1974 – 57th segment: “The Pigeon House”

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 1974.

Photo: Supraphon

This year marks the debut of Jiří Schelinger’s distinctively raspy voice on the Czech popular music scene. He first appeared on small records in 1973 with the songs “Woven Wires; Leaky Shoes,” “René, Me and Rudolf” and “The Pigeon’s House.” Back then he was not yet accompanied by the F. R. Čech group. Instead he worked with the Prague band Faraon, with Karel Šíp playing the bass guitar and Jaroslav Uhlíř on the keyboard.

Jaroslav Uhlíř was also the author of the melody behind a ballad written by Zdeněk Svěrák, who later went on to become a successful film screenwriter. He even received an Oscar in 1997. “The Pigeon House” was probably the most powerful recording of Schelinger’s career. Many amateur guitarists later added it to their repertoires and it can often be heard around camp fires.

Vote for the best song of the century!