Gennady Igorevich Gladkov was born on February, 18th, 1935 in Moscow, into the family of musicians.

His grandfather accompanied on the Saratov accordion to Lidia Ruslanova. Gennady’s father — Igor Ivanovich Gladkov — was an outstanding accordionist, bayanist, and the soloist of Alexander Tsfasman Orchestra.

Gennady started his music studies early in childhood and attended a music school.

After school, however, he entered Chemistry Polytechnic College, and upon graduation worked for some time in a Scientific Research Institute of Colourants. There he participated in organization of musicales, gradually realizing himself as a musician. At that time he organized a jazz quintet. The ensemble enjoyed a great popularity on dance floors of those years.

In 1959, after finishing Merzlyakov School, Gennady Gladkov entered the Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, majoring in composition. In 1966 he finished his postgraduate studies at the conservatory.

During his studies and till 1971 he was engaged in teaching career: from 1953 he was a teacher of Moscow Choral School; from 1966 he taught orchestration at Gnesins Music Teachers’ Training College.

When a student yet, he composed music for the Mikhail Lvovsky’s play Childhood Friend (1961) staged in Moscow theatre Sovremennik. At the same time he started to write music for popular science film, in particular Secrets of the Past (1962).

Gennady Gladkov’s entrance into the world of cinema happened, according to his own words, in many respects due to his childhood friend Vasily Livanov. It was he who involved Gladkov in work on his first animation Most, most, most, most (1966). Even earlier Gladkov had debuted as a theatrical composer in Livanov’s degree director's work at Shchukin School — the play after Three Fat Men by Yuri Olesha.

Gennady Gladkov gained all-Union popularity thanks to his work on the musical animated cartoon film The Bremen Musicians (1969).

He fruitfully co-operated with poets Yuri Entin, Yuly Kim, and Dmitri Sukharev.