Dežo Ursiny

Dežo Ursiny, born Dezider Ursiny on October 4, 1947, in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, was a Slovak musician and composer. He began playing guitar at age 11 and joined The Beatmen in 1964, releasing two singles and performing internationally. In 1967, he formed The Soulmen and won first place at the Czechoslovak Beat Festival. His solo career started with the album Dežo Ursiny & Provisorium (1973), followed by collaborations with poet Ivan Štrpka on albums like Pevnina detstva (1978) and Nové mapy ticha (1979). He composed music for films such as Bubeník Červeného kríža (1977). Diagnosed with oral cancer in 1989, he released his final album Príbeh in 1994 and died on May 2, 1995. Posthumously, he was awarded the Pribina Cross, 2nd class, by the President of Slovakia in 2021.