Aleksander Wertinski z akomp. orkiestry (with Orchestra) -- Dorogoi dlinnoyu (Down the Endless Road) Romans (A.Wertinski), Syrena-Electro 1932 (Polish pressing)NOTE: Aleksander Wertinsky is the king of the 20th century Russian romance. Ofcourse, many will argue, who was greater: Wertinsky or Pyotr Leshchenko, another bard of the Russian song. Leaving this question unanswered let us however remember, that while Leshchenko certainly was a great performer of that unique Russian-style ballade, Wertinsky was also a poet. And he was a VERY GOOD Russian poet and for sure, some of his lines will remain in the history of the Russian verse: "our hearts... - wornout like a pair of gloves", "and two swallows /like two high school girls /are leading me to the concert...", "From the stage I'm throwing you my heart / like a little ball /go ahead and catch it, Madame Irene..."After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, Vertinsky left Russia and settled in Pari, gaining as singer international recognition. Unfortunately - that Russian dandy, whose cosmopolitan elegance and refinement incorporated the lost-forever glory of the upper-class style in pre-revolutionary Russia, was also a cocain-addict and quite early he was recruited by the Bolshevik special services, which operated in the circles of the emigree White Russians in Western Europe. After two decades of enormous success in West European capital cities, in USA and in Asia, Wertinsky suddenly unmasked himself, accepting in 1942 the Soviet passport and emigrating to the Soviet Union. As the distinguished communist agent, he was of course very well received and he died in Leningrad in 1957, after years of successful concerts, applause, recordings, and having given birth to two daughters, both actresses too.In Poland, Wertinsky was so popular, that Syrena-Electro purchased license to several recordings Vertinsky made for Columbia, Parlophon and Odeon, and published the extra Vertinsky-series, with the burgundy-wine colour label.The song "Dorogi dlinnoyu" was one of Wertinsky's greatest hits. The career of that song extended to the 1970s, through the British pop-song entitled "Those Were The Days" which was sung by the British singer Mary Hopkin and after recording it in 1968, became the world-hit. However, for everybody familiar with the Wertinsky's romance "Dorogoi dlinnoyou" it was obvious, the composer of "Those Were The Days" Gene Raskin made plagiarism, almost ideally copying the Wertinsky's tune into his own and not mentioning its true origins on the public performances http://youtu.be/gVdOQvx379YIn 1965, Paul McCartney saw Raskin and his wife perform this in a London club. McCartney remembered the performance 3 years later, when The Beatles formed Apple Records. In 1968, British model Twiggy telephoned McCartney about a singer who performed on the UK TV program Opportunity Knocks. Three-time winner Mary Hopkin was a 17-year-old from Wales who had people talking about her performances. McCartney returned to London and auditioned Hopkin. He was impressed by her voice and recommended that she records "an American folk song" that he heard a few years earlier, "Those Were the Days."The single was released simultaneously with the Beatles' "Hey Jude." While "Hey Jude" was #1 for nine weeks in the US, "Those Were the Days" was #2 for four of them and knocked the Beatles out of #1 in the UK charts.