Singer Karel Zich dies tragically at 55
Czech pop-music fans were shocked by the sad news on Wednesday that Czech rock-and-roll legend, Karel Zich, had died in a tragic accident in France on Tuesday. His expansive repertoire attracted many followers during the forty years of a career that was prematurely ended this week. He was only 55.
He began his career in the 1960s as a singer for Spiritual kvintet, a band that played mostly American spiritual and gospel music. But Karel Zich's repertoire was broader. He always liked rock-and-roll and he eventually left Spiritual kvintet to launch a solo career. Five years ago -- after more than two decades absence -- he returned to Spiritual kvintet while still working on several projects of his own.
Karel Zich died during a scuba-diving trip off the coast of Corsica where he was spending his holiday with his wife and 10 other people. After a successful dive on Tuesday afternoon, he emerged from the water and suddenly collapsed. He was taken by helicopter to hospital but doctors were unable to save his life.
Karel Zich was not only a singer but an accomplished guitarist who mastered many styles. In the 1960s he studied music at the Prague conservatory and later he studied social science and aesthetics at Charles University. In 1977, Karel Zich won a young singers festival Bratislavska lyra with the song "Mas chut majoranky", or "The Taste of Marjoram" which became one of his best known tunes.
During his 40-year music career, Karel Zich sold about one million records.
