Birth name Erzsebet Kovacs Labels Hungaroton Albums Legkedvesebb dalaim Years active 1950s-2014 Record label Hungaroton | Instruments Vocals Role Singer Occupation(s) Singer Name Erzsi Kovacs Genres Jazz, Blues, Bossa nova | |
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Died April 6, 2014, Budapest, Hungary Similar People Lajos Kossuth, Endre Ady, Attila Jozsef, Mihaly Babits, Mihaly Vorosmarty | ||
Erzsébet "Erzsi" Kovács DRH (2 June 1928 – 6 April 2014) was a Hungarian pop singer and performer. She recorded her last album, Mosolyogva búcsúzom (English title: I Leave with a Smile), aged 79. She was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.
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Biography
In 1949, at age 21, Kovács met and fell in love with football player Sándor Szűcs. As both were already married at that time, there was no possibility of being together and they tried to escape to the West. An undercover agent betrayed them and their defection attempt failed. In 1951, she was sentenced to four years in prison. Szűcs did not ask for mercy, and, despite interventions by Ferenc Puskás and Ferenc Szusza, he was executed.
Kovács was released from prison in 1954, and at first she worked as an administrator, then resumed her singing career. She toured with Lehel Németh and the Holéczy music group. Her first major success was with the song "Régi óra halkan jár" ("The Old Clock Ticks Softly") in 1957, but she already had a platinum record in 1955, with two and a half million of her records sold. In 1964, her record company dropped her, and she moved abroad. For the next 14 years, she sang in Germany, Sweden, and on cruise ships. After her return, she toured mainly in the countryside. She had several concerts at the Royal Park Stage, the Budapest Concert Hall and the Operetta Theatre in Budapest. On her album, Mosolyogva búcsúzom, she sang "Quand S'arrêtent les violons".
Death
She died after a long illness on 6 April 2014 at the age of 85.
Albums
Compilations
Singles
Songs
Tűzpiros virág
Jó az álmodozás
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