The singer's childhood
Marina Zhuravleva was born in Khabarovsk in 1963, June 8. The future singer's father was a military man, and her mother was a housewife. In general, the family was ordinary, of average income and simple principles.
From an early age, her parents noticed musical talent in little Marina; the girl herself strove to sing and dance. Therefore, it was decided to send her first to music clubs for the youngest students, and then to a music school, where the girl stood out among other children for her talent and perseverance.
The family of Marina Zhuravleva (whose biography is outlined in this article) decided to change their place of residence and move to Voronezh in 1976, when the girl was already thirteen years old.
Moving to Voronezh
The new city gave Marina new opportunities in the musical field. The girl continued her studies at school and also entered a music school - piano class. Here Marina became the soloist of a local band. After graduating from school, she performed as a soloist in the ensemble of the city Palace of Pioneers.
As part of this ensemble, the young artist participated in various competitions of city and regional significance. Many of these performances were broadcast on television and radio stations.
First professional successes
At that time in Voronezh there was a popular amateur group called “Fantasy”. Marina Zhuravleva (whose biography, photos and personal life are covered in this article) became its soloist.
The All-Union Pop Song Competition for young performers was held in Dnepropetrovsk. Here, the chairman of the jury was Alexandra Pakhmutova, and all participants in the competition were accompanied by the State Television and Radio Variety and Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yuri Silantiev.
Already being a soloist of “Fantasy”, Marina decided to take part in this festival. And luck smiled at her; the jury appreciated her talent and manner of performing the song. As a result, the girl received a prize.
After this, the young artist decided to enroll in the local Voronezh Music College for a flute class.
Personal life
Marina Zhuravleva’s personal life was no less interesting than her musical career. In her youth, the artist was a very attractive girl. She had luxurious golden hair, model height and weight, a chic voice and a mischievous look. The men went crazy. The singer got married three times. Her first husband was a fellow student at the Voronezh Music College. From him the blonde gave birth to a daughter, Julia, in 1982. But, like many early marriages, the union turned out to be fragile and quickly fell apart.
Marina Anatolyevna’s second husband appeared in Moscow. During the heyday of her creative career, the singer married a rock musician from the Alpha group, Sergei Sarychev. They met in 1987.
The creative tandem of Sarychev and Zhuravleva was very successful. The couple toured together, Sergei wrote songs for his wife and over time began to act as a producer. In 1992, the couple was invited to tour to America; they flew away to give two dozen concerts, but never returned.
In 2000, their marriage ceased to exist. By that time, the couple had lived in America for some time. Marina Zhuravleva found her third husband in the USA; he was an emigrant from Armenia. The couple lived together for about ten years, but this love story also ended. Zhuravleva also divorced her third husband. The singer's daughter Julia received an American education and became a doctor; she lives and works in America.
Conquest of the capital
But after a successful performance at a competition of pop singers, she transferred to the Gnessin Music School in Moscow, graduating from which in 1986, but in vocal class.
In addition to the above-mentioned group "Fantasy", Marina Zhuravleva performed in many other musical groups. For example, in the VIA “Silver Strings” from 1978 to 1983, then in a jazz orchestra called “Sovremennik”, led by Anatoly Krolla. Marina stayed in this group for only three years. But while performing as a soloist in Sovremennik, the artist sang a song by A. Kroll called “Luck, Luck” on the television program “Saturday Evening” in 1986. This composition was sounded in the film “Winter Evening in Gagra” by Karen Shakhnazarov, and Larisa Dolina performed it there.
In the same year, Marina Zhuravleva released her first album, called “Kiss Me Only Once.” It had a complex musical accompaniment and, as a result, did not gain much popularity or commercial success.
After thinking about the situation, it was decided to perform simpler music in the then popular pop style. The lyrics of the songs performed have been significantly simplified, and the melodies have also become simpler. The arrangements did not take long to create - computer loops helped in this matter.
All Marina Zhuravleva’s songs were united by one common theme - love, often unrequited or unhappy. The songs were released one after another, people liked it, the singer gained enormous popularity.
Career abroad
In the nineties, Marina was very popular. At that time there were no social networks such as Instagram or Odnoklassniki. Fans could not follow the lives of their idols on the Internet. Zhuravleva's clones traveled around the country along with fictitious doubles of famous groups. One day, Marina’s colleague caught one of the swindlers right on the stage of the concert hall. He showed the audience a photo of himself with a real artist, the cover of her album, and the crowd, enraged by the deception, tore the hall and equipment to pieces. Those troubled times in Russia caused Marina fear, so having received an offer to stay in the USA, she agreed and never regretted it.
Official site
In 1992, the song “My Train Has Left” performed by Marina Zhuravleva was heard in the cult film of its time “The weather is good on Deribasovskaya, or It’s raining again on Brighton Beach.” The main character of the film performed this composition in a Russian restaurant in America under the pseudonym Masha Zvezdnaya. Marina herself performed not only in clubs in the USA, but also in concert halls, on open street stages and even stadiums.
Official site
In 1998, videos for Marina Zhuravleva’s songs began to appear. The singer recorded a music video for the song “I have a wound in my heart” together with artists from Marta Mogilevskaya’s team. A second video was also planned, but due to technical difficulties its production was frozen. Most of Zhuravleva’s music videos posted on the Internet are amateur compilations of her concert videos.
Official site
The actress tried herself as an actress, starring in a cameo role in the detective story “The Lawyer” in 2003. After 7 years, she was invited to the cinema again. In 2010, Marina played a witness in the psychological detective story “Voices”. This is where her filmography ends for now.
Official site
How many years did Zhuravleva spend in exile? To this question, the singer answers that she does not consider herself an emigrant. Marina Zhuravleva tours with concerts in Russia, Canada, Germany, Israel, and the USA. With such a schedule, it is difficult to call her a resident of any particular country.
