Highlights of Bulgarian musical culture: Emil Dimitrov's iconic song My Country, My Bulgaria

Highlights of Bulgarian musical culture: Emil Dimitrov's iconic song ''My Country, My Bulgaria''

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"It makes me feel frustrated that Bulgarians living on all continents shed tears when I perform the song "My Country, My Bulgaria". They talk and sing about the homeland, crying. And our rulers do not care about it..." - these are words of Emil Dimitrov, composer, songwriter and performer of one of the unofficial anthems of Bulgaria. In the decades of his stage and creative triumph, he was an undisputed idol, perhaps the only Bulgarian artist who lived like a star in the Hollywood sense. He used to have a "team" of several people who were in charge of taking care of his daily life needs and his only occupation was to create music and bring delight to the audience.

Emil Dimitrov with his wife Marieta and their son Emil

"He never sought publicity or advertising, he preferred to live in his own world. And, by the way, his love for Bulgaria was very strong, because he had thousands of opportunities to remain abroad and continue his life in a different way, but he always returned to his homeland", says Emil Dimitrov-son in an interview for the newspaper "Gallery".

According to the prominent Bulgarian composer Mitko Shterev, Emil Dimitrov is simply… a genius. Because he is the creator and performer of the first Bulgarian songs that everyone sings.

Emil Dimitrov's hit songs from his young years do not sound pompous, academic, or operetta-like, in the style that prevailed in the 1950s and 60s. Their author has no formal musical education. He sings wonderfully, plays the accordion and is gifted with exceptional melodic talent and incredible charisma.

His qualities were appreciated by Vasil Andreev – an actor in the troupe of the Youth Theater with the gift of a poet and a keen reflex for the processes in art and society. Andreev felt the need for a Bulgarian repertoire in the popular song genre and assessed the chances of Emil Dimitrov, who, on his accordion, was tempted to compose his own songs with a sentimental-melancholic character. During the 1959-1960 season, the Youth Theater staged a play by Vasil Andreev, who suggested that Emil write the music for the play. This was the introduction to Emil Dimitrov's brilliant career as a composer and singer.

Emil Dimitrov performing in Universada Hall in Sofia, 1968

In 1960, the 19-year-old Emil was accepted into the Krustyo Sarafov Film, Theatre and Acting Academy with a major in acting, but soon gave up higher education. The first concert he participated in was in November of that year. On December 24, 1960, at the Petar Beron cinema, Emil Dimitrov presented for the first time to an audience his original song Arlekino, which in the summer of 1962 won third prize at the International Song Festival in Sopot (Poland). This was the first international award for a Bulgarian song. With the appearance of the songs Arlekino, Our signal (original title "Нашият сигнал"), The Sailor's Farewell ("Моряшко сбогом") Bulgarians received their pop hits in their native language.

In 1965, Emil's first solo long-playing record was released - the first of its kind by a pop artist in Bulgaria. In 1968, he gave a legendary concert at the Dynamo stadium in Moscow in front of 80,000 people. In 1969, he began singing in France.

1970 was the year which saw the release of Emil Dimitrov's third studio album, starting with the hit of the same name - "Moya strana" (My country), with lyrics by Vasil Andreev, arrangement by Mitko Shterev and performance by Emil Dimitrov with the Blue-White orchestra. Recorded also in French, and later in German, Italian and Spanish with the title "Monica", the song became a European hit. According to the author of the Bulgarian text - Vasil Andreev, a French manager really liked the work and asked about the plot in it. The translation convinced him that it could not be sold in France with the original text. Vasil Andreev quickly suggested a replacement - to say France instead of Bulgaria, but the manager did not like the idea. Then Andreev made another suggestion and the song from a nostalgic dedication to Bulgaria turned into a sentimental confession to the girl Monica. The composer's son claims that the first title was "Song for My Country" and that it was first sung and recorded by Emil Dimitrov in French in Paris in the "Monica" version. Even its Latvian and Japanese versions are known, as well as an American one, in which "I want to go back to California" is sung.

Emil Dimitrov did not receive recognition from the official Union of Bulgarian Composers, but was accepted as a member of a similar professional society in France. His songs occupied the first places in charts all over the world. In 1980, in honor of his 40th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the beginning of his creative career, a gala concert was organized in the Sofia-based Universiada hall, in which the brightest music stars took part: Vasil Naydenov, Margarita Hranova, the group "Signal"... That same evening, Emil Dimitrov was awarded a gold record for special contribution to pop music - the first gold record of a pop artist in Bulgaria.

For four decades of creative career, Emil Dimitrov released 30 albums, sold 65 million copies of them, created 350 songs, performed over 7,000 concerts on three continents. He was never awarded the honorary title of "People's Artist", but in 2000 his song "My Country, My Bulgaria" ("Моя страна, моя България") was declared the Song of the Century in Bulgaria along with "A Bulgarian Rose" by Dimitar Valchev.

In 2010 Dimitrov's anthem topped the new song chart of BG Radio "The Great 1000".

Today, the work of Emil Dimitrov, often dubbed the "Frank Sinatra of the East", is a symbol of the Bulgarian spirit, love for the homeland and the nostalgia of our compatriots around the world.