Maria Koterbska (13 July 1924 – 18 January 2021) was a Polish singer who was particularly popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Her biggest hits include Augustowskie noce, Brzydula i rudzielec, Karuzela, Parasolki, Serduszko puka w rytmie cza cza, Wrocławska piosenka, and Do grającej szafy grosik wrzuć. Career She made her debut on New Year's Eve 1949. In the 1950s, she became a regular guest on the Sunday broadcast of Radio Katowices Melodie świata broadcast, which became the most popular by her performances. In the mid-50s, she appeared at the Satirical Theatre in Kraków. These two years in the theater performances were of great importance for the development of her career, helping to change her repertoire - from jazz to theatre songs- which required a slightly different handling of the voice. From this period on, she remained extremely popular with the song Wio koniku. Most of the recordings from this period were destroyed, but their footprint can be found in Wiązance przebojów z lat pięćdziesiątych in November 1967, the creation of which helped launch the careers of Wojciech Młynarski and Tomasz Śpiewak. Her success can be attributed to the composer and arranger Jerzy Harald, who composed, among others, the song "Brzydula i rudzielec". Starting from 1956, Koterbska worked with Kabaret Wagabunda. Through all the years of existence in all programs, she was their first star, with cabaret concerts in Europe, and also for the Polish community in the United States. From this period they have recorded cabarets such as "Bajka amurska", "Jesteś tu", "Piosenka o walcu domino" and many others, performing with other artists such as Lidia Wysocka, Jacek Fedorowicz, Mieczysław Wojnicki, Bogumił Kobiela, and Mieczysław Czechowicz. The arranger and musical director of the band, with which Maria Koterbska sang, was initially Wiktor Kolankowski and later Tomasz Spiewak, with whom the partnership lasted the longest. In between performances with Wagabunda, she participated in the events, entertainers, domestic and foreign. She sang in the "Zgaduj zgadula", "Podwieczorek przy mikrofonie", and many other broadcasts. In 1961, she toured the Soviet Union. The artistic ensemble, under the direction of Kazimierz Rudzki, was the first Polish band to appear before the Soviet audience. Koterbska was well received. In 1963, she was invited to participate in the Sopot Festival. She sang with Marek Sart to the words of Jerzy Miller's Odejdź smutku and earned second place. The performance in Sopot was a surprise for many,