Czechs in History Karel Kryl: folk singer-songwriter whose work embodied the Czechoslovak struggle for political freedom
Karel Kryl, singer, songwriter and poet, was the most prominent Czech folk musician of the last fifty years. His well-known songs are to this day sung in pubs and around campfires, even by those of the younger generation of Czechs who grew up after his death. Born in Kromeriz in 1944, he began writing and performing after graduating from secondary school, and was later expelled from army service for performing songs deemed to be anti-socialist. He was exiled from Czechoslovakia in 1970, but continued to write, produce and perform until his return to the country in 1989 amidst the sudden political changes of the Velvet Revolution. His songs came to represent the national sufferings of a generation, and its desire for political freedom.
Karel Kryl, photo: www.karelkryl.cz
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