RIP: Mr Tro-lo-lo

Eduard Khil, the Russian baritone that became a surprise YouTube hit as Mr Trololo, has passed away. The singer’s 1976 video of him singing “lo-lo-lo” and tra-lo-lo” instead of lyrics is absolutely hilarious at a certain level. But the story behind it is less so. According to Khil, the lack of lyrics is because he and composer Arkady Ostrovsky were worried that the song would be censored by the Soviet authorities of the time. The lyrics described “John on his mustang traveling across the expanses of the prairie to his beloved Mary, who lives in Kentucky, waiting for him and knitting wool socks.”

The context in Soviet Russia was such that the pair were probably looking for trouble by seemingly promoting American values. So Khil decided to drop the lyrics. This is odd enough, but what about the people that invested in the small orchestra behind him and teh TV station that recorded the video? Didn’t anyone notice? Or did they think this was fun, a political statement or just another day’s work?

This is probably the only time a song without lyrics could actually have a meaning.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/eduard-khil-unlikely-youtube-sensation-dies-at-77-639174/#ixzz1x6hdzcar