Mikhail Vasilyevich Naumenko, better known as Mike Naumenko (russian: link=no, Майк Науменко, 18 April 1955 – 27 August 1991)
– accessed 20 October 2011 was a Soviet rock musician, singer-songwriter and interpreter, leader of the band
Zoopark
Zoopark (russian: link=no, Зоопарк) was one of the founding rock groups which began the Russian rock movement. The group was founded in 1981.[Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...](_ ...<br></span></div>.
Born in <div class=)
, in the 1970s he was a member of the Russian rock group
Aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
, and in 1981 he formed Zoopark, which became one of the most outstanding
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
groups of
USSR
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 nationa ...
.
[Rybin A., Startsev A., Eds. and authors, with A. Lipnitsky. ''Mike from Zoopark'' (In Russian). Tver: Lean, 1996. ] Naumenko is considered one of the best lyricists of Russian rock, although drawing heavily on
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and other UK/US songwriters, and occasionally retaining the original melody as well. Some of Naumenko's songs are more or less faithful translations or remakes of English language source material (the notions of copyright and plagiarism being hardly established in the Soviet Union, especially as regards works created on the other side of the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
). Largely imitative, Naumenko's input was yet very significant as he adapted the Western rock tradition to Russian culture and the urban realities of Leningrad.
[Chernov, Sergey. ''Unexposed genius: Musicians will gather this week to remember the late Zoopark singer Mike Naumenko.'' The St. Petersburg Times. 18 April 2012](_blank)
/ref>[Urban, Michael, with Andrei Evdokimov. ''Russia Gets the Blues: Music, Culture, and Community in Unsettled Times.'' Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2004. P. 32, 90, 93. ]
Early years
Mikhail Naumenko studied at a "school with an intensive English-language program" in Leningrad, where he got his stage name, "Mike", presumably from his English teacher.
Naumenko became interested in music at the age of 8, when he heard a Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
song for the first time from the street while he was standing on a balcony. The first rock bands that attracted his attention were The Beatles, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, and Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
; also he collected magazine articles about T. Rex, The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
and David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
. At the age of 15, he started playing guitar and writing his first songs. The lyrics of his first songs were in English, but in 1972–1973 he switched to Russian under the influence of his close friend, Boris Grebenshchikov
Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (russian: link=no, Борис Борисович Гребенщиков; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the fou ...
. Besides music, he had lifetime interests in aeromodeling
A model aircraft is a small unmanned aircraft. Many are replicas of real aircraft. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models.
Aircraft manufactur ...
and in translating from English to Russian, which also started while he was at school.
After he graduated from high school, having followed an advice from his father, Mike went to , but during his 4th year of study he lost interest in the subject and dropped out. He worked as a sound engineer in Bolshoi Puppet Theatre (Russian: Большой театр кукол), then as a watchman. All this time Mike remained a musician.
Naumenko started his musical career in little-known Leningrad rock bands, such as "Soyuz Lyubiteley Muzyki Rock" ("Union of Lovers of Rock-Music", Russian: "Союз любителей музыки рок") and "Vokalno-instrumentalnaya gruppirovka imeni Chacka Berry" ("Vocal-instrumental Band Named in Honor of Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
", Russian: "Вокально-инструментальная группировка им. Чака Берри"), which mostly played classical rock-n-roll songs from 1950s – 1970s. In the second half of 1970s, he performed with Aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
, a prominent Leningrad rock band, as a guitarist.
In the summer of 1978, Naumenko and Boris Grebenshchikov
Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (russian: link=no, Борис Борисович Гребенщиков; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the fou ...
(the leader of Aquarium) recorded an acoustic album "Vse brat'ya – sestry" ("All Brothers are Sisters", Russian: " Все братья – сестры"). The recording was done with a "Mayak-202", a serial soviet tape recorder, on the bank of Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
in Leningrad. The themes of the songs were heavily influenced by the creative works of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
. The only instruments used were a guitar and a harmonica, and the recording quality was far from perfect. However, many songs from this album later became very well known on the Russian rock scene.
Two years later, in the summer of 1980, Mike recorded his first solo album called "Sladkaya N i Drugie" ("Sweet N and Others", Russian: "Сладкая N и другие") with the help of Boris Grebenshchikov and Vyacheslav Zorin (guitar). The recording took place in the studio of Bolshoi Puppet Theatre. The total number of recorded songs was 32, however only 15 of them were included in the album. The album quickly became famous in Moscow, and Mike became recognizable as a "Bob Dylan from Leningrad".
Naumenko's lyrical muse has been identified as the Leningrad artist Tatyana Apraksina, as reflected in songs such as "Sweet N," "If It Rains," "Your River's Blues" and "Morning for Two".[Mak, Vladimir. ''Apraksin Blues'' (in Russian). ''Vesti'' daily newspaper/''Nautilus'' portal. 29 November 2012](_blank)
According to Naumenko, in a late interview, "All my songs are dedicated to her."[Kushnir, Alexander. ''Mike, "Sweet N and Others"'' – from ''100 Cassette Albums of Soviet Rock.''](_blank)
(in Russian)
Zoopark
In 1981, Naumenko organized the Zoopark
Zoopark (russian: link=no, Зоопарк) was one of the founding rock groups which began the Russian rock movement. The group was founded in 1981.[recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repea ...](_ ...<br></span></div> rock band in which he was a lead vocalist and an art director until his death. With his band, he traveled a lot and visited many cities of the USSR.
Naumenko's vocals weren't great so he performed his songs in <div class=)
style. He obtained popularity mostly because the lyrics of his songs were full of irony and satire. The majority of his songs were a first-person narrative
A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller, ...
