Founded on Jan. 3, 1965, in a Gdańsk café, the group went on to become a mainstay of Polish pop culture, producing numerous hit songs that still resonate with fans.
“Of all the band’s 60 years, I look back most fondly on the early days, when we first met our Polish audience,” drummer and co-founder Jerzy Skrzypczyk told the Polish Press Agency (PAP). “We had our ups and downs, but the beginning was really special.”
Formed by Bernard Dornowski, Krzysztof Klenczon, Jerzy Kossela, Jerzy Skrzypczyk, and Henryk Zomerski, Czerwone Gitary quickly rose to fame with tracks such as Bo ty się boisz myszy and Taka jak Ty, and later welcomed songwriter Seweryn Krajewski. By the late 1960s, each new album achieved gold status, and in 1969, the band received a MIDEM award in Cannes for top record sales in its home country—the same honor bestowed on The Beatles that year.
Despite lineup changes and varying levels of activity during the 1970s and 1980s, Czerwone Gitary remained popular thanks to a string of enduring hits performed at festivals, private parties, and weddings. A major revival in the early 1990s cemented their status as a cultural fixture. Today, they continue touring under the leadership of Skrzypczyk, performing about 100 concerts a year, with a large part of their repertoire drawn from an extensive catalog of Polish-language classics.
“We are lucky to have so many timeless songs by wonderful composers like Krzysztof Klenczon and Seweryn Krajewski,” Skrzypczyk said, referring to crowd favorites Matura, Dozwolone do lat 18, Kwiaty we włosach, and Ciągle pada. The band’s longevity has earned praise from government officials and music critics alike, recognizing Czerwone Gitary’s place among Poland’s most influential pop acts.
Current lineup
Czerwone Gitary now features Skrzypczyk on drums and vocals, alongside Arkadiusz Wiśniewski (bass, vocals, arrangements), Mieczysław Wądołowski (rhythm guitar, vocals), and Dariusz Olszewski (lead guitar, vocals). With 14 studio albums and countless compilations, they continue to fill concert halls, celebrating six decades as one of Poland’s most beloved bands.
(jh)
Source: PAP