Critics about the work of Marina Zhuravleva
The biography, creative successes and failures of the artist were the most discussed topics in the nineties of the last century, and even today critics and journalists often recall that time.
For example, columnist Dmitry Shevarov recalls that Zhuravleva’s songs were very popular and were heard from every audience. The peak of popularity of her work occurred in 1992-1994.
Alexander Gradsky, together with Joseph Kobzon, spoke positively about the singer’s creative success in 2011, calling her performance style mastery, and her creativity itself original and unique, which was the hallmark of the era of the early nineties in Russia and post-Soviet countries.
But not all critics were so loyal and positively disposed towards Zhuravleva’s work. Many spoke negatively about her songs and manner of performance, calling her work an example of bad taste, thereby subjecting everything that the singer did to devastating criticism.
But, nevertheless, Zhuravleva and the creative niche that she occupied on the Soviet stage were the forerunner of such famous female Russian pop groups as “Brilliant”, “Strelki” and others, which soon filled the stage.
Foreign performances
When Marina realized the scale of her popularity on the domestic stage, she came up with the idea to expand the geography of her tours. It was decided to give solo concerts in Europe. The artist visited Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria with her solo concerts, and also tried to perform overseas - in Canada and the USA.
In these countries there were many Russian-speaking residents who also fell in love with the singer’s work. In addition, a huge number of labor migrants poured from the post-Soviet countries in search of work and a better life.
And the work of Marina Zhuravleva, her simple and at the same time touching songs reminded of home and love.
The artist was lucky enough to collaborate with Star Media GmbH and the Alla Pugacheva Theater.
Marina Zhuravleva, whose biography still arouses great interest today, was the author of many of the songs she performed. All texts came from personal life experience. Maybe that’s why the Russian people liked these texts so much.
Personal life
Her family and children occupy an important place in the biography of Marina Zhuravleva. The soloist was married three times.
Her first husband was a classmate at the Voronezh Music College. Their daughter Julia was born in 1982. However, like numerous premature unions, the marriage turned out to be fragile and quickly fell apart.
The second husband, Sergei Sarychev, played a decisive role in the personal life of Marina Zhuravleva
. The girl met him in the capital in 1987. The first visible result for the artist comes after her connection with a gifted musician, formerly the favorite and initiator of the famous group “Alpha” Sergei Sarychev. In addition to the creative union, the young actors also became a married couple. So a new celebrity appeared on the Russian stage - Marina Zhuravleva.
All popular songs were created in their close community. Marina sings songs of her own composition based on Sergei's music. At the source of their creativity one can hear the rhythms of rock and roll - the music in which Seryozha previously worked. Subsequently, musician Sergei Sarychev writes his own songs in the electropop genre and again achieves great success on the stage. This is how the artist Zhuravleva becomes famous.
In the 90s, on the wave of popular fame, famous artists left the country and went to live in America. They live in the suburbs of Los Angeles, sharing the latest hits from overseas, released on CD by our record labels.
From time to time, Marina and Sergey Dyachenko come home with their solo performances, which are a huge triumph among society. In 2000, their marriage ended. That's how fate decreed.
Marina Zhuravleva met her third husband in the USA; he was an immigrant from Armenia. Their life together lasted approximately ten years, but this romantic chronicle also ended. Zhuravleva also separated from her third husband. The artist’s daughter Julia received a North American education and became a doctor; she lives and works in America.
Reasons for leaving the Russian Federation
In the early nineties, the popularity of Marina Zhuravleva reached its maximum peak. In one day, the singer gave several concerts in huge stadiums filled to capacity with devoted spectators.
She earned according to the labor expended. Such material successes did not go unnoticed by bandit groups, whose activities flourished at that time and inspired fear.
The criminal situation in the country was serious, mafia communities created enormous pressure on Zhuravleva’s creative and working team. She had to hire bodyguards.
The singer herself even slept in hotel rooms with a pistol under her pillow, and her guards were always armed and on full alert.
The constant feeling of fear for her life and the nervous tension that accompanied her every performance over the years were the reasons why the singer decided to leave her native country.
Life and work in the USA
The biography of Marina Zhuravleva takes a sharp turn, or rather, a flight to the United States of America. The singer got there along with her husband Sergei Sarychev, who at that time was the leader of the Alpha group. A married couple flew away following an invitation to work. There Zhuravleva toured a little, and then decided not to return to Russia, where a gangster atmosphere reigned after the collapse of the USSR.
At her new place of residence, the singer decided to continue her musical career, but in a different style. She tried herself in chanson, Latin American style of music and technodance.
But the singer never achieved such success as in her native Russia.
However, the artist stayed in the USA for twenty years. It was during this period that the biography of Marina Zhuravleva was replenished with difficult events - it turned out that her only daughter had a brain tumor. Many years, efforts and resources were devoted to the fight against this serious illness. Still, we managed to defeat the disease. It was precisely her worries about her daughter, constant monitoring and research into her condition that prevented the artist from coming home.
Singer Marina Zhuravleva, whose biography continues in her native land, returned from the States in 2010.
And now, just three years later, this singer’s album is being released in the Russian Federation, entitled “Birds of Migratory”.
American
Excellent climate, safety, good housing and a different attitude. And, of course, money. Zhuravleva will explain that in the USA in those years the Russian singer had a place to work and how to earn money. She and her husband stayed and joined a large crowd of compatriots: they were friends with Alexander Marshal, Zhanna Aguzarova and, of course, Shufutinsky himself.
When times changed in their native country, most of the newly-minted Americans went home, but Marina settled down in the USA and found herself. In addition, Yulia managed to get into a good school. The daughter will eventually graduate from a prestigious college and become a doctor.
