Zhenya Belousov
Evgeny Viktorovich Belousov (Russian: Евге́ний Ви́кторович Белоу́сов; September 10, 1964, Zhikhar[1] — June 2, 1997, Moscow), better known as Zhenya Belousov (Russian: Женя Белоусов) was a Soviet and Ukrainian pop singer, popular in the late 1980s — early 1990s. His best-known hits include My Blue-Eyed Girl, Night Taxi and Alyoshka.[2]
Zhenya Belousov | |
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Zhenya Belousov, 1991 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Evgeny Viktorovich Belousov |
Born | Zhikhar, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR | September 10, 1964
Died | June 2, 1997 32) Moscow, Russia | (aged
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1985-1997 |
Biography
Evgeny Viktorovich Belousov was born on September 10, 1964 in the village of Zhikhar, Kharkiv Oblast.[3]
He graduated from vocational school No 1 as mechanic-repairman[3] and later studied at the Kursk Music College, learning bass guitar. He was not conscripted to the army due to heavy concussion he suffered in a car crash as a schoolboy.
In the mid-1980s Bari Alibasov saw Belousov playing in a Kursk restaurant and invited him to join his band Integral as a singing bassist. In 1987 he started a solo career and enjoyed success with a series of hits, collected in three studio albums, My Blue-Eyed Girl (1988), Night Taxi (1990) and Devchonka-Devchonochka (1993).[4]
Starting with 1993, Belousov's health started to deteriorate and his popularity nose-dived. His stint as a distillery businessman in Ryazan proved to be a failure and he was accused of tax evasion.[5] In March 1997, he was taken to the Sklifosovsky Institute with acute pancreatitis. A month later he suffered a stroke (earlier head injuries and alcohol abuse cited as possible causes) and underwent a brain surgery.[3]
On 2 June 1997 Belousov died at the Sklifosovsky hospital, and was interred in the Kuntsevo Cemetery.