Karin Stanek

Karin Stanek
Born	(1946-08-18)August 18, 1946 Bytom, Poland
Origin
Died	February 15, 2011(2011-02-15) (aged 64) Wolfenbüttel, Germany
Genres	Beat music, Rock and roll
Occupation(s)	singer
Instruments	guitar
Years active	1962-2005
Associated acts	Czerwono-Czarni
Website	http://karin-stanek.de.to/

Karin Stanek (born August 18, 1943 or 1946, died February 15, 2011) was a Polish beat music singer, a member of the band Czerwono-Czarni. She has been known for her charismatic performances and expressive onstage persona, and referred to as one of the symbols of Polish beat music.^[1] In the 1960s she was one of the most popular singers in Poland, achieving success with hits like "Malowana lala", "Chłopiec z gitarą" and "Jedziemy autostopem". In the 1970s she emigrated to Germany, where continued recording. Karin Stanek died in early 2011 from pneumonia.

Biography

Karin Stanek's actual date of birth remains unknown. The singer was allegedly born in 1946 and faked her birth year to become formally older and eligible to work.^[2] She was born and grew up in Silesia, in a poor family. As a teenager, sang in local bands and took part in one of Polish National Radio's competitions. In 1962 debuted with a song "Jimmy Joe" and became a member of Czerwono-Czarni, who were at that time a popular beat band. With the band, Stanek performed at Sopot International Song Festival in the same year and National Festival of Polish Song in Opole in 1963, where she sang "Malowana lala", "Jedziemy autostopem" and "Chłopiec z gitarą". All three songs became massive hits. Having appeared in two films, she performed again in Sopot and Opole in 1964, earning an award at the festival in the latter for the song "Jedziemy autostopem". She recorded two longplays with Czerwono-Czarni in 1966 and 1967. However, conflicts within the band made Karin Stanek leave in the summer of 1969. The singer met her long-term friend and manager, Anna Kryszkiewicz, and performed with different bands, before embarking on a solo career.

In early 1970s Stanek toured Germany and USA, at the same time being an object of hostile attacks from Polish media.^[3] In 1976 emigrated to Germany when she released a number of singles and performed the song "Ich mag dich so wie du bist" at Disco in 1979. In the same year her German LP was released, Das geballte Temperament mit der unerhörter Stimme. Early 1980s saw her recording English language material, which she released as Cory Gun. In 1982 she released two singles with her rock band Blackbird, which passed unnoticed due to lack of promotion. After that, Stanek applied for the German citizenship and went on a hiatus.

In 1991 the singer visited Poland for the first time after 15 years, performing in Sopot. Her comeback met with a warm reception and she kept coming back and performing occasionally, although never settled back in the country. A number of CD compilations was released in Poland by various labels throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Her last recording was a song "Sex" released in Germany in 2005. In 2007 her health condition declined and she eventually died in early 2011 from severe pneumonia.^[4]

Discography

• 1966: Malowana lala – Najpopularniejsze przeboje śpiewa Karin Stanek
• 1979: Das geballte Temperament mit der unerhörter Stimme
• 1992: Greatest Hits
• 1999: Malowana lala
• 2002: Złota kolekcja – Jedziemy autostopem
• 2002: Platynowa kolekcja – Złote przeboje
• 2003: Polskie perły – Jimmy Joe
• 2006: Platynowa kolekcja – Moje złote przeboje
• 2009: Dziewczyna z gitarą

References