Seryozha Paramonov grew up in a communal apartment in Perovo
The stellar career of the hero of the Choir, Yura Solovyov, begins with the fact that, while cleaning the classroom, he puts on a disc with Robertino Loreti’s recordings, starts singing and, as a result, sings louder and better than the Italian (the music teacher hears this and a brilliant boy is waiting in front of the student’s path). It should be noted that the comparison between Robertino Loreti and the prototype of the Choir hero, Seryozha Paramonov, is a commonplace: they were two boys with golden voices. Both had a dazzling and very short career: it lasted exactly until puberty began, and with it the breaking of the voice. A vulgar physiological process cut everything off in the bud. The difference is that Loreti continued to perform at concerts (albeit without the former success: from a childish sensation he turned into an ordinary singer, of which there are hundreds); now he is 77 years old and does not seem to complain about life. And Seryozha Paramonov, who was born when Robertino was approaching the zenith of his fame, lived in the world for only 36 years.
BOUQUET FOR BREZHNEV AND CARPETS FROM CENTRAL ASIA
Like the hero of the Choir, Seryozha Paramonov grew up in a communal apartment (in Perovo, in the 60s it was a remote suburb of Moscow). But his path to the choir was not as difficult as on the screen. His voice was noticed in early childhood, when he performed at matinees. In the third grade he began to learn to play the accordion, and in the fourth he auditioned for the Big Children’s Choir of Central Television and All-Union Radio. It was just being created: CT and radio needed clear children’s voices to record songs for programs like “Pionerskaya Zorka”. Seryozha was accepted and a year later he became a soloist of the BDH. A slight lisp did not bother him, but, on the contrary, gave him a peculiar charm. Both the choir director Valery Popov and Paramonov himself agreed that his voice and ear could not be called phenomenal, but his amazing lightness and artistry made up for everything. Seryozha had a great success: in 1972, at the “Song of the Year” he sang the song of the crocodile Gena from the cartoon, and the audience demanded to repeat it in an encore. The program was broadcast live and the song was performed twice. Thus, the whole country recognized Seryozha. Popov later said that “he sang like an angel.”
Paramonov learned songs on the fly, and yet rehearsals with the choir took up many hours a day – the boy literally lived on them. Sometimes he got bored and skimped, simply disappeared – we had to look for him through his grandmother, who led Seryozha by the hand to the rehearsal room. In addition, there were endless tours – either abroad or to the largest Komsomol construction sites. Seryozha continued to attend a regular school and recalled that his classmates treated him with great sympathy – they did not envy him, but rejoiced at his success. In addition to purely children’s songs like “A smile will make everyone brighter” and “Antoshka, Antoshka, let’s dig potatoes”, serious songs were added over time, in particular military ones – their combination with a clear child’s voice created a stunning effect. Adult singers, from Leonid Utesov to Muslim Magomayev, treated Paramonov with interest and respect – he was very fond of the songs. They say that at one event he was entrusted with presenting a bouquet to Brezhnev – there was simply no better candidate. And, of course, Seryozha was sent gifts from all over the country, including carefully packaged carpets from Central Asia.
Sergei (first from right) as part of the youth group at a performance in the Hall of Columns, 1972
Photo: Wikipedia.
“THERE IS NO PAST FOR ME”
And all this lasted three years, and then… Paramonov himself described the turning point this way:
– A boy between 13 and 15 years old begins the so-called mutation. The body grows, everything grows, the voice changes… Not only my voice broke, but also something, apparently, in my soul. At 14, singing “Let them run clumsily…” is no longer interesting when you stare at the girls. And in 1975 we came from the GDR, and in the Column Hall there was an evening of Robert Rozhdestvensky, where I sang the song “Wounded Bird” (“Request”), written especially for me by Alexandra Nikolaevna Pakhmutova. The song is good, I liked it, it was her debut. And then I made a mistake. I got a cock. Either I wasn’t breathing enough, or this was the first sign that a mutation was around the corner. (Paramonov was 13 years and 11 months old at that time. – Ed.) The song was not received as I expected. And after that, Vladimir Shainsky’s song “I tell you, I tell you, I tell you first: learn, learn, learn not to swallow words” appeared – some kind of rubbish, and it was received better than “Request”. And I thought that I had fallen short in something, that I had done something wrong… I remember, I was worried, I was wandering around Moscow all night, the city commandant was looking for me, they raised the entire police, I probably thought that I had committed suicide from grief. No, I walked around Moscow and realized that I had to put an end to this matter.
