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Frank Farian’s deep, spoken-word verses provide a serious, storytelling contrast to the high-energy chorus sung by Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett.

The iconic high-pitched melody at the start mimics a balalaika , instantly setting a Slavic tone.

The song is famous for its unique blend of Euro-disco beats and traditional Russian musical influences.

The "Ra-Ra-Rasputin" chant utilizes a traditional folk rhythm, making it catchy and memorable across cultures. 📜 Fact vs. Fiction

Upon its release, the song was temporarily banned in the Soviet Union due to its portrayal of the Imperial family, though the band was still allowed to perform in Moscow in 1978. Breakdown the exact historical inaccuracies verse-by-verse. Compare it to other historical disco hits from that era. Provide a musical analysis of the rhythm and key changes. What part of the "Rasputin" story interests you most?

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Boney M. - Rasputin (audio) May 2026

Frank Farian’s deep, spoken-word verses provide a serious, storytelling contrast to the high-energy chorus sung by Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett.

The iconic high-pitched melody at the start mimics a balalaika , instantly setting a Slavic tone. Boney M. - Rasputin (Audio)

The song is famous for its unique blend of Euro-disco beats and traditional Russian musical influences. Frank Farian’s deep, spoken-word verses provide a serious,

The "Ra-Ra-Rasputin" chant utilizes a traditional folk rhythm, making it catchy and memorable across cultures. 📜 Fact vs. Fiction Breakdown the exact historical inaccuracies verse-by-verse

Upon its release, the song was temporarily banned in the Soviet Union due to its portrayal of the Imperial family, though the band was still allowed to perform in Moscow in 1978. Breakdown the exact historical inaccuracies verse-by-verse. Compare it to other historical disco hits from that era. Provide a musical analysis of the rhythm and key changes. What part of the "Rasputin" story interests you most?

Jonathan Butler: The Simple Life

Jonathan Butler’s optimistic music belies a dirt-poor childhood growing up in a South Africa segregated by apartheid. Live in South Africa, a new CD and DVD package, presents a sense of the resulting inner turmoil, mixed with dogged resolve, that paved the way to his status as an icon in his country and successful musician outside of it. Looking back, the 46-year-old Butler says today, the driving forces that led to his overcoming apartheid-the formal policy of racial separation and economic discrimination finally dismantled in 1993-were family, faith and abundant talent.

“When we were kids, our parents never talked about the ANC [African National Congress] or Nelson Mandela,” he says. Butler was raised as the youngest child in a large family. They lived in a house patched together by corrugated tin and cardboard, in the “coloreds only” township of Athlone near Cape Town. “They never talked about struggles so we never knew what was happening.”

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Scott LaFaro

Previously unavailable recordings and a new bio illuminate the legend of bassist Scott LaFaro