Anna Jantar

Polish singer (1950–1980)

Anna Jantar Kukulska (born Anna Maria Szmeterling; 10 June 1950 – 14 March 1980) was a Polish Hungarian singer and the mother of singer Natalia Kukulska. She is considered an icon of Polish pop music, and also one of the popular and famous Polish singers of the 1970s.

Jantar was born in Poznań on 10 June 1950, one of two children born to Hungarian Józef Szmeterling (1925–1997) and Halina, née Surmacewicz (1924–2016). On 1 July 1950, she was baptized at the Church of Holy Saviour in Poznań, receiving the names Anna Maria. From an early age, showed a talent for singing. For almost three years, she attended a music kindergarten at the State Higher School of Music, where she studied piano. At the age of fourteen, she was invited by Piotr Kuźniak to join the big beat music group Szafir. She attended Adam Mickiewicz High School in Poznań, from 1965 to 1969 and Secondary Music School in Poznań. In 1969, she passed the exam at the State Theatre school in Warsaw, but was not accepted due to priority given to students from working class and rural families.

Jantar began her artistic career in 1968 as Anna Szmeterling. Initially, she performed in Poznań student clubs and the Student Theater Nurt in Winogrady, as an accompanist and later also as a vocalist. On 16 December 1968, she collaborated with the band Polne Kwiaty and recorded the song Po ten serce Czerwony on the Poznań radio. In January 1969, she performed at the Student Song Festival in Kraków, which is prestigious artistic environment, where she received a distinction for her performance. A year later she became the lead vocalist of the band Waganci. Her best known song from this period is Co ja w tobie widziałam ("What did I see in you"). Jarosław Kukulski, whom she married on 11 April 1971, was also a member of the group and composed many of her hit songs. The group cooperated with the Czerwono Czarni band during a joint concert tour. She appeared in the musical comedy Milion za Laurę ("Million for Laura"), which was directed by Hieronim Przybył, while performing the song Czujna straż ("Vigilant Guard") with the band Wagantami. In 1972, she passed the examination before the Verification Commission of the Ministry of Culture and Arts, obtaining the title of a professional singer and assumed the artistic pseudonym: 'Anna Jantar', thus
beginning her solo career. She performed in a stage program together with singer Andrzej Frajndt with a script provided by Janusz Weiss. In 1973, she took part in the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole with the song Najtrudniejszy pierwszy krok ("The first step is the hardest"). Later, she launched many other hits, including Staruszek świat ("Old Man World"), Za każdy uśmiech ("For Every Smile"), Tyle słońca w całym mieście ('So Much Sun in the Whole City'), Moje jedyne marzenie ('My Only Dream') and many more, which made her one of the most popular Polish singers of the 1970s. Jantar collaborated with many Polish artists, including with Stanisław Sojka, Bogusław Mec, Zbigniew Hołdys and Andrzej Tenard. She also recorded songs with Budka Suflera and the band Perfect. She performed at concerts in countries such as Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, East Germany, West Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Soviet Union, Sweden, the United States and Yugoslavia. In 1979, Jantar was awarded the honorary badge Meritorious Activist of Culture. The last TV program she participated was a children's program titled Zamiast słuchać bajek ("Instead of Listening to Fairy Tales"), which was filmed in Wałbrzych.

On 27 December 1979, Jantar flew to the United States. In January and February 1980, she played concerts at the Polish American community clubs in Chicago and New Jersey. On 12 March, she performed her last concert at the Zodiac club in New Jersey. During one of her last performances, she said to the audience:
Good evening, welcome to you very cordially. I greet all the children who have come today ( ). Ladies and Gentlemen, hello and, unfortunately, I am sorry to say goodbye. Because I am singing today for the last time ( ) for you and I am very happy and at the same time a bit sad about it. I will sing a few songs from my repertoire for you. They will be older, newer Of course, there will be some complete novelties. And I'll start with a song that I have a special fondness for, as it reminds me of the beginnings of my stage work. A song with a beautiful title, which can also be a recipe for happiness Żeby szczęśliwym być ("To be happy"). On 14 March 1980, Jantar was returning to Warsaw from New York by LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007, when the plane crashed near Okęcie Airport in Warsaw due to uncontained engine failure. Jantar along with the other 86 passengers and crew (the United States national boxing team among others) were killed in the crash. After her death, the forensic doctor who conducted her autopsy handed over to her mother Halina a rosary, which she was holding in her clenched hand during the crash. On 25 March, her funeral ceremony took place, with the participation of approximately 40,000 people at Wawrzyszewski Cemetery in Warsaw. Actor Daniel Olbrychski eulogized her at the funeral. When her husband Jarosław Kukulski died on 10 September 2010, he was buried next to her at the Wawrzyszewski Cemetery.

After the death of Jantar, Polish group Budka Suflera dedicated their song "Słońca jakby mniej" for Jantar. Krzysztof Krawczyk dedicated his song "To co dał nam świat" to Jantar. Anna Jantar “Burstyn" Music Club was founded by Agata Materowicz and Zbigniew Rostkowski. Shortly that Club had more than 1600 members in Poland. In 1984, Agata Materowicz, Zbigniew Rostkowski, and Roman Woszczek organized the exhibition Anna Jantar First Step Last Step” at the Students Club „Stodola” – Warsaw. Jarosław Kukulski and Natalia opened the exhibition, and songs were performed by Eleni Tzoka and Halina Frackowiak. The collection included photos, her personal mementos, letters from her Fans, dresses and costumes, awards, long play records etc. From Warsaw, the exhibition moved to Poznań, Łódź and Lublin. In Wrzesnia, the local amphitheater is named after Anna Jantar. The mural dedicated to Jantar was unveiled in Opole last September 3, 2020 and was made by her daughter Natalia Kukulska.