Stingrey Dzhoanna

Joanna Stingray (born Joanna Fields) is an American singer, actress, music producer, and public figure, one of the important figures and promoters of Soviet and post-Soviet rock culture in the West, whose contribution is difficult to overestimate.

She was born on July 3, 1960, in Los Angeles into the family of a multimillionaire who owned a large land and real estate trading company. Joanna’s early biography gave no indication that she would become a rocker and a celebrity in a country with values opposite to those of her homeland. The girl studied at Beverly Hills High School, where she was a member of the school cheerleading team. She was seriously involved in swimming and won competitions. Music entered Fields’s life when she enrolled at the University of Southern California. Her first songs appeared there, and in 1983 the aspiring singer released her first album, Beverly Hills Brat, containing four tracks. Only the girl’s first name appeared on the cover. Joanna later adopted the Stingray pseudonym; this was how she concealed her identity from intelligence agents on both sides of the ocean.

In 1984, Joanna visited the USSR for the first time. During this trip, in Leningrad, she was captivated by Russian rock and also met Boris Grebenshchikov, who later became her friend. In the following years, she visited the USSR many times during the 1980s, lived in the country for long periods, became acquainted with many Soviet rock musicians (the bands Kino, Aquarium, Alisa, and others), and collaborated with them.

In 1986, Joanna Stingray released a landmark album, the double compilation split Red Wave, the first album in the West featuring recordings of the new Russian rock scene. The album featured four Leningrad bands: Aquarium, Kino, Alisa, and Strange Games. Stingray smuggled out the master recordings by hiding the tapes in her clothes and shoes. Soviet authorities did not forgive the American for such a defiant act, banning her from entering the country for six months. On November 2, 1987, she married Yuri Kasparyan, guitarist of the band Kino, whom she later divorced. In 1996, together with Aleksandr Lipnitsky, she created a documentary about Viktor Tsoi, Sunny Days.