He functioned in the Polish song market for six decades. Successfully. Before him, only Mieczysław Fogg could boast such success. Both died at the same age. They were each 89 years old. What they also had in common was their fidelity to the vocal tradition, their adherence to the classical repertoire and their perfect diction.

Jerzy Połomski's baritone resounded at fancy dances, in catering establishments and provincial dance halls. It oozed from the airwaves, jukeboxes, adapters, gramophones, walkmans, compact discs... It guaranteed him spectacular success and a host of trophies.

The singer seemed to be impregnated with musical fashions. Jazz, big-beat, all kinds of rock he carefully avoided. He did his own way, to paraphrase the title of Frank Sinatra's evergreen, to which Połomski was compared. By the way, he had the opportunity to meet the famous American across the Atlantic, where he regularly sang for the Polish community there, during tours organised by the number 1 Polish impresario Jan Wojewódka and his rival Henryk Michalski.

SIGN UP TO OUR PAGE One such recital tour took place at the end of 1981. On 13 December, upon hearing that martial law had been imposed in Poland, the artist extended his stay in Ronald Reagan's homeland. He even received a green card and it seemed that he would settle there permanently. Meanwhile, when our "people's government" took off its uniforms, he unexpectedly returned to Warsaw. He had been associated with it since his studies at the stage department - which, incidentally, was relatively short-lived - of the State Theatre Academy.

Two Mr P.

This was his second academic choice. After graduating from a technical building school in his hometown of Radom, he tried to get into the Warsaw University of Technology. He passed the exams, but was not accepted to the faculty of architecture, as he lacked points for his background - obligatory throughout communist Poland, but especially important during the Stalinist years. And so, instead of designing buildings, bridges, viaducts and the like, in a warm voice he made his compatriots' day.

Before this happened, however, a peculiar personal metamorphosis took place. Jerzy Pająk, as he was born under that name, transformed into Jerzy Połomski when he received his diploma from the Theatre Academy. This was brought about by Professor Ludwik Sempoliński, a teacher of song interpretation, who noticed the exceptional unstageability of his talented pupil's family name.

Already as Połomski, he first tried to make a name for himself on the theatre stage. He was the Poet in Stanisław Wyspiański's Wesele (The Wedding) and King Jan Kazimierz in Juliusz Słowacki's Mazepa, but he did not cause a furore - neither among audiences nor the critics.

When the Polish Radio, looking for new vocal voices, offered him a debut recording, he accepted without a hint of hesitation. He was offered - it was decided by a special commission under the aegis of the all-powerful head of popular music of the Polish Radio, Władysław Szpilman - the swinging 'Song for a Stranger' composed by the now forgotten, prematurely deceased conductor of the Katowice orchestra of the Polish Radio, Jerzy Harald, to words by the duo Zbigniew: Kaszkur and Zapert. It elevated the performer to the very top of the list of the most popular singers in the country. In a poll of radio listeners, he even overtook Fogg, although vox populi was questioned by a body of musical experts (such was the era!). Primacy was awarded to Fogg, honouring Połomski with 'an honourable second place'.

However, he soon eased up on his rival - and soon friend - who still had an inter-war musical pedigree, and became the leader of a group of performers of so-called 'middle-of-the-range music', as his repertoire was defined. Which Połomski soon began to carefully select. Unlike contemporary singers, however, he never tried to create it himself. He could not compose, and did not intend to write lyrics. He left only performance to himself, achieving mastery in this matter.

Shadow of the Security Service

Among his numerous hits, hummed by successive generations from the Tatra Mountains to the Baltic Sea ('Jak to dziewczyna', 'Bo z dziewczynami', 'Cała sala śpiewa z nami', 'Woziwoda', 'Jest bałałajka', 'Daj'), a special place is occupied by 'Kiedy miłość odchodzi' ('When Love Departs'), also known under the title 'Miłość nigdy nie wraca' ('Love Never Returns').

It had an Express pedigree. And I don't mean the pace at which the song was written, but the editors of the 'Express Wieczorny', the most popular Polish tabloid of all time. Well, the text was written by two of the paper's journalists: Zbigniew Zapert, that is my dad, so I have a first-hand account, and Mieczysław Martula.

Martula is a somewhat puzzling figure. In truth, his name was Nacht, he came from Lvov, he masked his war-occupation past, and during the Stalinist years, he worked in the military press, walking around in uniform. He was the younger brother of the poet and satirist Józef Prutkowski (a characteristic figure of 'Warsaw monde"), who had his own table at the SPATiF club at 45 Ujazdowskie Avenue.

