Zdravko Čolić
Zdravko Čolić | |
---|---|
Born | |
Other names | Čola, Zdravko, Dravco[1] |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1967–present |
Spouse |
Aleksandra Aleksić (m. 2001) |
Children | 2 |
Musical career | |
Genres |
|
Instrument(s) |
|
Labels | |
Zdravko Čolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Здравко Чолић, pronounced [zdrǎːv̞.kɔ̝ t͡ʃɔ̝̌ː.lit͡ɕ]; born 30 May 1951) is a Bosnian-Serbian[a] pop singer and is widely considered one of the greatest vocalists and cultural icons of the former Yugoslavia.[2][3] Dubbed the 'Tom Jones' of the Balkans,[4] he has garnered fame in Southeastern Europe for his emotionally expressive tenor voice, fluent stage presence and numerous critically and commercially acclaimed albums and singles.[5][failed verification]
Among his songs, "Ti si mi u krvi" (from eponymous album) is widely considered one of the most popular ballads of ex-Yugoslav music.[6]
Early life
Born in
Growing up in Sarajevo, Čolić attended the
Early career
Early years
Since the youngest age, Čolić showed an interest in music. With friend Braco Isović, he played guitar at informal and impromptu park gatherings around their neighborhood through which they became known locally as 'Čola i Isa sa Grbavice'. At the time, Čolić was trying to emulate pop
His first significant public singing experience occurred in 1967 while at the
.Encouraged by the unexpected success, soon after returning to Sarajevo, Čolić entered his first band—a group called 'Mladi i lijepi'. This participation lasted until he graduated high school in 1969 when he decided to move on to the more established Ambasadori, a band whose two incarnations Čolić would end up staying with for the next two and a half years.
Ambasadori
When Čolić joined them, Ambasadori employed an unusual setup: being essentially a military cover band as all the musicians, except for bandleader Slobodan Vujović, were Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) ranked officers. Their repertoire centered around the 1960s rhythm & blues (Chicago, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, etc.) along with obligatory Yugoslav hits of the day and years past, and finally even a few original numbers written by the bandmembers thrown into the mix. Over time, the group started getting more gig offers, which presented a problem since its army part was not available for many of them, and those offers had to be declined.
Seeing their opportunities limited by the strange situation, Vujović and Čolić decided to step out and form Novi ambasadori in 1970, bringing in drummer Perica Stojanović, organist Vlado Pravdić, saxophonist Lale Stefanović, and bassist Zlatko Hold. With the almost all-new lineup, the band also expanded its repertoire so that in addition to R&B they now also played covers of Led Zeppelin, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Creedence Clearwater Revival, etc. In the summer of 1970, Novi ambasadori scored a month-long gig with Indexi in Dubrovnik, which was their first tour-like experience.
Next step was competing at the 1971
Čolić was soon offered a "bench role" with Indexi, to fill in for their singer Davorin Popović, and even performed with them a couple of times.
Korni grupa
In the meantime, during the summer of 1971, Čolić finally met face to face with Kornelije Kovač who came to see Čolić play in Mostar and invited him to join his Korni grupa as a replacement to their departed singer Dado Topić. Unlike Amabasadori, Korni grupa performed their material and generally had a much more studious and serious approach to music, so Čolić immediately jumped at the opportunity.
On 10 September 1971, twenty-year-old Čolić left his hometown and moved to the capital
Soon, however, Čolić and Kovač agreed that it would be better for Čolić to go solo. Only six months after his arrival to Belgrade, he returned to Sarajevo determined to give his solo career a try.
Solo career
Early activity: Schlager festivals
On 15 April 1972 Čolić's first solo move was taking part in the Vaš šlager sezone competitive festival in Sarajevo. He won the third audience prize as well as the interpretation award with Kemal Monteno written song "Sinoć nisi bila tu" that was originally meant to be sung by Josipa Lisac who opted out at the last moment.
Right away, under Kovač's guidance Čolić managed to establish a fair amount of prominence as a solo act—and on 20 May 1972 the two appeared as guests on the very popular
Eurovision and more festivals
Then came the first big break that launched him on the road to stardom. By winning at the
Riding the wave of exposure the Eurovision appearance afforded him, Čolić continued entering competitive festivals throughout SFR Yugoslavia over the next two years with plenty of success. At Hit parada festival in Belgrade on 23 November 1974, he won with the song "Ona spava", composed and written by Kornelije Kovač. Next year, 1975, Čolić bagged a few more festival wins with Kovač's songs—Beogradsko proleće with "April u Beogradu", and Vaš šlager sezone with "Zvao sam je Emili". Other songs he performed at various festivals in those years were "Bling blinge blinge bling" (1973 Vaš šlager sezone, composed by Zdenko Runjić), "Ljubav je samo riječ" (1974 Beogradsko proleće, composed by Vojkan Borisavljević), and "Zelena si rijeka bila" (1974 Vaš šlager sezone, composed by Kemal Monteno).
