# Do you remember Zamfir? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510 "2026-08-23T18:23:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/21 "2026-08-23T21:07:58Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Well, in Germany he had, all those busking Peruvian bands in German streets that _always_ had a pan flutist. Thankless heroes. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iMfcxUjYQ7Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Randy is So Startled - SOUTH PARK") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMfcxUjYQ7Q) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/22 "2026-08-23T21:13:46Z")
It was _periwinkle and bronze_, damnit! ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/23 "2026-08-23T21:25:45Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Well, in Germany he had, all those busking Peruvian bands in German streets that _always_ had a pan flutist. And in comparison, most of them didn’t play any worse than Gheorge Zamfir. There was one in Prague, and I remember enjoying them quite thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/24 "2026-08-23T21:28:09Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Well, in Germany he had, all those busking Peruvian bands in German streets that _always_ had a pan flutist. And in comparison, most of them didn’t play any worse than Gheorge Zamfir. We had them in the US as well. I kinda hated that sound. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/25 "2026-08-23T21:33:34Z")
Old cartoon: “If Kenny G and Michael Bolton had a fight to the death, who would win?” “All of us.” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/26 "2026-08-23T21:34:35Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Canada had “The Magic of Frank Mills”. The same Frank Mills in Hair? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/27 "2026-08-23T21:36:29Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > “If Kenny G and Michael Bolton had a fight to the death, who would win?” > “All of us.” I love that joke. 😂 ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/28 "2026-08-23T21:37:06Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > The same Frank Mills in Hair? I met a boy called Frank Mills On September 12th right here, in front of the Waverly But unfortunately I lost his address. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/29 "2026-08-23T21:39:11Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > We had them in the US as well. I kinda hated that sound. Those Peruvian bands were so ubiquitous in Germany in the 70s and 80s that they became a trope and the butt of jokes. And half of their repertoire always was “El Condor Pasa”, a song I’ve always hated to death. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/30 "2026-08-23T21:42:41Z")
A pan flutist seems to be a staple of street fairs, art festivals, flea markets, etc., around here. In fairness, we have a lot of Peruvian immigrants / refugees. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/31 "2026-08-23T21:45:36Z")
Zamfir, however, is Romanian and plays a Romanian instrument called a “nai.” “No, nai, never!” I say. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/32 "2026-08-23T21:45:36Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I met a boy called Frank Mills > On September 12th right here, in front of the Waverly My brother got married in September 12 just because of that song. It played during the wedding along with some Beatles tunes. I was really into Hair and almost tried out for the Detroit production. Probably just as well The Detroit production’s tour was the source for all those stories of drugs. And a member of our own Straight Dope was in that company so I suppose I saw her naked but that was long before I knew her name so I don’t remember it. She did send me a photo of her in the play and I still have it. She was lovely. I would have to look at the playbill to see who she played but she had a solo. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/9mhMKFB.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/V9o89Kr) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/33 "2026-08-23T22:05:10Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Old cartoon: > “If Kenny G and Michael Bolton had a fight to the death, who would win?” > “All of us.” I kinda had the vague impression that Kenny G wasn’t popular with the cool kids. I was never a huge fan but I will say unreservedly that “Miracles: The Holiday Album” was a beautiful piece of music. As I said before, it holds tremendous sentimental value for me, but aside from that, objectively it’s a way to listen to seasonal music at Christmas without necessarily subjecting oneself to the saccharine sounds of the eternally repeating usual stuff. It is, in short, a sort of jazzified, more sophisticated and less maudlin form of Christmas music that still retains the traditional spirit. Other than that, I have no opinions one way or the other about Kenny G. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/34 "2026-08-23T22:18:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Yes, a guy I was going with in the early 80s gave me a couple of his cassettes. Did Zamfir lead to a breakup? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/35 "2026-08-23T22:18:46Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > The same Frank Mills in Hair? The first time I heard that song, I thought “The guy who wrote Music Box Dancer is a Hell’s Angel?” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan\_myers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@aruvqan\_myers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan_myers)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/36 "2026-08-23T22:27:59Z")
Best of Roy Orbison springs to mind as well. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/37 "2026-08-23T23:25:57Z")
This Christmas I will check this out, based on your thoughtful recommendation ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/38 "2026-08-24T00:09:57Z")
The most meaningful XMas song of all time is this one. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1DTwLqR071M/hqdefault.jpg "Twelve Days of Christmas performed by Bob and Doug McKenzie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DTwLqR071M) As Americans we loved it. I’m not sure whether Canadians consider it over the top or genuine, but it is heartfelt. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/39 "2026-08-24T00:28:52Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > We had them in the US as well. And I remember seeing them in Moscow and Riga. It seemed they were bloody everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510/40 "2026-08-24T00:35:04Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > The first time I heard that song, I thought “The guy who wrote Music Box Dancer is a Hell’s Angel?” I remember it being on the radio at least once an hour, every bloody hour _ad nausem_, in the winter/spring of 1979! 🤢 🤮 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-zamfir/1032510.md?page=3)