Ever since a young age, Gott was interested in art - he applied for studies of graphic arts, but he was not accepted and started studying to become an electrician. During this time he focused on music, and then went to the conservatory, where he studied both popular style and opera singing. Classical training gave his voice resonance, great range, and the ability to sing considerably difficult passages with ease.
In 1968, Gott asked his friends, composer Karel Svoboda and lyricist Jiří Štaidl, to write him a song that he could compete with at the Rio de Janeiro festival. They bought a liter of Myslivec, and suddenly Štaidl said the two words: Lady Carneval. Svoboda sat down at the piano, and within ten minutes, they had a song. And not just any song! It became one of Gott's signature songs, and was translated into 36 different languages.