April 30, 2008
It’s May Day! Glory to Čikāgas piecīši!
If you tune in to Latvijas Radio 2 on May 1 and hear lots of songs by Čikāgas piecīši, there’s good reason. The Chicago-based group’s front man, Alberts Legzdiņš, is turning 75. To celebrate, according to on-air announcements, the all-Latvian music program of the state radio service is putting a lot of Piecīši songs in the day’s rotation.
It’s probably also convenient for the staff of the LR2, because May 1 begins a long weekend in Latvia. (May 1 is Labor Day and also marks the day when Latvia’s constitutional assembly convened in 1920. May 2 is a free day, while May 3-4 is the weekend. And May 5 is day in 1990 when Latvia’s Supreme Soviet reinstated the country’s independence.)
Čikāgas piecīši was founded in 1961. For more on the group, read Egils Kaljo’s feature story.
Andris Straumanis is editor of Latvians Online.
The article may be found online at http://latviansonline.com/index.php/music/article/4071/
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