It seems that an entire era of Russian pop song is associated with the name Dobrynin. In the 80s and 90s, the hits of the national artist were heard literally on every corner - many people loved his hoarse voice. At the same time, not everyone knows about the brightest moments of Vyacheslav Dobrynin’s biography. Meanwhile, both childhood and adult life of a celebrity are filled with interesting events.
Childhood and adolescence
Vyacheslav Galustovich Antonov (the singer’s real name on his mother’s side) was born in 1946. The surname of his own father, an Armenian by nationality, is Petrosyan, but the artist decided to take a completely different surname as a pseudonym.
The love story of Anna Antonova and Galust Petrosyan is romantic and tragic at the same time. They met during the war, while still very young. Having met victory in Koenigsberg, they had to separate. Anna went to Moscow, where she found out about the pregnancy, and Galust was sent back to the front - now to the war with Japan, after which he returned not to his own wife, but to his homeland. Galust succumbed to the persuasion of his relatives, who sharply expressed their opposition to accepting a woman of non-Armenian nationality into the family.
Thus, Vyacheslav Dobrynin was brought up in a single-parent family. In his entire life he had never seen his own father. Only after his death, in 1980, did he decide to visit the grave. Most of all, the mother was involved in the upbringing and development of the future singer and composer; it was she who directed her son into the musical direction, since she herself was fond of it. At music school, Vyacheslav played the button accordion, but at a more conscious age he chose the guitar.
He received his education at a status school, where he was also a member of the basketball club, which he headed a little later. During the holidays, Vyacheslav often went to visit his grandparents in the Smolensk region. Later, the musician recalled these times with warmth and tenderness in his heart.
At the age of 14, Vyacheslav Antonov, like most young people of that time, began to get involved in the work of the Beatles, and also imitated the dudes in every possible way - he wore bright shirts and tight trousers. The teenager had a cherished dream - to become a famous musician. And he began to make any attempts to somehow interest the public. I must say, the talented and interesting boy was noticed immediately. The group “Orpheus” created by him, already in the first months of its existence, began giving concerts and singing in fashionable restaurants in Moscow. The songs were recorded in their own studio, which was equipped by young musicians on their own.
Education of Vyacheslav
After receiving his school certificate, Vyacheslav began to become more active in creative activities, continuing to lead the cast of Orpheus. At the same time, he managed to enter Moscow State University at the Faculty of Art History.
The world of art attracted the young man as much as music. He attended all classes and was generally an excellent student. Having received a diploma of higher education, Dobrynin entered graduate school, successfully completing his studies there.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin, both in his youth and in his later years, did not forget about music for a minute. In the evenings, the aspiring musician attended a music school, with two classes at once:
- accordion;
- conducting and choral.
A certificate of graduation from a music school and, undoubtedly, the talent of a young singer and composer helped him become a guitarist in Oleg Lundstrem's ensemble. It was during this period of creativity that the artist took the pseudonym “Dobrynin”, and a little later he officially registered a new surname. He explains his choice by the fact that he did not want his name to be confused with the then famous artist Yuri Antonov.
Discography
- 1981 — “Day by Day” (author’s)
- 1986 — “Runway” (author’s)
- 1987 - “Mood” (author’s)
- 1988 - “Blue Fog” (author’s)
- 1989 - “Music is playing on the ship” (author’s)
- 1990 - “Witch Lake” (solo)
- 1990 - “What the doctor ordered” (Group “Doctor Shlyager”) (author’s)
- 1991 — “Casino” (solo)
- 1991 — “The Music Is Flowing” (solo)
- 1991 — “Just in Case” (author’s)
- 1991 — “Don’t forget your friends” (author’s)
- 1991 — “We have our own company” (author’s)
- 1993 — “The Queen of Spades” (solo)
- 1993 - “The Best” (solo)
- 1993 - “Favorite Songs” (solo)
- 1993 - “You are my sweet” (Group “Eighth of March”) (author’s)
- 1994 - “Do you love these songs” (solo)
- 1994 - “Vyacheslav Dobrynin in Germany” (solo)
- 1994 - “Two Candles” (author’s)
- 1994 - “Nobody loves you like I do” (solo)
- 1995 - “Golden hit of the 1970s” (author’s)
