Ivan Král

Ivan Kral was born in 1948 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to a musician mother and journalist father. The award-winning composer, filmmaker and musician knew his calling early. By the age of five, when he wrote his first song, he could sing, play guitar, piano and violin. At 16, he reached Czechoslovakia's Top 10 Hit Parade with Pierot, his own composition recorded with his band, Saze. Ivan's family fled to New York just ahead of the Soviet Union closure of the Czech border in 1968. They settled in New York City, where his father, Dr. Karel Kral, was already a translator at the United Nations. While at the UN, Dr. Kral earned Czech government wrath over his criticism of the expected Soviet invasion. Ivan, then 18 years old, adapted to his new country less readily than his older brother Pavel, 23. He stayed in the family's apartment on 81st Street, struggling to learn English - with the help of Daffy Duck cartoons - and hoping to return to Czechoslovakia and his rock 'n' roll celebrity. Eventually, he attended Geneseo College in upstate New York, earning a degree in French literature. He paid for his education with a series of menial jobs, most notably working the midnight shift at Birds Eye Foods, where he donned a hazmat suit before jumping into 9-foot tall steel containers to remove leftover CoolWhip. It was all a prelude to his life as a proto-punk, singer-songwriter and film chronicler of a musical era that still resounds today. Ivan wore eyeliner and satin onstage during the early 70s glitter glam rock phase. In 1974, he played guitar with Debbie Harry in Blondie. In 1975, he joined the seminal Patti Smith Group transforming them from poetry to rock and roll. The band recorded numerous tunes written by Kral with Smith, including debut album Horses, Radio Ethiopia, Easter and Wave.Rock journalist Dave Thompson quotes Patti: "Ivan fit in perfectly, because all of us were slightly offbeat, and felt somehow alienated from the mainstream of society, and of course, Ivan being a true alien fit in well with us. The greatest thing he had to struggle with, as we toured around the country and various parts of the world, was being stateless. Ivan was a part of what we were as a group." Ivan and Mick Ronson, from Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, collaborated, though the band never materialized. He joined Iggy Pop at Rockfield Studios in Wales and remained his collaborator on two albums and four tours. Frequently, he filmed his musician friends in 8mm and 16mm. CBGBs and Max's Kansas City footage selections were edited with no wave filmmaker Amos Poe, resulting in The Blank Generation film -- hailed as the historical document of the punk revolution - featuring the Ramones, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, Television, Patti Smith Group, Wayne County, Heartbreakers and more. He shared the occasional New York stage with Bruce Springsteen, John Cale from The Velvet Underground, Noel Redding from Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Spector and Chris Spedding. His collaboration with Babys singer, John Waite, resulted in many songs, including the hit, Every Step of the Way. His new band, Eastern Bloc, produced one album, but disbanded after Polygram folded. In 1982, Ivan composed the music score for the Barry Levinson film, "Diner". He wrote scores for underground films like Subway Riders, Unmade Beds and The Foreigner. He stopped touring and moved to Seattle until his return to Prague in 1992. During this time, his music was recorded by many, including David Bowie, U2, Simple Minds, and France's Telephone. Ivan now secured status as an independent writer and record producer. From CBGB's to the mailroom of ABKCo's Beatles, where his duties included driving John Lennon and Yoko Ono's psychedelic Rolls Royce and watching underground films over dinner with Allen Klein. Ivan was in bands that shared billing with Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Kiss, Journey and Tom Petty. A living national treasure in today's Czech Republic, he has 10 solo albums on Universal and BMG. He's a prolific writer and producer of major Czech talent. Ivan has been a guest at Prague Castle, and former President Vaclav Havel has attended his concerts. Ivan's awards include Czech Grammys for his 1994 solo album, Nostalgia. He was awarded Grammys for Rock Producer of the Year in 1995 and 1998. Nominations include the Oscar-equivalent Cesky Lev for his 2001 Cabriolet film score. He and Patti Smith's song, Dancing Barefoot, entered #323 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1995, Mojo Magazine ranked Horses the 10th Greatest Album of All Time. In 2007, he performed his own tribute song, Wasn't It Great, at the Bowery Ballroom memorial for the late CBGB founder, Hilly Kristal. He continues to work globally from his Ann Arbor, Michigan home studio. In 2009, Ivan was songwriter/vocalist/musician for the soundtrack of the Japanese animated TV show, Yozakura Quartet 3.