Music / Film & TV
Ivan Král
1948–2020 · guitarist, bassist, songwriter, producer, filmmaker
Prague-born guitarist of the Patti Smith Group and Iggy Pop, co-writer of “Dancing Barefoot,” who spent his final years recording in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
- Born
Prague, Czechoslovakia- Died
Ann Arbor, Michigan
aged 71- Also known as
- Ivan Kral
- Detroit years
- 2000s–2020
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ivan Král came to New York from Prague as a teenager and stayed on after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. He played in the city's early punk scene, filmed it in The Blank Generation, and in 1975 joined the Patti Smith Group, co-writing songs such as “Dancing Barefoot” before recording and touring with Iggy Pop. After communism fell he moved back to Prague in 1993 and became a leading producer for Czech rock bands, winning several national music awards. His Michigan chapter came late in life. Patti Smith, then living in the Detroit area, recorded a poem for his 1995 album Nostalgia at 54 Sound, and he later settled in Ann Arbor, where he worked from a home studio. His 2014 album Always was recorded at Funky D Studios in Detroit, and his last records were also made in Michigan. He died of cancer in Ann Arbor in February 2020.
Highlights
- Patti Smith Group guitarist and bassist from 1975
- Co-wrote “Dancing Barefoot” with Patti Smith
- Directed the punk documentary The Blank Generation (1976)
- Award-winning producer of Czech rock after 1993
- Recorded Always (2014) at Funky D Studios in Detroit