In my last post in this series I wrote about what music means to me, and to illustrate the vague collage of feelings it could conjure, I introduced a song I remembered from my childhood days. I was a bit surprised to actually find it that easily, but then again, nowadays everything is up on YouTube. So I thought, why not talk a bit more about this singer, and introduce her properly in a Monday Music post.
Judit Halász, the Voice of my Generation's Kid's Music
Okay, before I go ahead, I'd like to disperse the idea that this post is about children's music. I don't know about you guys, but whenever I hear music geared specifically for children, and is supposedly pedagogically valuable, I feel a cold shiver run down my spine. That has been the case even when I was a child. As a six-year-old I remember admitting to my mom that those songs made me feel embarrassed... embarrassed to be a kid, and hence being associated with what I thought was stupid, corny, trying too hard to please, etc. Fortunately, at home my parents never tortured me with your typical children's music. Instead, we listened to records by Halász Judit (or Judit Halász in the western name order).
Even though for me her name always remained a symbol of music of my childhood, in her personal career she is much better known as an actress of the Comedy Theatre of Budapest, of which she's been a member since 1965. Although she has played roles in numerous stage plays and screen plays, she is also a singer who is credited for introducing a new art form to Hungarian culture.
Giving Tunes to Famous Poems
At first you wouldn't even think that putting existing poems into songs is a big deal, but as it turns out, in Hungary she is recognized as the first musician to have done this. Teaming up with the legends of Hungarian pop music at the time, she added tunes to existing poems, written by the most famous poets of our language. Thanks to the fact that many of these were also suitable for children, she was soon regarded as a creator of kid's music.
Take this little song for example: Hull a levél is a short two-verse poem by József Attila, a highly famous poet from between the two world wars, known for his gloomy style. In its eight lines it describes how he wants to go far away, because he doesn't have anyone to love where he is. Talking about depressive! Once Halász Judit has taken it up though, it becomes... well, if not cheerful, at least quite pretty.
Unmistakable Country Western Sounds
Of course cheerful is exactly what many of her songs were meant to be, thanks to the rhythm of what I call the Jeans Jacket Crew. These were mainly rock and pop musicians from Hungary in the 70's. Since the iron curtain of their time didn't let them travel to the US, or anywhere in the West, they tried to recreate the style at home: with steel guitars, harmonicas, and jeans clothes from Yugoslavia. So in a way, you could say I grew up with country music, though I didn't know it. But even today, whenever I hear tunes on the steel guitar, I can't help remembering tracks like these three:
Old Time Favorites
It was not just country tunes this great singer introduced me to, but also rock music. On of my most favorite songs was one featuring distorted guitars, a powerful bass, and lyrics about pirates (...eating applesauce. Sure, why not?) Note: the first 25 seconds of this track is not really part of it, but an interlude of a girl talking about an old lady in her neighborhood complaining about the kids.
Another great favorite of mine is the song Tragedy of an Island Nation, in which the poet Eörsi István described English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish folks falling off a ladder. Looking back, it may be taken as a parody of the Brexit, a good four decades before it happened. This comic poem becomes even more fun with the music performed by Halász Judit and the Fonográf band, another well known Jeans Jacket Crew.
To finish the introduction, let me share a song that, unlike the previous ones, is not based on a poem. Instead, it's the first hit of the Illés band, the former incarnation of Fonográf, often mentioned as the Hungarian Beatles. The original title of this song was When I was a little boy, which in this version has been changed appropriately to When I was a little girl.
The most noteworthy line says: Back then I used to admire the adults, thinking how nice it would be when I'm finally a grown up too. A hint of disillusion? Well, as it seems, both the guys from Illés as well as Halász Judit managed to stay young enough to record songs like this, which in turn helped me to keep a part of my inner child alive.
Take a Look at the Previous Posts in my Monday Music Series:
The Sound of the Hungarian Zither
Obligatory Line-Dance at Mexican Parties - El Payaso del Rodeo
Floating Into the Night by Julee Cruise
Classic Canadiana - Stan Rogers
Party Like There's No Tomorrow, Cry Like Everything Is Lost - Hungarian Gypsy Music
The Harder Sound of the Middle Ages - Corvus Corax
The First Hip-Hop I Actually Liked - Things Fall Apart by The Roots
No Prophets in Their Own Land - Rodrigo y Gabriela
Beyond the Boundries of Styles and Genres - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Accordion-Rock You May Not Know (But Really Should) - Los Tabascos
Songs of the Mexican Revolution - La Adelita
Memorable Weirdness - What Do You Want A Japanese To Do Again?
Gloomy Sunday - The Hungarian Suicide Song
Party Tunes from the Wild East - The "Russendisko" Experience
Folk Songs from Your Home Village - Hungarian Regional Sound Archives
Polynesian Salt Water Music
Images Conjured up by Tom Waits' Music
In Country: Folks Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War
Somebody Tell Me - Translating a Hungarian Song Into [EN] and [SP]
Somebody Tell Me - first trial & live performance [HU] [SP] [EN]
Horst Wessel in Mexico
Playing for Change - Old Favorites Played Around the World
Soothing Tunes and Gentle Rhythms of Mali Music
What Is It About Music? [Ecotrain's Question of the Week]