1922 – What Sort of Soldier is One for Which No Love Blooms?

In this series we present one hundred songs that went down in the history of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. They were either widely popular, important during crucial times in the Republic’s history or won the hit parade of the year. Today in our overview of the biggest hits of the last one hundred years we come to the year 1922.

Illustrative photo: scan5353 / Pixabay, CC0

One of the greatest stars of that time was Karel Hašler. He was a multi-talented artist, confirmed by his profession: singer-songwriter, actor, lyricist, composer, writer, screenwriter, playwright and director. The almost sensational reverberation of his songs caused Karel Hašler to establish his own publishing house right after the creation of the First Republic. There he published all of his later productions. And there were more than a few. Between 1918 and 1935 he penned over twenty-two songs!

He first wrote hits for cabaret. In 1922, he scored with a marching song "What Sort of Soldier is One for Which No Love Blooms?" In reality, the song acted as a grueling reminder of the new complex Czechoslovak army.

From today’s perspective, it is unbelievable how quickly this song spread, during a time when Czechoslovakia did not even have radio or its own record industry, never mind film accompanied by sound.

On the cover of the print edition of the song in 1922, a soldier timidly salutes, raising his hand to a French beret, not to the later established boat-shaped hat military. This appears to say that the beginnings of the Republic were difficult - even with regards to soldiers’ uniforms. Hašler's song, according to historians, deserves credit to some extent for fostering public sympathy towards the Czechoslovak army...

---

Hit of the Century – Voting Rules

Each Sunday, participants will be able to vote in our new series Hit of the Century, covering 100 years of music in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. Each episode will feature five hit songs, by decade, beginning with 1918 – 1928. After 100 songs are broadcast, two semi-finals will decide the top hits from the period of 1918 – 1968 and from 1968 – 2018.

Six songs will reach the final, in which listeners will choose a single winner: the most popular Czech song of the century,

Ten participants will receive CDs of the most successful songs recorded in a new musical arrangement on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia in October of 1918.