Anna Jantar-Kukulska (born Anna Maria Szmeterling; 10 June 1950 – 14 March 1980) was a Polish singer and the mother of singer

Natalia Kukulska Natalia Maria Kukulska (born March 3, 1976) is a Polish singer performing pop and R&B music, turning towards alternative electronica in the 2010s. She debuted as a child singer in 1986, and released her first "adult" solo album in 1996. Her mos ...

. She is considered an icon of Polish pop music, and also one of the popular and famous Polish singers of the 1970s.

Early and personal life

Jantar was born in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

on 10 June 1950, one of two children born to Józef Szmeterling (1925–1997) and Halina, née Surmacewicz (1924–2016). On 1 July 1950, she was baptized at the Church of Holy Savior in Poznań, receiving the names Anna Maria. From an early age she showed a talent for singing. For almost three years, she attended a music kindergarten at the State Higher School of Music, where she studied piano. At the age of fourteen, she was invited by Piotr Kuźniak to join the big-beat music group Szafir. She attended Adam Mickiewicz High School in Poznań, from 1965 to 1969 and Secondary Music School in Poznań.Pryzwan. Page 22-23. In 1969, she passed the exam at the State Theater School in Warsaw, but was not accepted due to priority given to students from working-class and rural families. Jantar married

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

composer Jarosław Kukulski (26 May 1944 – 13 September 2010) on 11 April 1971; the couple had one child, a daughter, singer

. A widower after Jantar's 1980 death, he remarried after her death to singer Monika Borys, by whom he had a second child, Piotr.

Career

Jantar began her artistic career in 1968 as Anna Szmeterling. Initially, she performed in Poznań student clubs and the Student Theater Nurt in Winogrady, as an

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in ...

and later also as a

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. On 16 December 1968, she collaborated with the band Polne Kwiaty and recorded the song ''Po ten serce Czerwony'' on the Poznań radio. In January 1969, she performed at the Student Song Festival in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, which is prestigious artistic environment, where she received a distinction for her performance. A year later she became the lead vocalist of the band Waganci. Her best-known song from this period is ''Co ja w tobie widziałam'' ("What did I see in you"). Jarosław Kukulski, whom she married on 11 April 1971, was also a member of the group and composed many of her hit songs. The group cooperated with the

Czerwono-Czarni Czerwono-Czarni (; literally: "the Red-and-Blacks") was one of the most popular rock bands in the history of Polish popular music, and one of the pioneers of rock and beat music in Poland (both styles together known as the "Big Beat" in the Eas ...

band during a joint concert tour. She appeared in the musical comedy ''Milion za Laurę'' ("Million for Laura"), which was directed by Hieronim Przybył, while performing the song ''Czujna straż'' ("Vigilant Guard") with the band Wagantami. In 1972, she passed the examination before the Verification Commission of the Ministry of Culture and Arts, obtaining the title of a professional singer and assumed the artistic pseudonym: 'Anna Jantar', thus beginning her solo career. She performed in a stage program together with singer Andrzej Frajndt with a script provided by

Janusz Weiss Janusz Alfred Weiss (31 May 1948 – 10 March 2023) was a Polish journalist, actor, television personality and co-founder of the one of the most popular radio stations in Poland, Radio ZET. Biography Weiss was born on 31 May 1948 as a son of ...

.Pryzwan. Page 124.Pryzwan. Page 336.Wilk. Page 137-141.Wilk. Page 95. In 1973, she took part in the

National Festival of Polish Song in Opole The National Festival of Polish Song in Opole ( pl, Krajowy Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej w Opolu, KFPP) is an annual music festival in Opole, Poland. Together with the Sopot Festival it is one of the two most important music festivals in Poland. The ...

with the song ''Najtrudniejszy pierwszy krok'' ("The first step is the hardest"). Later, she launched many other hits, including ''Staruszek świat'' ("Old Man World"), ''Za każdy uśmiech'' ("For Every Smile"), ''Tyle słońca w całym mieście'' ('So Much Sun in the Whole City'), ''Moje jedyne marzenie'' ('My Only Dream') and many more, which made her one of the most popular Polish singers of the 1970s. Jantar collaborated with many Polish artists, including with

Stanisław Sojka Stanisław Joachim Sojka (born April 26, 1959 in Żory, Upper Silesia), also known as Stanisław Soyka, is a Polish jazz and pop singer, pianist and composer. Beginnings Sojka began performing as a boy soprano in Gliwice Cathedral Choir, whe ...

