Dan Spătaru
Dan Spătaru (Romanian pronunciation: [dan spəˈtaru]; October 2, 1939 in Aliman, Constanţa County – September 8, 2004 in Bucharest) was a Romanian singer. He was famous for his song "Drumurile". He was the "Julio Iglesias" of Romania, according to many.
Career
Before singing, he wanted to be a sports coach. However, he never got to be one due to a lumbar disability.
He started his singing career in 1966, at the "Mamaia" Festival. In 1969, he wrote his first hit "Trecea fanfara militară" (The Military Band Was Passing By). Subsequently he became famous in Romania with other songs such as: "De vrei să ştii ce înseamnă", "Dragu mi-i de ţara mea", "Drum bun", "Drumurile", "În rândul patru", "Măicuţă, îţi mulţumesc", "Nimic nu e prea mult", "Nu vreau să plângi", "Prietene", "Să cântăm, chitara mea", "Spune-mi, mama ce mai face", "Spune-mi unde, spune-mi cine", "Ţărăncuţă, ţărăncuţă", "Te-am iubit, Mario", "Te-aşteaptă un om".[1] He is the record-holder of the longest crowd applause of 16 minutes and 19 seconds. This happened in Varadero (Cuba) in 1967, at an international festival. He died of a heart attack. He was buried at Bellu Cemetery, in Bucharest.