Originally, the music to the lyrics of the journalistic tandem was to be composed by Krzysztof Knittel, then a professional novice, then a respected classical music composer, incidentally the son of Wojciech, the former editor-in-chief of 'EW'. However, the newcomer's sounds did not catch the ear of the lyricists, let alone Polomski. Another musician, Jacek Szczygieł, was asked to help. The latter lived up to expectations. This is the genesis of the hit, after which people started calling Połomski the Polish Tom Jones, who was then triumphing worldwide with the hit 'Delilah'.

Royalties from media and pub playback of 'When Love Departs'/'Love Never Returns' have significantly enriched the accounts of the performer and creators. Except that Martula could not use them. For he was sent to... prison.

It was like this: in the spring of 1968, the Security Service took Prutkowski under its microscope because, as its report stated, "he maintains contacts with writers with pro-Israeli views. He collaborated with his brother Mieczysław Martula on the publication of the book I Won with Hitler, written by his other brother, Marian Rogowski, who was in West Germany. The book is biased and anti-Polish in its tone". Although the book was never published and Prutkowski deemed it unsuitable for publication, the secret police searched him, confiscating his diary, Polish books published abroad, his collection of harmonicas and his FN 6.35-calibre pistol with ammunition.

Rogowski's literary aspirations, however, were most severely paid for by Martula, who was accused of distributing the typescript. What's more, he offered to print the book in episodes in the pages of the Express Wieczorny! As a result, he lost his job, was expelled from the Communist Party and even spent several months in a jail cell. Having regained his freedom, he was given a one-way passport with an order to leave Poland immediately. He settled in the Federal Republic of Germany. During the Solidarity carnival, he visited Warsaw, arriving for his brother's funeral. He took the opportunity to thank the song's co-writers and performer for behaving decently during his interrogation by the Security Service, refusing to accuse him of anti-Polonism, as they had been urged to do.

Coming out

Other hits by Połomski also have original turns of fate. "You Came to Me Like a Song" ("Przyszłaś do mnie jak piosenka") was originally addressed to Mieczysław Wojnicki, but the recording interfered with rehearsals for the premiere of an operetta of which Wojnicki had been the star for decades. So the impatient creators, probably seeing in the work a considerable earning potential, decided to find another singer. Having listened to musician Piotr Figl and familiarised himself with the lyrics by Janusz Kondratowicz and Zbigniew Zapert, Połomski agreed to sing. Which, for everyone - except Wojnicki, of course - turned out to be an extremely lucrative decision.

However, Połomski's intuition failed him at the beginning of the 1970s, when Włodzimierz Nahorny and Jonasz Kofta were looking for a performer for their work titled 'Jej portret' [Her Portrait]. As a result, it became a showpiece for Bogusław Mec, otherwise a trained visual artist, which corresponded with the poetic text.

On the other hand, another hit by Połomski - My darling, my quiet, my lovely (Moja miła, moja cicha, moja śliczna) - depicted the love of its authors: Ireneusz Iredyński (words) and Alina Piechowska (music). However, the fiery feeling did not stand the test of time, contrary to the song.

The artist, who died on 14 November, was involved in numerous social and charitable causes. He spoke openly about his faith in God and his battle with depression. However, unlike most of today's stage performers, he camouflaged his private life. He never started a family. And the only coming out he decided to do was about his hairstyle. He first covered his baldness with a hairpiece, then with a wig.

Four years ago, he was diagnosed with hearing impairment, which caused him to suspend his artistic work. In 2021, he moved from his flat in Warsaw's Mokotow district to the House of Veteran Artists of the Polish Scenes in Skolimow, near Warsaw. He died in one of the capital's hospitals.

If there is a mountain, you have to climb it.
If water - swim.
If suffering - then bear it silently.
If a person - do not pass

- he sang in - as he emphasised - his most important song 'The Code' (Kodeks) (lyrics by Adam Kreczmar, music by Włodzimierz Korcz).

– Tomasz Zbigniew Zapert
-Translated by Tomasz Krzyżanowski

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists

Bibliography;

Jan Wojewódka " Me, Janko the risk-taker" ("Ja, Janko ryzykant").br> Dariusz Michalski "A song will remind you", "To whom a song" "Behind the scenes of a hit", "With a song through the world"
Aleksandra Szarłat "SPATiF. The Seductive Semblance of Freedom"
Ryszard Wolański "Lexicon of Polish popular music"
. Zbigniew Adrjański "Stage kaleidoscope"
Lucjan Kydrynski "Life among the stars"
. Ludwik Sempoliński "The Second Half of Life".
I would like to thank Karolina Miklewska for her help in preparing the text.