Boris Arkadevich Davidyan (Armenian: Բորիս Դավիդյան; Russian: Борис Аркадьевич Давидян; April 28, 1949 – July 20, 2020), better known as Boka, was an Armenian singer and songwriter,[1][2][3] a well-known performer of "prison-style songs".[4] He was born in Soviet Azerbaijan to an Armenian family.
Boka | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Boris Arkadevich Davidyan |
| Born | (1949-04-28)April 28, 1949 Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | July 20, 2020(2020-07-20) (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Russian chanson |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Boris Davidyan was born on April 28, 1949 to an Armenian family in Baku. His father Arkady Vartanovich was a war veteran who worked as a foreman at a factory. Boka lost his mother very early.[5]
Since childhood he was interested in music. He graduated from a music school, then studied and received a diploma from the Tashkent Automobile and Road Institute.
In 1972, he recorded his first music album in Yerevan. During the Soviet years, he became a very popular soloist with Armenian rabiz, Caucasian, and Russian chanson lovers. In his albums, most of the songs are his own creation, although he also sang compositions by Vladimir Vysotsky and Arkady Severny. He performed his songs with a special oriental flavor. Some sources call him a "classic of chanson".[6]
In 1988, he visited USA and recorded there his new and popular album, "The Thieves' Share" (Russian: Доля воровская). The main composition of this album became a hit and was subsequently performed by many of his fellow soloists.
He was forced to leave Baku due to ethnic violence against Armenians there in December 1989. At the beginning of 1996 he lived in Yerevan. He then moved to Los Angeles.[7]
He died on July 20, 2020 in Los Angeles after a long illness of the lungs. He had a son, two daughters and five grandchildren.[8]