Roberti Bardzimashvili (1934–2003) was a very famous Georgian musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, creative director, and guitarist of Orera. Formed in 1958, Orera became a Soviet sensation on the scale of Beatlemania

Beatlemania

Beatlemania is a term that originated during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success...

. It also launched the careers of mega stars actor/singer Vakhtang Kikabidze

Vakhtang Kikabidze

Vakhtang "Buba" Kikabidze is a Georgian and Soviet singer, actor, screenwriter, producer, and composer. He performed in a number of films, among them the main role of a helicopter pilot in the iconic Soviet film Mimino....

 and Nani Bregvadze.

In 1975, Bardzimashvili left Orera to form one of the first Soviet rock bands. Jimi Hendrix and other classic rock contemporaries heavily influenced the music of Via-75, and the group enjoyed tremendous popularity throughout the Soviet Union as one of the first and officially sanctioned rock bands in the country.

In the post-soviet years, Bardzimashvili headed the Tbilisi Opera. More recently, he established a music school for children, the Lakhti Studio. Bardzimashvili was awarded the highest official honor of the National Artist of the Georgian SSR, and in 2000 Orera received a star on the Plozhad Zvezd in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russian's equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

. Robert Bardzimashvili died in 2003, and is survived by his grandson, Steven Bardi, who lives in New York.