Emil Dimitrov

Dimitrov was an extremely prolific artist, with 400 songs in his repertoire, and 280 of them being of his own composition; he released 30 albums in his lifetime. He was born the son of the Bulgarian illusionist Fakira Miti and his French assistant. He went to study at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia. His career began in 1962, with the premier of his song Arlekino; it won third place at the Sopot International Song Festival that year, and turned him into a star overnight. In 1970 he was signed to the French record company EMI Pathé-Marconi, which released his first French-language single "L'amour c'est toi". His song Monica (known in Bulgarian as "Моя страна, моя България" ('My country, my Bulgaria') sold out with a circulation of over 500,000 copies in Germany and 100,000 copies in Belgium, although, it was initially banned by Bulgarian communist censors for "bourgeois influence". In the modern day, it is considered to be an unofficial national hymn in Bulgaria. According to the American magazine Billboard Emil Dimitrov sold over 40 million copies of his albums in Eastern Europe and the USSR. He died on 30 March 2005, at 64 years of age.

• Name — Emil Dimitrov • Native Name — Емил Димитров • Background — person • Born — 23 December 1940 • Birthplace — Pleven, Kingdom of Bulgaria • Died — 30 March 2005 • Place of death — Sofia, Bulgaria • Genre — * Pop • Chanson • Occupation — singer • Instrument — * Accordion • Piano • Years Active — 1960–1999 • Label — Balkanton, Electrecord (Romania) EMI Pathé-Marconi (France) Riva Saund Milena Records Riviera (France) Accord (USSR) Veriton (Poland) Melodiya (USSR) Grafonola (Türkiye) Odeon (Mexico) Ariola (Germany) Polskie Nagrania Muza (Poland) • Spouse — Greta Gancheva (married 1967–1968) Marieta Dimitrova (married 1968–1991, 2000)