1975 – 58th segment: “My Love”

In this series we present 100 songs which have gone down in the history of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. They became widely popular, were played during important time periods, and some even won the hit parade of the year. Now it is up to you, our listeners, to vote for the best Czech song of the century. Let’s continue with the year 1975.

Photo: Supraphon

In the 1970’s, the capital of Czech popular music may have been Prague, but significant authors and performers were also born in the Moravian metropolis of Brno and in Silesian Ostrava. For example, the agreeable singer Marie Rottrová s one of the many artists who came from there. Throughout her career she worked alongside the groups Majestic and Flamingo and performed the within the demanding genre of American soul music.

In the early seventies, the singer, guitarist and talented author Jaroslav Wykrent also began working with Flamingo. He wrote the song “My Love” for Marie Rottrová, and interestingly enough the song almost slipped through the cracks. The first arrangement was soul and it was not very well liked. Two years later, Marie Rottrová revisited the song and suddenly it was a hit, liked by both the general public and by professional critics – who showed their appreciation for it in the April 1975 edition of the magazine Melodie.

It was around that time the band Flamingo had to be renamed. English band names were not approved by the socialist censorship, and so they had to perform under the Czech name “Plameňáci.” Regardless, “My Love” is still one of the most played songs at wedding ceremonies in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.

Vote for the best song of the century!