R.I.P. Trololo Guy Eduardo Khil

When we first saw Eduardo Khil (AKA the Trololo Guy) back in 2010, we regarded the video with bemusement and weren’t even annoyed when it became widely parodied and repeated. The guy’s enthusiasm and infectious smile were simply too ingratiating to get mad about it. And man was that video everywhere, as the parodies below can attest to.

The song, “I Am So Happy To Finally Be Back Home,” was originally about cowboys, but Soviet censors forced Khil to change the lyrics before performing the song on TV. That’s how the hilarious “Trololo” song’s gibberish lyrics were born. This marks the only time Soviet censors have ever improved something.

Unfortunately, Mr. Khil was able to enjoy his resurgence in popularity for only a couple of years. He passed away this weekend in St. Peterburg at the age of 77 after having suffered a stroke late last month.

Eduard Khil was born in Smolensk in 1934. He started his music career in 1960 at the Leningrad Conservatory. He began performing in 1962 and very soon became extremely popular. In the late 1970s he commenced a lecturing career at the Leningrad Conservatory. He was later named an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Victory at an International Youth Festival in Berlin in 1973 gave him a chance to see the world, as the singer made a global tour, visiting some 80 countries.

In the 1980s Eduard Khil was one of the few Soviet people to travel to the US and Europe. […] Eduard Khil recommenced concert activity at the age of 75. Between 2010 and 2012 he wrote a song for a cartoon and was decorated with a “Steppenwolf” music award. [RT via BoingBoing]

Here is the original video of Khil singing “I Am So Happy To Finally Be Back Home” (12 million views!) along with a selection of our favorite parodies inspired by it. Khil is finally back home in heaven, you guys.

Oscar winner Christoph Waltz’s “Der Humpink”:

[via]

[via]

This parody is my all-time favorite:

[via]

[via]

[via]

×