Marek Grechuta

Marek Michał Grechuta (10 December 1945 – 9 October 2006) was a Polish singer, songwriter, composer, and lyricist.

Grechuta was born on 10 December 1945 in Zamość, Poland. He studied architecture at Tadeusz Kościuszko University of Technology in Kraków.

While studying at university, he met the composer Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz. Together, they founded the student cabaret Anawa in 1967. In the same year, Grechuta was placed second in the VI National Contest of Student Musicians (VI Ogólnopolski Konkurs Piosenkarzy Studenckich) and received an award for the album "Tango Anawa", with lyrics by him and music by Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz. In 1968, he won several awards at the Festival of Polish Music in Opole.

In 1969, Grechuta played a minor role in Andrzej Wajda's film Hunting Flies. In 1971, he left Anawa and founded the band WIEM (W Innej Epoce Muzycznej, In a Different Musical Era; note that wiem means I know in Polish).

Grechuta had many popular hits, often characterized by poetic and literary elements. Along with P. Birula and K. Szwajgier, he co-authored the music for Exodus (written by L. A. Moczulski) at the STU Theatre in Kraków (1974), and co-wrote the musical adaptation of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz's Szalona lokomotywa (The Crazy Locomotive) with K. Jasiński and J. K. Pawluśkiewicz in 1977.

In 2003, Grechuta collaborated with the group Myslovitz and re-recorded their older song "Kraków". His song "Dni, których nie znamy" is commonly regarded as the unofficial anthem of the football club Korona Kielce.

In 1970, Grechuta married his wife, Danuta. They had a son, Łukasz.

He died on 9 October 2006 in Kraków and was buried in the Rakowicki Cemetery.