1974
This
was the saddest year in the history of the Slak ensemble. In this
year, the tenor in the Fantje s Praprotna vocal group, Jože Šifrar,
was killed in an automobile accident. In honor of their fellow
musician and beloved friend, the ensemble released a new album,
entitled "Glas njegov v spomin" (Memories of his voice).
Jože was replaced in the ensemble with a well known singer of
folk melodies, a man from Jesenice, Franci (Frank) Rebernik.
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1975
After a several month absence from public performances, the Lojze
Slak ensemble played two sold out concerts in the Tivoli concert
hall, commemorating their 10th anniversary, and appearing for
the first time with new vocalist Franci Rebernik. For their jubilee,
they released their first double album, entitled "Deset veselih
let" (Ten Happy Years). They also received Golden Record
awards from both the Jugoton and Helidon labels, as well as numerous
other awards, recognizing their success and impact on the Slovenian
musical scene.
In May and June of that same year, they went on another tour to
North America, with stops in both the USA and Canada. In Cleveland,
they played in "Front Row", a newly constructed concert
amphitheatre, which was completely sold out a month before the
concert.
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1976
Lojze and his boys concluded their jubilee year celebrations with
a series of concerts in their homeland. They released two new
singles, "Zadnja noc v letu" (Last night in the year),
and "Šoferska" (The driver's), while at the same time
making preparations for the second double album. They also made
numerous appearances for various charitable organizations. They
received special recognition from the Paraplegic Association of
Slovenia, for the support and assistance provided to them over
the past number of years.
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1977
The Lojze Slak ensemble had by this time played over 1000 concerts,
shows, and other live appearances, including dances and banquets.
The magazine Stop awarded Lojze Slak the title of "Krošno
popularnosti" (Crown of popularity) , the studio ZKP awarded
them another "Gold Cassette", while the ensemble released
another album, entitled "Mavrica" (Rainbow).
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1978
At the beginning of the year, a new double album was released,
entitled "Popotnik" (Traveler). At the end of that same
year, another double album "Postojnska Jama" (Postojnska
cave) was released. The Slak ensemble was once again the recipient
of the popularity award from Stop, and once again, received special
recognition from the publishing house RTV, in Ljubljana.
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1979
In
their 15th year, the Slak ensemble played to two sold out, jam
packed concerts in the Tivoli concert hall, in Ljubljana, where
once again, special recognition was bestowed upon them by the
recording studios Helidon, with another Golden Record, and the
publishers ZKP, with another Golden Cassette. Another album
was released "Na vseh straneh sveta" (On all sides
of the earth). There was also another special recognition provided
by the Slovenian Paraplegic Association.
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1980
The Lojze Slak Ensemble went on their third North American tour.
In Cleveland, they were special guests at the international folklore
festival. The festival was sponsored by the city of Cleveland,
and Lojze Slak was awarded the "Key to the City", and
declared an honorary citizen.
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1981
The ensemble accepted an invite from the gramophone recording
studios WM in Innsbruck and recorded two LPs. At the same time,
they embarked on a tour of Austria, for their German speaking
fans. At the Helidon recording studios, they released another
album, entitled "Od sanjave Mure do modrega morja" (From
the dreamy Mura to the blue sea).
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1982
In April of this year, the Lojze Slak Ensemble was presented with
eight golden records from the Helidon studios, for their inspiring
sales of their original albums over the past years. This was topped
off with yet another record entitled "Desetkrat Zlati"
(Ten times golden). At the WM studios in Innsbruck, another Slak
record was released for their German speaking fans. The minister
of trade for Austria and Germany arranged for a special performance
of the Lojze Slak Ensemble on the program "Musikantenstadl",
led by Karl Moick.
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1983
The Slak musicians were featured on many Austrian television programs,
and with Karl Moick, embarked on two tours of the northern neighboring
country of Austria. Back at home, they made preparations for new
releases to coincide with their next jubilee celebrations, with
which they would commemorate 20 years of performing.
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