Ivan Král

Who is Ivan Král?

Ivan Král is a Grammy Award-winning, Czech-born American composer, filmmaker, record producer and singer. He works across many genres including punk, rock, jazz, soul, country and film scores. His songs have been recorded by such artists as Téléphone, Blondie, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Simple Minds, U2, Mick Ronson, and John Waite, among others.

Between 1975–1979, he was member of Patti Smith Group; he recorded four albums with her: Horses, Radio Ethiopia, Easter and Wave. Subsequently, he was a member of John Cale backing band and in early 80s, he recorded two albums with Iggy Pop: Soldier and Party. He was co-writer of many Patti Smith and Iggy Pop songs, including Smith's "Ask the Angels", "Pissing in a River" and her big hit "Dancing Barefoot". He is co-writer of Iggy Pop's song "Bang Bang" which is later covered by David Bowie. As producer, he worked with The Vipers and with Czech bands such as Garage, Lucie and Mňága a Žďorp. He also released many solo albums.