Od Amstronga k Bécaudovi - Legendy světové hudby v Československu / Jak nás změnily a my změnili je – Bystrov Michal (2022)

Veni, vidi... The book, which its author worked on for over ten years, is not just a reconstruction of twenty visits by legendary world musicians to Czechoslovakia between 1928 and 1989. The narrative about these (often contradictory) artists, who literally came from another reality, experienced the local reality for a moment, and had to reconcile with it internally, has a much broader social, cultural, and political significance. The alleged servant of the communist regime Paul Robeson, the misguided and later redeemed Yves Montand, the seemingly apathetic Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington towards repression, the tactically maneuvering Gilbert Bécaud, the banned Pete Seeger in America and ridiculed here for his ideals, or the demon-ridden Johnny Cash - all of them found themselves in Czech territory during tense times, while no one among the audience and critics considered their complicated personal situations. Michal Bystrov looks at these events from both sides, pondering how iconic musicians changed us (and we changed them). Based on detailed study of foreign sources, he offers a new, surprising perspective on the days when the gray Czechoslovak socialism was disrupted by the arrival of ambassadors of good music from freer, almost mythical lands.