Began as opera baritone in Baku (now Azerbaijan); after the marriage
with Tamara Sinyavskaya went to the Bolshoy Theater in Moscow and then became a
concert singer, often in duet with Tamara Sinyavskaya.
Performed about 1963 the first and most popular Soviet twists "Koroleva
krasoty" and "Shagayet solntse po bulvaram" with the music and lyrics
by Anatoliy Gorokhov.
In 1975, he became the artistic director of Azerbaijan's State Bandstand-Symphonic Orchestra, which gave concerts in Iran, France, and Canada.
He started out as an opera singer, but became much more successful after switching to pop music. He received many state awards.