, Bogusław Mec, Zbigniew Hołdys and Andrzej Tenard. She also recorded songs with

Budka Suflera Budka Suflera (, " prompter's box") was a Polish rock band which was started in 1969 in Lublin by Krzysztof Cugowski. Although they disbanded soon after, Cugowski and Romuald Lipko reformed the band in 1974 and were active until 2014. History ...

and the band Perfect. She performed at concerts in countries such as

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

.Pryzwan. Page 258. In 1979, Jantar was awarded the honorary badge

Meritorious Activist of Culture The honorary badge Meritorious Activist of Culture ( pl, Zasłużony Działacz Kultury) was a departmental decoration of Poland in Arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland to persons and organizations ...

. The last TV program she participated was a children's program titled ''Zamiast słuchać bajek'' ("Instead of Listening to Fairy Tales"), which was filmed in

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; german: Waldenburg; szl, Wałbrzich; sli, label= Lower Silesian, Walmbrig or ''Walmbrich''; cs, Valbřich or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. From 1975–1998 it was the capital of W ...

. Her image was featured on cover pages of Polish magazines.

Death

On 27 December 1979, Jantar flew to the United States. In January and February 1980, she played concerts at the

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

community clubs in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. On 12 March, she performed her last concert at the Zodiac club in New Jersey. During one of her last performances, she said to the audience:Wilk. Page 324.Wilk. Page 333.Pryzwan. Page 340.

Good evening, welcome to you very cordially. I greet all the children who have come today (...). Ladies and Gentlemen, hello and, unfortunately, I am sorry to say goodbye. Because I am singing today for the last time (...) for you and I am very happy and at the same time a bit sad about it. I will sing a few songs from my repertoire for you. They will be older, newer ... Of course, there will be some complete novelties. And I'll start with a song that I have a special fondness for, as it reminds me of the beginnings of my stage work. A song with a beautiful title, which can also be a recipe for happiness - ''Żeby szczęśliwym być'' ("To be happy").

On 14 March 1980, Jantar was returning to Warsaw from New York by

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 was an Ilyushin Il-62 that crashed near Okęcie Airport in Warsaw, Poland, on 14 March 1980, as the crew aborted a landing and attempted to go-around. All 87 crew and passengers died. It was caused by the disintegr ...

, when the plane crashed near

Okęcie Airport Warsaw Chopin Airport ( pl, Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie, ) is an international airport in the Włochy district of Warsaw, Poland. It is Poland's busiest airport with 18.9 million passengers in 2019, thus handling approximately 40% of t ...

in Warsaw due to uncontained engine failure. All the 87 passengers and crew including Jantar were killed in the crash. After her death, the forensic doctor who conducted her autopsy handed over to her mother Halina a

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

, which she was holding in her clenched hand during the crash. On 25 March, her funeral ceremony took place, with the participation of approximately 40,000 people at Wawrzyszewski Cemetery in Warsaw. Actor

Daniel Olbrychski Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is best known for leading roles ...

eulogized her at the funeral. When her husband Jarosław Kukulski died on 10 September 2010, he was buried next to her at the Wawrzyszewski Cemetery.Wilk. Page 363.Wilk. Page 361.

Photo gallery

File:Ania_i_Jaroslaw.webp, Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski at their wedding (1974) File:J._Kukulski_&_A._Jantar.jpg, Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski File:J.Kukulski.jpg, Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski with their daughter Natalia File:Z15623494Q.jpg, Anna Jantar with her daughter Natalia

Awards

* 1970 – "Song of the year (1970)" for ''Co ja w tobie widziałam' * 1974 –

– People's Choice Award for the song "Tyle słońca w całym mieście" * 1974 – Coupe d'Europe – 3rd place with Marianna Wróblewska and Tadeusz Woźniak for the song ''Tyle słońca w całym mieście'' * 1975 –

Sopot Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in So ...

– 2nd place for her performance of the song "Staruszek świat", people's choice award * 1975 – 2nd place for the song ''Niech ziemia tonie w kwiatach'' at the Festival of Hit Songs in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

* 1975 – Polish "Song of the year (1975)" for ''Tyle słońca w całym mieście'' * 1975 – Polish "Singer of the year (1975)" * 1976 – Złota Płyta for her album ''Tyle słońca w całym mieście'' at the

* 1977 – Złota Płyta for the album "Za każdy uśmiech" * 1979 – 2nd place for her performance of her song ''Tylko mnie poproś do tańca'' ("Just ask me to dance") at the Festival of Hit Songs in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

* 1979 – Polish "Song of the year (1979)" for the song ''Nic nie może wiecznie trwać'' ("Nothing lasts forever"), chosen by listeners of the radio station ''Studia Gama'' * 1979 – Polish "Singer of the year (1979)"