- 1995 - “Golden hit of the 1980s” (author’s)
- 1995 - “Favorites” (solo)
- 1996 — VIA “Jolly Fellows” (author’s)
- 1996 — VIA “Red Poppies” (author’s)
- 1996 - VIA “Leisya, song” (author’s)
- 1996 - “New songs about the eternal” (solo)
- 1996 - “I'm afraid of your love” (solo)
- 1997 - “Bravo, Maestro” (2CD) (author’s)
- 1998 - Doctor Schlager and “Hands Up” (Vyacheslav Dobrynin and the group “Hands Up”) (author’s)
- 1998 — “Best Songs”
- 1999 — “ABC of Love” (solo)
- 2001 - “You Broke My Heart” (solo)
- 2004 - “So many things I’ve seen in my life...” (solo, re-released in 2008 under the title “Little things in life” and with a slight change in the tracklist)
- 2008 - “I’m flying into your eyes” (solo)
- 2010 - “Everything I have in life” (solo)
- 2013 - “Everything is fleeting” (solo)
- 1988 — “Blue Fog”
- 1990 — “Witch Lake”
- 1991 — “Casino”
- 1991 — “The Music Is Flowing”
- 1993 — “The Best”
- 1994 - “Nobody loves you like I do”
- 1996 - “I'm Afraid of Your Love”
- 2001 - “You Broke My Heart”
- 2010 — “Everything I have in life”
- 2013 — “Everything is fleeting”
Dobrynin and Pugacheva
In the 70s, Vyacheslav Dobrynin and Alla Pugacheva met. This duet, together with the vocal and instrumental ensemble, brought a lot of creative fruit.
Dobrynin's songs performed by the ensemble quickly became hits. His personality became known outside his homeland; now everyone knew him more as a composer than a singer, although he sang his own compositions from time to time.
Vyacheslav's songs were performed by such great singers as:
- Lev Leshchenko.
- Joseph Kobzon.
- Sofia Rotaru and others.
A new stage of creativity
In 1986, Dobrynin, by chance, turned from a composer into a performer. The fact is that Mikhail Boyarsky, who was supposed to voice Dobrynin’s songs in the popular program “Wider Circle,” was unable to come to the recording. Then it was proposed to the author himself to replace the singer. His first appearance on television as a performer was immediately noted by viewers who wrote and called the editor asking to show the new singer again.
The news about the talented performer spread throughout the country. Since then, he began to appear on stage often. Among the main hits from his repertoire, the following hits stood out:
- "Witch Lake"
- "Do not put salt on my wound".
- "Blue Fog"
- "Old grandmothers."
Records with recordings of songs performed by Dobrynin were sold in unprecedented quantities - from 7 million copies.
Especially vividly remembered was Dobrynin’s duet with Masha Rasputina and his composition “The Song Is Flowing,” which was first published at the annual festival “Song of the Year 1990.” In the same year, the artist’s first videos were released:
- "Don't forget your friends."
- "Wall".
- "Casino".
- "Don't be jealous."
I survived the blow of fate. Yuri Antonov admitted why he quit the stage
People's Artist, singer and composer Yuri Antonov is officially the first Soviet millionaire on the stage. His career developed rapidly, but now the singer is practically invisible on stage. The artist explained why he stopped performing in Boris Korchevnikov’s TV show “The Fate of a Man.”
40 cats and 20 dogs
Now Yuri Antonov is 72 years old. The singer spent his childhood and youth in Belarus, in the small town of Molodechno. “I was a rogue, I loved to climb fences and trees,” recalls the artist.
Yuri Mikhailovich’s first hit “There is no one more beautiful than you” appeared in 1970, Antonov was then 24 years old.
In the 1980s, the singer and composer achieved all-Union fame. The songs “The Roof of Your House”, “Don’t Forget”, “Golden Staircase” and “Dream Come True” sounded from literally every window.
And in 2020 he was invited to the jury of the large-scale television project “Main Stage”. It was on this music show that TV viewers remembered the performance of Yuri Antonov with singer Grigory Leps. They sang the famous composition “By the Birches and Pines.”
Many fans called this particular performance of this single the best in history.
Yuri Antonov was married three times, but the marriages were short-lived. All his wives went to live abroad.
He has two children: the eldest daughter Lyudmila, who lives with her mother abroad, and the youngest son Mikhail, who is in Moscow.
The singer carefully hides his personal life, but at the same time openly says that he loves animals very much and cannot pass by abandoned animals. 40 cats and 20 dogs live in his country house.
“Everything gets worse at this age”
In January 2020, information appeared in the media that Antonov was hospitalized in one of the capital’s hospitals. It was assumed that the singer had a heart attack, but soon the singer himself told reporters everything, explaining the incident as ordinary food poisoning.
“No heart attack. If I had a heart attack, I wouldn’t be talking to you,” Yuri Mikhailovich said then in an interview with StarHit.
However, since then the singer has been practically invisible on stage. The singer admitted to Boris Korchevnikov that he had problems with the vestibular apparatus.
In addition, Antonov walked with a cane back in the summer, as an old injury made itself felt.
“I suffered a serious blow of fate. I practically stopped performing concerts because I became very ill and partially deaf in my right ear. An old injury has also worsened. At this age, everything that happened becomes aggravated. Unfortunately, this is the fate of a person,” notes Antonov.
"Doctor Schlager"
In 2001, a video was released for “Ursa Major,” and in 2003 for the song “Thank you for being there.” Dobrynin organized a new group, “Doctor Shlyager,” with which he began recording new materials. He did not always have the opportunity to go on tour with his colleagues, so Doctor Schlager often performed without a leader, but with his repertoire.
Dobrynin's track record as a composer amounts to more than a thousand songs, many of which are still performed and listened to today. The musician’s discography is represented by 37 albums, including both original and solo ones. The great composer and performer was awarded the title of “People’s Artist” for his contribution to art.
Music
In 1970, Vyacheslav made the final choice: music weighed in. The young man was accepted into Oleg Lundstrem's ensemble as a guitarist. A little later, the musician and singer changed his name, taking the creative pseudonym Dobrynin. The singer wanted the audience not to confuse him with his colleague Yuri Antonov. And in 1972, the patronymic Grigorievich and the surname Dobrynin became official and were included in the passport.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin and Alla Pugacheva
In the 1970s, Vyacheslav Dobrynin met Alla Pugacheva and the musicians of the vocal and instrumental ensemble “Jolly Fellows”. These acquaintances soon grew into fruitful cooperation. Dobrynin’s songs appeared in the musicians’ repertoire, many of which quickly turned into hits.
They started talking about Dobrynin as an accomplished composer. The musician's songs were sung by Lev Leshchenko, Sofia Rotaru, Roxana Babayan and Joseph Kobzon.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin – “Blue Fog”
The creative biography of Vyacheslav Dobrynin took a sharp turn in 1986. The artist appeared as a solo performer. Everything was decided by chance. Mikhail Boyarsky was unable to come to the recording of the popular program “Wider Circle”, where he was supposed to sing a song based on the words of Vyacheslav. The author was asked to do this. This is how Dobrynin’s creative career began.
The audience was heard. From that moment on, Vyacheslav Dobrynin regularly appeared on stage. The hits “Old Grandmothers”, “Blue Fog”, “Don’t pour salt into my wound” and “Witch Lake” were heard on all television and radio channels in the 1980s.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin – “Don’t rub salt in my wound”
In 1990, she awarded Dobrynin a “Golden Disc” for 2 albums entitled “Blue Fog” and “Witchcraft Lake”. The records sold an unprecedented 7 million copies.
The musician’s duet with Masha Rasputina “The Music Is Flowing,” which they performed at the concert of the annual popular music festival “Song of the Year-90,” became a real hit. In the 90s, most of the musician’s videos were released for the songs “Casino”, “Wall”, “Don’t Forget Friends”, “Don’t Be Jealous”.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin – “The Music Is Flowing”
In 2001, a video appeared for the hit “Big Bear,” and in 2003, for the hit “Thank you for being there.” Dobrynin is recording new material with his group “Doctor Shlyager”. Later, the band's musicians often went on tour without the participation of the artistic director, performing songs from his repertoire.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin and the group “Doctor Shlyager” - “What the doctor ordered”
Vyacheslav Dobrynin’s track record includes more than a thousand songs that pop stars sing today. The musician’s discography includes 37 original and solo albums. For his contribution to art, the composer and performer received the title of People's Artist.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin and VIV “Gems” - “Everything I have in life”
Another page in the musician’s life was his work in cinema. In addition to the fact that Vyacheslav Dobrynin wrote music for a number of films, including the musical comedy “Primorsky Boulevard”, the TV series “Lyuba, Children and”, the artist also appeared in the frame. Dobrynin’s first minor work was his appearance in an episode of the 1973 crime film “The Black Prince.” Then he only had to portray a member of a musical group in a restaurant.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin – “Ursa Major”
The role with words went to the singer only 20 years later in the film “American Grandfather”. Dobrynin brilliantly played the colorful American Sam. The successful transformation took place largely due to the acting talent and suitable external characteristics of the artist - with a height of 178 cm, the musician’s weight reached 93 kg.
