Born on April 12, 1944, in Kroměříž, he spent his childhood and youth in Nový Jičín. A Czechoslovak singer-songwriter, poet, and composer, he collaborated with Radio Free Europe while in exile and became a symbol of rebellious youth, not only in 1968. He became a national treasure especially for his chansons, which poetically yet emphatically expressed the disillusionment and deep depression caused by the occupation of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.