Jaromír Nohavica / Jaromir Nohavica

One of the Czech Republic's most well-known and well-liked songwriters, performers, poets, and musicians (and who also found fame in Poland and Slovakia), Jaromír Nohavica (aka Jarek Nohavica) started out collaborating as a songwriter with such bands as Atlantis, Noe, and Majestic before embarking on a highly successful solo career that would last more than 20 years. Born in Ostrava on June 7, 1953, Jaromir had no formal musical training, and after writing successful songs for many different artists, he struck out on his own in the mid-'80s. A well-received appearance at the 1982 Folk Carousel festival in Ostrava-Poruba eventually gave way to a pair of EP releases, 1985's Cesty (Roads) and 1988's Pisne Pro V.V. (Songs for V.V.). In 1988, Nohavica released the live assemblage full-length Darmodej (Aimless) and it was a great success, marking the beginning of a long and prosperous recording and performing career. The Czech Grammy winner would go on to release another dozen or so albums — some live, some over the Internet — over the next 20 years, including a work for children — 1994's Tri Cunici (Three Piglets) — and a live album reinterpreting his earlier work, this time with a band backing him up, entitled Koncert, in 1998. In 2006, Nohavica released the CD/DVD Doma (At Home), and in 2008 his album Ikarus hit the top spot in the Czech album charts.