Eduard Khil, Mr. Trololo, Dead At 77

Mr. Trololo has passed away. The famous Soviet singer, Eduard Khil, had a stroke in early April and suffered severe brain damage. He passed away at the age of 77 in St. Petersburg.

Khil was a popular singer in the 1970s but it wasn’t until an old video of his popped up on the internet that he became global sensation Mr. Trololo. According to the NY Daily News, Khil is singing “I Am Glad, ‘Cause I’m Finally Returning Back Home” in the now famous (more than 12 million views) video. Due to cold war tensions, Khil sang the song without lyrics, which gave it that viral quality.

Khil told RT:

“(The lack of lyrics is) why it has such a rich orchestral arrangement… I think that’s been the secret of its success…. I love it… People [are] doing parodies, having fun. It unites them.”

Khil may be best known as Mr. Trololo to the current generation, but he had a very successful singing career in his own right. Born in Smolensk in 1934, Khil started performing in 1962 and won an International Youth Festival in Berlin in 1973. Khil then brought his musical act around the world. Khil continued performing into his 70s and was Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

Here’s a video of Mr. Trololo.