Karel Kryl was a Czechoslovak singer-songwriter and poet born on April 12, 1944, in Kroměříž. He moved to Prague in 1968 and achieved professional recognition following the release of his debut studio album, Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka (1969). The record featured the title track “Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka” (1969), which was composed as a response to the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion. Kryl entered exile in West Germany in 1969 and performed for Radio Free Europe. During this period, he issued the studio recordings Rakovina (1969), Maškary (1970), and Karavana mraků (1979). He returned to Czechoslovakia in 1989 and released the studio recordings Tekuté písky (1990) and Monology (1992). Kryl died on March 3, 1994, in Munich.
