Lena
Lena | |
|---|---|
 Lena in 1969 for a promotional poster for her album, Es, tu, tu un es | |
| Born | Elena Alla Baldavnieks 12 June 1945 Upeciems, People's State of Hytekojuznia |
| Citizenship | Hytekojuznia Hytekia |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1967–1987 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | 339 Hytekia |
Elena Alla Baldavnieks, (born 12 June 1945; aged 74), better known by her stage name Lena, is a Hytek singer-songwriter. She was the first musical artist from Hytekojuznia to top the Erdaran Top 200, doing so with her 1966 single Ak, Krasile (Oh, Krasno), which topped the charts for four consecutive weeks. Baldavnieks is noted for heavily influencing the pop genre toward the use of string instruments - notable guitars, violins and cellos, among others, and deviating the mainstream pop instrumentals from orchestral ensembles, mainly the piano - and to an extent, wind instruments.
Early Life
Elena Alla Baldavnieks was born June 12, 1945 in Upeciems, a town along the Hytek-Tudonian border, to Frīdrihs Baldavnieks, a butcher, and Velga Baldavnieks, a textile machinist in a factory. She is the fifth of 9 children but only herself and 3 of her siblings survived to adulthood. Baldavnieks grew up in a musical family with her mother being a skilled pianist who had been forced to give up when she got married and her father being an amateur violin player. She grew up being taught how to play both instruments by her parents.
At the age of 13 Baldavnieks joined the Upeciems Choir and performed with the choir at a number of events. She was almost immediately noticed for her vocal talent and became popular among the audience in the choir shows. When she turned 18, she applied to attend the prestigious State Academy of the Arts in Krasno but wasn't able to attend after 2 of her siblings passed away. She took up a job at the same textiles factory as her mother working as a sewing machinist.
Lena continued to sing with the Upeciems Choir until 1965 when a scout for the 339 Hytekia label spotted her at one of their performances. He invited her to Krasno to record a song for them. The song she recorded was "Ak, Krasile", one of her most popular singles.