Tonika (

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

: Тоника) was a Bulgarian pop music group similar in style to the Italian group

Ricchi e Poveri Ricchi e Poveri (; "The Rich and The Poor") is an Italian pop group formed in Genoa in 1967, originally consisting of Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million r ...

History

Tonika was formed in

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...

in 1969 by a graduate of Bulgaria's National Academy of Music, Stefan Diomov. Tonika grew in national recognition and was part of the 1974 New Year’s celebration on Bulgarian National Television. In 1975, the group moved to

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

and released their debut LP on the Balkan-ton label, which was the national record label. In 1976 and 1977, Tonika won the Bulgarian national music award Zlatniyat Orfey (

: Златният Орфей), or

Golden Orpheus The Golden Orpheus ( bg, Златният Орфей, ''Zlatniyat Orfey'') was an international song contest, held annually from 1965 to 1999 in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. Alongside its Bulgarian pop song competition, the festival’s rules and regul ...

, which further confirmed their status as pop stars. In 1978, Tonika released their second LP, which featured many of the best studio musicians in Bulgaria. Tonika won many awards during the yearly music festival in

Aytos Aytos ( bg, Айтос ), sometimes written Aitos and Ajtos, is a town located in eastern Bulgaria some 30 kilometers from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and belonging to the administrative boundaries of Burgas Province. It is the administrati ...

for over two decades, particularly in the 1970s. Music has always been important in the culture of this former Iron Curtain republic, and Tonika has a considerable following today. Tonika performed more than 200 concerts per year in the 1970s in addition to their TV appearances, recordings, and rehearsals. The band is also known as Tonica, Tonica SV, Domino, and Familia Tonica (Tonika Family). In 1979, almost all of Tonika’s records and taped TV appearances (except a few hidden copies) were destroyed by the Bulgarian government and banned due to a political scandal that occurred during a tour of Western Europe and Asia. The group was forced to disband and they were not allowed to perform for two years. In 1994, the entire Tonika Family reunited and did four concerts in Burgas and Sofia. In 2000, an album of the music performed at these concerts was released on the StefKos Music Label. In 2001, the Balkanton label released the compilation LP, ''The Gold Hits of Bulgarian Classical Pop Music'', which included the Tonika favorite, "Let It Be Summer."

Tonika Family members

* Stefan Diomov – producer (1969 to 1986) * Georgi Naidenov – guitar, vocals (original member of Tonika) (joined Domino 1981) * Eva Kostadinova-Naidenova – vocals (original member of Tonika) (joined Domino 1983) * Anastasia Bincheva-Vladowski – vocals (original member of Tonika) (until 1979) (mother of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' finalist,

Leah LaBelle Leah LaBelle Vladowski (September 8, 1986 – January 31, 2018) was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the American Idol (season 3), third season of ''American Idol'', placing twelfth in the season f ...

) * Yakim Yakimov – guitar, vocals (original member of Tonika) (until 1974) * Harry Sherikan – guitar, vocals (Tonika 1974 to 1975) * Ivan Hristov – guitar, vocals (joined Tonika 1975) (joined Domino 1981) * Krassimir Gyulmezov – vocals (joined Domino 1981) * Violeta Ivanova-Gyulmezova – vocals (joined Domino 1981) * Vanya Kostova – vocals (Tonika SV 1981 to 1986) * Militsa Bozhinova – vocals (joined Tonika SV 1981) * Ralitsa Angelova – vocals (joined Tonika SV 1981) * Dragomir Dimitrov – vocals (joined Tonika SV 1981) * Theodore Shishmanov – vocals (Tonika SV 1981 to 1982) * Emil Vassilev – vocals (joined Tonica SV 1982)

Partial discography

Songs as Tonika

* "Lado Le" (1976) S. Dimitrov - Z. Petrov * "Let It Be Summer" (1977) S. Dimitrov - M. Basheva * "If I Caress You" (1978) S. Dimitrov - N. Kunchev * "A Farewell" (1975) S. Diomov - S. Gotzov * "Sea" (1975) M. Ganeva - A. Yordanova * "Day after Day" (1976) M. Ganeva - P. Stoykov * "Light" (1974) D. Mihaylov - N. Andreev (cover of " Sugar Baby Love" in Bulgarian) * "My Friend" (1974) S. Gotzov - K. Dragnev (cover of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" in Bulgarian)

Songs as Tonica SV

* "My Girl and I" (1981) S. Diomov - V. Vulchev * "Like a Dream" (1981) S. Diomov - M. Belchev - P. Slavchev * "The Boy from the Barge" (1981) D. Kerelezov - N. Troshanov * " Auld Lang Syne" (1983) Scottish folk song on lyrics by R. Burns (Bulgarian translation by V. Svintila) * "If We Could" (1983) A. Yossifov - D. Damyanov - S. Marinov * "Malayka" (1983) Tanzanian folk song (arranged by S. Diomov) * "Oh, Malyao" (1983) Portuguese folk song (arranged by S. Diomov) * "No Problems" (1987) M. Stoyanov - H. Yotsov

Songs as Domino

* "This Wonderful World" (1985) by

Czesław Niemen Czesław Niemen (; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004), born Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki, and often credited as just Niemen, was one of the most important and original Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th century, singing ...

, words by E. Mihailova (arranged by K. Gyulmezov) * "A Window Still Alight" (1983) Y. Popov - D. Kerelezov - I. Kutikov * "Modern and Retro" (1983) G. Naidenov

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 1969 establishments in Bulgaria 1995 disestablishments in Bulgaria Bulgarian musical groups Culture in Burgas