The family of the Czech music legend of the 60s and 70s, Pavel Novák, suffered a sad fate. The well-known singer died in February 2009 at the age of 64 after a difficult battle with cancer. Although he first defeated the insidious disease thanks to a demanding operation, radiation and a drastic 42-day hunger strike, three years later it returned in a more aggressive form, he writes. His musical legacy was subsequently taken over by his son Pavel, who successfully revived his father’s greatest hits with his own band.
Fearing a hereditary predisposition to oncological diseases, the son did not underestimate anything and regularly underwent preventive medical examinations. Unfortunately, the life of Pavle Novák Jr. also ended prematurely. At the beginning of September 2022, a nationwide search was announced for him, and three days later he was found without signs of life in his own car in Pelhřimovsk. He died at the age of 57. At the request of the family, police did not release the official cause of death from the autopsy report.
His friend and colleague Petr Šiška admitted various theories in connection with the tragedy, which were discussed, incl heart failure, epileptic seizure or previous problems with alcohol. At the same time, he emphasized that the singer was cured of past addictions, the last one he consistently abstained for years and was absolutely reliable at work.
“The last time we saw each other was less than a week before this happened. We had a concert in Slovakia. We went in Pavlov’s car, he drove the whole thing. We had lunch at our house, he was in a great mood. He was always very communicative, and even the four hours of travel were not enough for us to say everything and discuss everything. We parted with the words as in the old joke: We’ll talk about it next time.” Šišek remembered the last moments together.
Fortunately, the talent in the family lives on through the third generation. Junior’s son Filip plays football professionally and made it all the way to the Czech national team. For a change, his daughter’s artistic talents were fully manifested.
Czech singer, composer, lyricist and writer Pavel Novák Sr was born on March 10, 1944 in Přerov. He graduated from the University of Olomouc, a combination of biology and physical education subjects. His graduated approval was used by some directors in the video clips of his songs, when the filming location was a gym or a classroom.
He started singing in 1961 with the traditional Dixieland jazz orchestra Přerov. In 1964, he was one of the co-founders of the Syncopa group. His first hit with this group was Confessions. After finishing college and military service, he founded his own band Vox in 1967, with which he recorded the hits I’ll Walk and I’ll Answer You La La. In the Golden Nightingale poll for 1967, he came in third place.
After ten years of activity, he founded a new formation, which was named Proto. Since the beginning of the 90s, he performed with his own group Family. Pavel Novák was one of the prominent personalities of Czech popular music, known for his hits Freckled Girl, Malinká, Beautiful Love, Strange Sleeper, Žofie and Nesmíš mi lhát.
Throughout his singing and artistic career, he devoted himself to working on children’s programs and giving concerts for children’s audiences. As a qualified pedagogue, he compiled educational programs for children, Budeme si spiváv, which also included a record with songs and a hymnal. His singing and writing career is documented by two dozen released albums, in 2006 a compilation of his greatest hits was published in the Pop Gallery edition.
