Plateau
Welcome all.
Today we are going to tell you about Marek Grechuta’s music.With us :Plateau band Karol Kowalczyk,
Mirosław Rudziński, Marcin Lizak and Michał Szulim.
Why are we going to tell you about Marek Grechuta? First of musical fate or destiny brought us together
with Grechuta’s music in 2011. That year our music album with Grechuta music was released. We played
Grechuta’s songs in different arrangements. We worked on the album about two years. Grechuta is a great
musical figure so we put a lot of effort into creating new arrangements of his songs. We have selected ten
songs to be included on the album. From time to time we play about 15 other songs of him during our
concerts.
Marek Grechuta was born some years after the end of the second World War in a beautiful Polish town –
Zamość. Zamość is still proud of Marek Grechuta’s birthplace. However Grechuta is mostly associated
with Cracow- he used to study architecture there in the 1960s. Few people know that he was an architect,
most people believe that Grechuta was just an artist with head in the clouds.
Grechuta founded the AnaWa cabaret in Cracow. That was an amateur cabaret in one of Cracow’s
basements. He met there Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz. They slowly began to move away from cabaret and
devote more time to music. They were two people to admire. Pawluśkiewicz’s songs are not simple yet
music hits. Grechuta wrote amazing lyrics to his music, basing on Mickiewicz, Przyboś, Tuwim,
Moczulski. Grechuta chose the lyrics and Kanty Pawluśkiewicz wrote music. Their first works were
created for traditional string instruments. They released their first album „Marek Grechuta and AnaWa”.
All of his songs are greatest hits: In wild wine braided, Uncertainty, You will be my lady, Don’t you dare ,
Heart and many others.
Plenty of artists would definitely do anything to be able to release such hits.
Now we will play one of our arrangements of this hits, which is Uncertainty by Mickiewicz – a shortened
version of Mickiewicz’s lyrics.
Uncertainty – being played
The greatests hits are known for the fact that you play a piece of a song and everybody knows it and most
start humming it.
Grechuta’s first musical success was his performance in Opole. There he sang his hit Heart . On his first
record there was another of his hits – A parade. With that song one could observe another Grechuta’s
genius when he decided to improve Pawluśkiewicz version of it. It became the title of his next album „A
parade”. Everybody knows this second version of „A parade” . It is important to add that those were
wonderful years with hippie times, Opole festival . The song is 10 minute long with a solo part flute by
Jacek Ostaszewski, later the frontman of Osjan band. One can hear his solo flute part and contrabass.
The guitar was played by Marek Jackowski, yet unknown at that time. We had a pleasure to play „A
parade” in 2011 with Marek Jackowski and Jacek Ostaszewski twice during Woodstock festival .
Let’s listen to a part of „A parade” song in our arrangements.
A parade being played
I believe it is one of the most important hits in Polish history of music.
I need to mention one more person in the context of Marek Grechuta debiut.That is Zbigniew Wodecki.
Few people know that Wodecki, played violin to Marek Grechuta’s music. Wodecki then started working
with Ewa Demarczyk and after that he worked on his solo career.
Another hit by Grechuta comes from his second album. The text was written by Grechuta. Grechuta’s wife
told us about the beginning of this song. At the end of one of his gloomy days full of doubts about his
career, he heard from his wife that only days we don’t know yet should be important in our lives. That was
his awakening and as a result – the origin of the hit.
So we have two most important albums by Grechuta. It has to be said that Grechuta laid the foundations
of what we today call sung poetry. Sung poetry is full of senitivity, with the sounds of violin and
cello,lyrical atmosphere. Grechuta’s first two albums were absolute hits. Then at the beginning of the 70s
Grechuta left „AnaWa”. It is difficult to say why it happened. Everybody worked on their own. Grechuta
formed a band „WIEM” – the letters standing for „ In another musical era”. Marek Grechuta had longer

hair then. Rock music became popular so Grechuta changed his music style.His songs became more rock
-like. Now we will play a music from that time The hour of love. It would be advisable to listen to the
original version of this song.
All the musicians who worked with Grechuta became famous later on.
One of another greatest hits by Grechuta after he left AnaWA was „A world in the clouds” – a song that
we also play during concerts. Grechuta is the author of both the lyrics and the music.
Now we came to the 70s. In the second half of the 70s Marek Grechuta became involved in the theatre.
He wrote music to some lyrics by Witkacy, again came closer to Pawluśkieiwcz and it ended up with just
another hit in Opole – Hop – a glass of beer.
Grechuta turned the difficult poetry by Witkacy into hits.
Then Grechuta took part in a theatre show „A crazy locomotive” directed by Krzysztof Jasiński. That was
an amazing theatre show of an abstract nature, in a kind of tent, somewhere in Cracow.
In the middle of 70s Grechuta officially started to work with Cracow Piwnica pod baranami. Grechuta is
always associated with Piwnica pod baranami and so is Ewa Demarczyk.
The 80s are the most known for Grechuta’s song Springtime – it’s you. It is one of his commercial greatest
hits. Only later did I discover that this song is not about a season but also a beautiful erotic .
Those were lyrics by Grechuta wjho knew how to express himself to make evergreens.
The 90s were also times whern Grechuta was able to make a name for himself despite the fact that those
were days when people forgot about the stars of the 1980s Opole.
Though new rock music became popular again, Grechuta still enjoyed plenty of people coming to his
concerts. He still recorded new albums though his health became worse in a course of time.
I recommend to everybody to listen to Grechuta’s arrangement of Myslovitz’s song „Cracow” dated on
2003.
Marek Grechuta passed away in 2006.
He is a model of sung poetry and others still folllow him.
Grzegorz Turnau was one of most famous Grechuta’s followers. Marek Grechuta is the subject of several
albums, books , a film „Wherever I will be” and so is our album dated on 2011. On our album there are so
many guests: Sonia Bohosiewicz, Wojtek Waglewski, Martyna Jakubowicz, Jacek Ostaszewski
fromAnaWa- who expressed their appreciation for the work of Grechuta and were willing to cooperate.
And now just to end up we will play a hit by Grechuta – You will be my lady
Thank you for listening – we highly recommend listening to Grechuta’s music.
That was the band Plateau singing and talking for all of you.
Good bye.