from this period – including “Písnička pro Zuzanu” and “Tereza”, or his duet with Eva Pilařová, “Ach, ta láska nebeská” – contributed to his fame on the Czech pop scene of the time. His repertoire also included songs from American films (“Buď pořád se mnou”) and popular songs (“Jó, třešně zrály”, “Růže z Texasu”); moreover, he sang covers of certain French pieces: in addition to the song “Sur le pont d’Avignon”, recorded in 1972 alongside Václav Hybš’s orchestra, Waldemar Matuška had previously covered other French pieces, which became hits in Czechoslovakia at the time, such as “Sbohem, lásko” (“Farewell love”), a cover of “Leave me little girl”, or “Slavíci z Madridu” (“The Nightingales of Madrid”) which covers “Le Rossignol anglais” by French singer Hugues Auffray.
Video of Slavici from Madrid – Matuska
It was also during this period that Waldemar Matuška starred in several popular films, including Limonadový Joe (Joe Lemonade, 1964), Kdyby tisíc klarinetů (1965) and Fantom Morrisvillu (1966). But his most famous role is that of Zášínek in the film Všichni dobří rodáci (Moravian Chronicle, 1968).
Video of All good natives
Familiarly nicknamed “Walda”, Waldemar Matuška has twice been awarded the Golden Rossignol, which is no small feat. Very popular, he was however systematically preceded by Karel Gott, whose voice was more worked, and more romantic.
emigration to the United States
In 1986, Waldemar Matuška emigrated to the United States with his whole family. He was tired of being bothered by the StB, the communist secret police, who had been following him since the start of his career. After he went into exile, his songs were then immediately blacklisted, with the authorities even destroying his still unreleased record and removing his vocals from the hugely popular television series Chalupáři.
Nevertheless, Waldemar Matuška continued his career in the United States, where he gave concerts for his compatriots and released several records. In 1989 he was able to return for the first time to his native country, where he was still appreciated, but where he never returned to live. However, he came there regularly to visit. Suffering from serious health problems, Waldemar Matuška died in 2009 at his home in Florida.
This fall, a commemorative concert will be held in honor of one of the biggest names in Czech pop music.
Video of Waldemar Matuška – Goodbye Love (1990)