, though, as he claimed in the interviews, it didn't mean that this person was himself.
The lyrics of Naumenko's songs were often translations or interpretations of the Western rock songs of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
or T. Rex. Sometimes he left the original melody intact too, e.g., one could compare "Zolotie Lvi" ("Golden Lions", "Золотые львы") and "Pozvoni mne rano utrom" ("Call Me Early in the Morning", "Позвони мне рано утром") with Dylan's " Idiot Wind" and " Meet Me in the Morning"; or "Ya lublu bugi-vugi" ("I love Boogie-Woogie", "Я люблю буги-вуги") with "I Love to Boogie
"I Love to Boogie" is a song by English rock band T. Rex. It was recorded in May 1976 and released as a single in June by record label EMI. It later appeared on T. Rex's final studio album, 1977's ''Dandy in the Underworld''. Its B-side, "Baby ...
". There was no "plagiarism"-related agenda in the specifics of USSR, thus Mike's "recipiency" was accepted as a way to digest the Western musical and lyrical traditions in the Russian way.
Late years and death
In the late 1980s, Mike started facing troubles related to health and household issues, mainly due to alcohol abuse. The ability to move of his left hand deteriorated and he could hardly play the guitar. His wife also left him.
Naumenko died in Leningrad on 27 August 1991, at the age of 36, as a result of cerebral hemorrhage caused by an accident in his flat.
However, there's another version to the story. Zoopark's drummer Valeriy Kirillov states that the reason for Mike's death was cerebral hemorrhage, but it wasn't of a natural cause. The real reason was a fracture of the skull base that Mike received during a robbery attack near his house. This was allegedly confirmed by the fact that Mike's personal belongings were absent. Also, there was allegedly a witness who saw somebody help Mike get up from the ground. After the assault, Mike was able to get to his apartment where he eventually collapsed and laid unconscious without being noticed. When finally he was discovered and an ambulance was summoned, it was too late. However, many people who knew the details of his death don't confirm this version.
Naumenko was buried in Volkovo Cemetery
The Volkovo Cemetery (also Volkovskoe) (russian: Во́лковское кла́дбище or Во́лково кла́дбище) is one of the largest and oldest non-Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century it ...
, Saint Petersburg.
Legacy
Mike's memory has been honored with numerous tribute albums (see Discography below) and in other creative works including a 2009 novel and a "blues opera" that premiered in 2011. A collection of Naumenko's complete writings – including his samizdat translation of Richard Bach
Richard David Bach (born June 23, 1936) is an American writer. He has written numerous works of fiction and also non-fiction flight-related titles. His works include ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'' (1970) and '' Illusions: The Adventures of a R ...
's ''Illusions
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people.
Illusions may oc ...
'' — was being prepared for publication in 2015.
He appears as a character in ''Leto
In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; grc-gre, Λητώ , ''Lētṓ'', or , ''Lātṓ'' in Ancient Greek dialects#Provenance, Doric Greek) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis ...
'', a 2018 Russian biographical film about Viktor Tsoi
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (russian: Виктор Робертович Цой; ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet singer and songwriter who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and musically influential bands in the history of ...
. Mike Naumenko is played by Roman Bilyk.
Discography
with Zoopark
* 1981 — ''Blues de Moscou''
* 1983 — ''Uyezdny gorod N''
* 1984 — ''Belaya polosa''
* 1987 — ''Illyuzii''
* 1987 — ''Bugi‐Vugi Kazhdy Den''
* 1989 — ''W''
* 1991 — ''Muzyka dlya filma''
* 1996 — ''Legendy Russkogo roka''
* 1999 — ''The Best''
Solo
* 1978 — ''Vse bratya – sestry'' (with Boris Grebenshchikov
Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (russian: link=no, Борис Борисович Гребенщиков; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the fou ...
)
* 1980 — ''Sladkaya N i drugiye''
* 1982 — ''LV''
* 1985 — ''Zhizn v Zooparke''
* 1996 — ''Vesna‐leto'' (with Viktor Tsoi
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (russian: Виктор Робертович Цой; ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet singer and songwriter who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and musically influential bands in the history of ...
)
* 1996 — ''12–13 yanvarya 1985 goda, Moscow'' (with Viktor Tsoi)
* 1997 — ''Kvartirnik'' (with Sergey Ryzhenko)
* 1998 — ''Mike Naumenko. Viktor Tsoi'' (with Viktor Tsoi)
* 1998 — ''Ispolneniye razresheno'' (with Boris Grebenshchikov and Viktor Tsoi)
* 2009 — ''Leningrad 1984'' (with Viktor Tsoi)
* 2010 — ''25 oktyabrya 1980 Moscow'' (with Aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
)
Tributes
* 1993 — ''Pesni Mayka''
* 1998 — ''Park Maykskogo perioda''
* 2000 — ''Remayk''
* 2001 — ''Rom i Pepsi‐kola'' (Dmitry Dibrov i "Antropologiya")
* 2002 — ''Zoopark tribyut – Pesni Mayka''
* 2005 — ''Tribyut Mayku Naumenko, 50 let. Uyezdny gorod N 20 let spustya''
* 2008 — ''Gryaznye blyuzy'' (Aleksandr Dyomin)
References
External links
Remike.spb.ru
Майк Науменко.ru
Mike-zoo.kiev.ua
Майк и группа "Зоопарк"
Poems at lib.ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naumenko, Mike
1955 births
1991 deaths
Musicians from Saint Petersburg
Russian rock singers
20th-century Russian singers
Soviet male singer-songwriters
20th-century Russian male singers