Discography

Singles

* 1971 – Wszystkie koty w nocy czarne/Marzenia o marzeniaci (Waganci) * 1974 – Nastanie dzień/Tyle słońca w całym mieście nie widziałem tego * 1975 – Staruszek świat/Dzień bez happy endu * 1975 – Będzie dość/Za każdy uśmiech * 1975 – Mój tylko mój/Dzień nadziei * 1977 – Dyskotekowy bal/Zgubiłam klucz do nieba * 1977 – Dyskotekowy bal/Kto umie tęsknić * 1978 – Baju-baj proszę pana (Jambalaya)/Radość najpiękniejszych lat * 1978 – Po tamtej stronie marzeń/Mój świat zawsze ten sam * 1978 – Mój tylko mój/Mój świat zawsze ten sam * 1978 – Kto powie nam/Dżinsowe maniery * 1978 – Tylko mnie poproś do tańca/Let me stay/Nie wierz mi nie ufaj mi/Zawsze gdzieś czeka ktoś * 1979 – Gdzie są dzisiaj tamci ludzie/Nie ma piwa w niebie * 1979 – Hopelessly devoted to you/You're the one that I want (with

) * 1985 – Wielka dama tańczy sama/Moje jedyne marzenie * 2005 – Układ z życiem/Nic nie może wiecznie trwać

Albums

* 1974 – "Tyle słońca w całym mieście", reedition 2001 * 1975 – "Za każdy uśmiech", reedition 2001 * 1979 – "Zawsze gdzieś czeka ktoś" * 1980 – "Anna Jantar", reedition 1999

Compilations

* 1980 – "The Best Of" * 1986 – "Anna i Natalia" (Anna Jantar,

) * 1990 – "Piosenki Anny Jantar" (Anna Jantar i inni artyści) * 1990 – "The Best Of 2" * 1991 – "Piosenki dla dzieci" (Anna Jantar,

) * 1991 – "Nic nie może wiecznie trwać" * 1991 – "Wspomnienie" * 1992 – "The collection" * 1992 – "Złote przeboje" * 1996 – "Cygańska jesień" * 1997 – "Antalogia cz.1" * 1997 – "Antalogia cz.2" * 1999 – "Przyjaciele" * 2000 – "Radość najpiękniejszych lat" (Złota kolekcja) * 2000 – "Tyle słońca..." live (Koncert poświęcony pamięci Anny Jantar) * 2003 – "Perły – Tyle słońca w całym mieście" * 2004 – "Platynowa kolekcja – Złote przeboje" * 2004 – "The best – Dyskotekowy bal" * 2005 – "Tyle słońca..." 3 CD * 2005 – "Po tamtej stronie" (Anna Jantar,

) * 2010 – "Wielka dama" 4 CD

Memorials

* After the death of Jantar, Polish group

dedicated their song "Słońca jakby mniej" for Jantar. *

Krzysztof Krawczyk Krzysztof January Krawczyk (; 8 September 1946 – 5 April 2021) was a Polish baritone pop singer, guitarist and composer. He was the vocalist of a popular Polish band, Trubadurzy ("the Troubadours"), from 1963 to 1973 when he started his ...

dedicated his song "To co dał nam świat" to Jantar. * Anna Jantar “Burstyn" Music Club was founded by Agata Materowicz and Zbigniew Rostkowski. Shortly that Club had more than 1600 members in Poland. * In 1984, Agata Materowicz, Zbigniew Rostkowski, and Roman Woszczek organized the exhibition Anna Jantar- First Step- Last Step” at the Students Club „Stodola” – Warsaw. Jarosław Kukulski and Natalia opened the exhibition, and songs were performed by

Eleni Tzoka Eleni Tzoka (née Milopoulou; 27 April 1956, Bielawa) is a Polish singer of Greek descent. Biography Tzoka was born to a Greek family which emigrated to Poland in the 1950s.Papiernik, Joanna"Eleni - wielkie greckie serce" ludzie.senior.pl; acce ...

and Halina Frackowiak. The collection included photos, her personal mementos, letters from her Fans, dresses and costumes, awards, long play records etc. From Warsaw, the exhibition moved to Poznań, Łódź and Lublin. * In Wrzesnia, the local

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

is named after Anna Jantar. * The mural dedicated to Jantar was unveiled in Opole last September 3, 2020 and was made by her daughter Natalia Kukulska.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Official Website of Anna Jantar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jantar, Anna 1950 births 1980 deaths Musicians from Poznań Polish pop singers 20th-century Polish women singers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1980 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Poland Recipient of the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge