Boris Fomin | |
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Борис Фомин | |
Born | Boris Ivanovich Fomin 12 April 1900 |
Died | 25 October 1948 | (aged 48)
Occupations |
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Years active | 1922–1946 |
Boris Ivanovich Fomin (Russian: Бори́с Ива́нович Фоми́н, IPA: [bɐˈrʲis ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ fɐˈmʲin]; 12 April 1900 – 25 October 1948) was a Russian and Soviet musician and composer who specialized in the Russian romance.
Several of Fomin's songs became popular in 1920s, most notably "Dorogoi dlinnoyu" ("Дорогой длинною", "By the long road"), commonly known for its English version "Those Were the Days", made world-famous in 1968 by Mary Hopkin and credited to Eugene Raskin, who in 1962 wrote the English lyrics for the tune and claimed the song for his own. It was composed by Boris Fomin in 1924, first interpreted and recorded by Tamara Tsereteli (1925) and Alexander Vertinsky (1926); it was the latter who popularized it abroad.[1][2][3]