Doris (Alexandra) Nefedov

Doris (Alexandra) Nefedov

German singer, star of German chanson
Date of Birth: 19.05.1942
Country: Germany

Content:
  1. Biography of Doris (Alexandra) Nefedova
  2. Rise to Stardom
  3. Tragic Death and Controversies
  4. Lyrical Style and Legacy

Biography of Doris (Alexandra) Nefedova

Early Life and Education

Doris Nefedova, known by her stage name Alexandra, was born as Doris Traitz on May 19, 1942 (or 1944) in Heidekrug (now Šilutė, Lithuania). Due to her early marriage, there is uncertainty about her year of birth. In 1944, her family, along with other refugees, fled Memelland before the advancing Soviet forces. They settled in Kiel, West Germany. The family faced hardships after the war, as they struggled due to the absence of their father. Nevertheless, Doris's mother managed to afford piano lessons for her. Doris, with her Slavic roots (her grandmother was Czech and her grandfather was Wendish), developed an early interest in the Russian language, as well as Slavic and Gypsy cultures. Later, she studied graphic design at the Hamburg School of Fashion and also attended the Margot Hoepfner Acting School. After completing both educational institutions, Doris abandoned her studies and embarked on a journey with Andalusian gypsies across Spain for a few months. Upon her return, she worked for a Hamburg magazine but lost her job due to her growing interest in songs and theater.

Rise to Stardom

Doris's former boss spoke highly of her to his friend, renowned producer Fred Weyrich. Three days later, Doris received an invitation from Weyrich, and after a meeting where she showcased her repertoire, she signed a contract for her first album. She adopted the name "Alexandra," the feminine form of her son's name. In 1962, she met Nikolai Nefedov, a Boston-based journalist and immigrant, at a Russian restaurant, where she practiced the language. The same year, Alexandra married Nikolai, who was 30 years older than her, but they divorced after a year. She kept her ex-husband's surname and her son's surname. After recording her album "Premiere with Alexandra," Alexandra embarked on a tour of the Soviet Union with Hazie Osterwald, primarily in the Caucasus. Upon her return, she faced her growing popularity. She received invitations to concerts, tours, and television appearances one after another. The song "Zigeunerjunge" became a hit. In December, Alexandra met famous chansonnier Gilbert Bécaud and French singing star Salvatore Adamo. This acquaintance soon turned into a close friendship. Udo Jürgens, a popular German singer of the time, soon joined this trio. Adamo was charmed by Alexandra and actively promoted her in France, where "Zigane" (the French version of "Zigeunerjunge") also topped the charts. Until Alexandra's death, she, Adamo, and Jürgens exchanged songs of their own composition and often performed together. In an interview, Adamo said of Alexandra, "She will become one of the greats!" Alexandra's success and popularity grew rapidly. Her records were released in France and Germany with high sales figures, and she almost continuously toured both countries and appeared in numerous TV shows. In 1968, she held a concert in Brazil, and the following year, she had plans for Japan, the United States, and a benefit concert at the massive Olympia in Paris. On the German music scene, everyone marveled at Alexandra's meteoric rise. No German singer had ever achieved such success abroad, and rarely within the country. A global career surely awaited a singer with such extraordinary talent as Alexandra. However, this prediction made by Adamo was never meant to come true.

Tragic Death and Controversies

In the summer of 1969, Alexandra, along with her son and mother, Vally Traitz, went on her first vacation in her own car, an old Mercedes. Near the town of Heide in Holstein, her car collided with a truck at full speed. Alexandra and her mother died on the spot, while her son survived with shock and scratches. After the funeral, her father took her son to America. Germany was in shock. No one wanted to believe that a young singer at the peak of her popularity could meet such a tragic end. However, even more shocking to Germans and French people were the facts that emerged a few months after Alexandra's death, which led to the opening of a criminal case. For example, there was a discrepancy between the police examination report and the autopsy report. While the former revealed "lethal head and chest injuries," the latter mentioned only a "minor facial injury." The photographs allegedly taken at the scene of the accident depicted a different car from the one Alexandra was driving. The truck driver she collided with has remained missing for 35 years. Despite Alexandra's testament and the wishes of her relatives, her body was cremated. On the night before the cremation, her body at the morgue was broken into. Finally, three days before her death, Alexandra had ordered her and her mother's places in the cemetery, tombstones, and had taken out a high life insurance policy. Despite multiple highly suspicious indications, the investigation reached a dead end and was discontinued after a couple of years. Only in 2004 did the "Alexandra case" unexpectedly resurface. In declassified archives of the East German State Security Service (Stasi), investigators found clear indications that a certain Pierre Laffer, to whom Alexandra had been secretly engaged for five months before her death, was actually a major American spy tasked with creating an espionage network in Denmark. Shortly after this discovery, the ARD television network officially announced the reopening of the "Alexandra case." Alexandra's popularity did not wane after her death. Her albums are still released to this day, and the last series, featuring recently discovered archival recordings, was released on Alexandra's 60th birthday in 2002. Her songs continue to be played on the radio, and there are several fan clubs dedicated to her. Television programs about her air almost every month. She is often referred to as the "German Edith Piaf," and concerts and competitions are held in her name. Alexandra's repertoire is very different from what German pop stars of that time and even today perform. It combines German musical traditions, French chanson, Russian romances, Gypsy songs, and American country music. One can loosely divide her work into two categories: pop songs and stylizations of folk songs and romances.

Lyrical Style and Legacy

In her pop songs, Alexandra's style strongly reflects the influence of French chanson of that time (not surprising, considering that many songs were co-written with Adamo or Bécaud). According to many critics, these songs are usually remarkable, rich, and poignant melodies. Particularly, the song "Was ist das Ziel?" is a rare example of a song in which both music and lyrics are equally profound. Alexandra's lyrics also possess their own uniqueness. Although most of them are relatively simple (excluding "Was ist das Ziel?"), they lack the vulgarity and banality that characterize much of pop music. Alexandra's lyrical style, her gift for "speaking in verse," can be compared to the work of Sergei Yesenin. However, she maintained a complex poetic form and used only literary language. Alexandra's distinctive voice, deep, velvety, and powerful, could wonderfully convey the melancholy and nostalgia inherent in romances and folk songs. Her voice, which critics still enthusiastically write about, was likely the main reason for the young singer's rapid ascent in the world of German pop music.

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