The parting was extremely painful. Sergei’s entire repertoire was transferred to another singer, Vitaly Nikolaev. By inertia, Sergei continued to go to rehearsals and one day, hearing Nikolaev sing “The Wounded Bird”, he burst into tears. “I simply hated Vitalik and wanted to punch him in the face. Anger boiled inside me.” But instead, the 14-year-old boy simply erased his past.
What’s next? Judging by interviews from the mid-90s, a major achievement for Paramonov was obtaining a youth license (he studied at a car club). And classes at a music school, where he graduated in three classes out of five in one year (“and no cronyism!” – they said it seriously, as if he came to school from the street, and not from the TV screen). Then he studied at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music School, which he did not complete…
Sergei Paramonov’s gravestone at the Krasnogorsk cemetery
Photo: Wikipedia.
Sergei really liked the Soviet VIA: “In the choir we performed with such ensembles as “Gems”, “Pesnyary”. In my perception at that time, these were the most avant-garde and advanced groups, and I really wanted to follow this path – into the vocal-instrumental genre.” And this dream came true – he worked in VIA. But he is no longer a vocalist, but a keyboard player or musical director. From time to time he wrote songs himself. But, unfortunately, both the names of the ensembles (“Young Voices”, “Cinematograph”) and the songs fell into oblivion during his lifetime.
Even in the interview, he actively refuted myths about himself. For example, there was a popular version that Paramonov became an alcoholic; he himself claimed that during his student years he drank dry red wine and port wine almost as much as all his classmates, “but he was more attracted to school.” Another legend is that “Paramonov now sings in taverns.” Indeed, there were restaurants in his life, but only two; he earned a lot of money there, but he did not stay long. When they called him a child prodigy, he simply laughed: “Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Paramonov!”
He tried to maintain his style, but sometimes dark notes crept into the interview. “For me there is no past. That boy died a long time ago. So I am sitting on this sofa watching Seryozha Paramonov on TV, and I cannot understand what that boy bought people with, eh? He sang off-note and his diction was also bad. Our choir director, Viktor Popov, a great friend, never imposed his opinion on me. But one day he said that I have art. Yes, there is none. There is individuality.”
On May 15, 1998, he died: the Soviet “golden boy” suffered a heart attack. Music journalist Mikhail Margolis wrote in his obituary: “After Paramonov’s death, his friends unanimously repeated to me: “For God’s sake, don’t write that he died of alcoholism, poverty, or because he didn’t want to live anymore. He really wanted to do it.” He just didn’t know how. I felt it very clearly.”
The stellar career of the hero of the “Choir” Yura Solovyov begins when, while cleaning the classroom, he puts on a CD with recordings by Robertino Loreti.
Photo: frame from the film.
BY THE WAY
“Vocal contests are not worth children’s tears”
Now the Channel One series “Glee” will also be promoted on the “Voice” program. Children’s.” It would seem quite logical, but Sergei Paramonov said that he did not like music competitions for children (“The Voice” was not even mentioned during his lifetime, but “Morning Star” was). “These are not good things, they should not be done. I saw how two girls competed with each other, one won, and the second had tears in her eyes… And I think that these tears are not worth any contest or prize.” He also did not like those children’s songs that were composed in the 90s: “Writing for children is very difficult, for this you need to have a spark of God. You have to be a child, like Vladimir Yakovlevich Shainsky… I do not write songs for children. My neighbor is five years old, I ask her: “What do you like?” She answers: “Do what I do, do what I do!” Then she understands that you need to write for them.”
WHY DID THE SERIES WAIT SO LONG TO AIR?
“Glee” was completed in 2019, and, in principle, nothing prevented it from being aired on Channel One at the same time. But, apparently, at first they delayed the premiere (and without “Glee” there was something to air), and then they simply forgot about the series. When they finally remembered, they sent it to the online cinema Kinopoisk, and there, without any promotional campaign or advertising, it unexpectedly became a hit: it attracted a whole army of fans, its user rating was 8.6 out of 10 (that’s a lot). That’s how “Chorus” became one of the main premieres of autumn 2024 on Channel One. True, by that time all the child actors had grown up, and some had already made a name for themselves in completely non-childish roles (for example, Oleg Chugunov starred in “A Healthy Man”, “Black Spring”, Roman Mikhailov’s films “Legacy” and “We’re Going with You to Macau”). And some actors are no longer with us – for example, the wonderful Viktor Proskurin died in the summer of 2020.
