Born in Moscow (April 13, 1948), Mikhail Shufutinsky is a Russian singer, songwriter, and godfather of the genre Russian chanson. He began his music career in the ’70s with one of the most popular soviet bands, Leisya, Pesnia. In the 80’s he emigrated to the United States and started performing at restaurants of Los Angeles, where his public consisted mostly of Russian emigrants. That was where his signature style was born. Shufutinsky became popular in Russia: he visited it with concerts, and, eventually, came back home. The singer has a very distinctive voice and manner of performing. Some of his songs, like « Третье сентября » (1994), « Марджанджа » (2007), « Пальма-де-Майорка » (2012), or « Соседка » (2019), became a part of mass culture and are very popular nowadays. He released more than 20 albums and compilations, collaborated with a range of different singers, from Irina Allegrova to Toto Cutugno. Mikhaeil Shufutinsky, having four decades of a music career, is still an active performer, thus reaffirming his status as a « King of Russian chanson ».