Dobrynin and cinema
It’s incredible how much Vyacheslav managed to do in his life. He also left his mark in cinema. The composer wrote musical accompaniment for several films:
- “Lyuba, children and.
- "Happy together".
The artist can also be seen in one of the films, “The Black Prince,” although in a cameo role as a member of a musical group performing in a cafe.
A little later, Dobrynin was offered a full-fledged, although not the main role in the film “American Grandfather”, where the artist appeared before the audience in the role of a peculiar American named Sam. It should be noted that such a serious transformation was quite easy for the artist, since he also had acting talent since childhood. Thanks to his appearance (height 178 and weight 93 kg), Dobrynin got used to the role of a colorful character well.
After a successful film debut, Dobrynin was offered several more roles. So, in 1995, he played a cameo role in the thriller “Double,” and in 2008 he appeared before television viewers as himself in the detective film “Kulagin and Partners.”
Personal life
The biography of Slava Antonov, his personal life and children are of interest to many. Vyacheslav was married twice. His first wife’s name is Irina, with whom the musician spent 15 years of a happy life. Irina and Vyacheslav Dobrynina had a daughter, Ekaterina Vyacheslavovna Dobrynina. She graduated from school with honors, entered VGIK, and after graduation she moved to the United States with her mother, where she met Shane McGuffey, a successful American television cameraman. Slava divorced his wife, after which in his autobiography he talked about his regrets that he did not pay enough attention to his wife and daughter.
Personal happiness happened again in 1985. Vyacheslav met another Irina, who became his second and last wife. However, his union with his second wife did not produce children. Dobrynin managed to maintain friendly relations with his first wife and daughter, so the families often met and spent time together.
In 2000, a joyful event occurred - the birth of granddaughter Sonya and grandson Alexander. The children received a double surname - Dobrynin-McGaffey. The grandchildren followed in their grandfather’s footsteps and began a musical career. Still very young, Sonya is already surprising audiences with her vocal talent, and Alexander has found himself playing the drums.
In 2020, Vyacheslav Dobrynin’s anniversary concert took place, where Sonya sang in a duet with her grandfather. After the concert, the audience spoke enthusiastically about this performance.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin now
Vyacheslav Dobrynin appears among the guests at the concerts of the chanson music festival “Eh, take a walk!” The audience warmly welcomes the performer of popular hits. At the next performance, which took place in 2020 at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex, the audience sang along with the maestro in chorus to his hit - “Who told you?” After the performance, the artist told reporters that he was tired of concert activities and wanted to devote himself to his family. According to rumors, the reason for the end of the musician’s creative career was health problems.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin in the program “Honest Word” with Yuri Nikolaev
In addition to his musical activities, Vyacheslav Dobrynin regularly appears among participants in various projects and events. In 2017, he became a guest of the “Honest Word” program, hosted by Yuri Nikolaev.
At the beginning of 2020, Vyacheslav Dobrynin joined the jury of the Miss Moscow State University 2018 competition, joining Valdis Pelsh, Yana Churikova, Tutte Larsen, and Mark Tishman. After 3 months, the maestro could not refuse pop star Tamara Gverdtsiteli and became a participant in her anniversary concert, which was held at the State Kremlin Palace. Together the artists performed the song “Crazy Rain.”
Anastasia Makeeva and Vyacheslav Dobrynin – “You are my only”
After appearing on stage at the concert “What Men Sing About,” where Dobrynin, together with Anastasia Makeeva, gave the audience a meeting with the famous musical composition “You are my only one,” reporters managed to interview him. To questions from journalists about his attitude to social networks, Instagram, Twitter and others, the artist replied that he was not going to register a personal profile. He is interested in reading good literature, not virtual communication.
In April, Vyacheslav Grigorievich performed at the next song festival in the chanson genre “Eh, take a walk!”, where he again performed the hit “Who told you?” The concert was broadcast on Channel One. Later, the musician’s next solo performance took place at the City Day celebrations in Moscow.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin in 2020 - “Who told you”
During his brilliant career, Vyacheslav Dobrynin became a laureate of various festivals and competitions many times. His track record includes more than a thousand written songs. Such a contribution to Russian pop art brought Vyacheslav Dobrynin the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, People's Artist of Russia, as well as many other awards and titles.
Currently, the artist still performs often and works fruitfully on writing new memorable songs.