Around the same time, he also signed a deal with the German arm of WEA record label and did two singles for that market. German producers thought that his name was too difficult to pronounce for their consumers so they marketed him as Dravco. Soon, however, Čolić decided not to pursue his options in that country further mostly because he was unwilling to move to Germany.
Debut album
His first solo album was Ti i ja (You and I), released in 1975 by Jugoton. Closely overseen by Kornelije Kovač, the album brought Čolić more hits like "Vagabund", "Igraš se vatrom", and "Loše vino" (written by Arsen Dedić and Goran Bregović). Cover sleeve was done by Dragan S. Stefanović, another collaborator who would remain with Čolić for years to come. Čolić's image especially appealed to girls and women, something that would remain a staple of his entire career. The same year, cashing in on his sudden popularity upswing, PGP RTB released a compilation of his festival singles under the name Zdravko Čolić.
Despite, achieving great prominence already, Čolić continued appearing at the occasional festival such as the Zagreb one in 1976 where he surprisingly finished in fourth place singing "Ti si bila, uvijek bila". At the end of that year, he went on a Yugoslavia-wide tour with Indexi. After the Belgrade concert, the measure of his sudden fame was on public display during autograph-signing at the Jugoton store as the cordon of girls rushed the store, breaking a window glass in an attempt to get closer to him.
The next year, 1977, he did the festival circuit for the last time, first in Zagreb with "Živiš u oblacima", followed by an appearance at the Festival of Patriotic Songs also in Zagreb, where he performed Druže Tito mi ti se kunemo . That song was soon released on a 7-inch single record and sold 300,000 copies.
Mass popularity
His second album, Ako priđeš bliže (If You Come Closer), released later that year, was even more successful, creating mass hysteria among girls for his music. The copies were extremely sought-after, as 50,000 sold in the first two weeks alone. The album contained some of his best-known and liked songs such as "Glavo luda", "Zagrli me", "Juče još", "Pjevam danju, pjevam noću", "Jedna zima sa Kristinom", and "Produži dalje".
On 1 April 1978, he started an ambitious tour of SFR Yugoslavia with Lokice Dance Group in support of the album that had already sold 150,000 copies.
Čolić also got the attention of Ziggy Loch, director of German WEA, who immediately after watching the Belgrade concert wanted to renew his contract. Singles with songs "Jedina" and "Zagrli me" were released for the German market as well as the disco single "I'm Not a Robot Man" / "Light Me". However, Čolić refused to move to Germany for the second time, and instead on 14 November 1978 went to serve his mandatory Yugoslav Army stint. Twenty-seven years of age at the time, Čolić was assigned to a unit in Valjevo, before getting transferred to Belgrade, and finally Požarevac. After serving 10 months, he got out of the military service on 14 September 1979.
1980s
Upon his return from the army, Čolić started work on his third album—which came out in the spring of 1980, entitled Zbog tebe; it brought more hits as Čola further secured his position of the most popular pop performer in Yugoslavia.
In 1984, Čolić moved from his hometown Sarajevo to Ljubljana where he started a private business with Goran Bregović through their Kamarad label. He then lived in Zagreb for five years. 1988 saw his hit "Jastreb". In 1989, he moved back to Belgrade.
Comeback
After his 1990 album "Da ti kažem šta mi je", Čolić didn't make another album until late 1997,[13] when he embarked on a comeback with Komuna label album Kad bi moja bila, and regained much of his popularity. The following year, he had nine sold-out concerts at Sava Centar.[13]
In October 2005, Čolić performed two concerts at the
Čolić voiced Shelby Forthright (originally played by Fred Willard) in the Bosnian dub of the acclaimed 2008 Pixar release WALL-E.[14]
In 2010, he had a big concert on the
Personal life
At the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Čolić moved to Belgrade, and has lived there ever since. He holds a degree in economics from the University of Sarajevo. Čolić is married to wife Aleksandra Aleksić and has two daughters.[15]
Discography
Studio albums
- Ti i ja (You and Me) (1975)
- Ako priđeš bliže (If You Come Closer) (1977)
- Zbog tebe (Because of You) (1980)
- Malo pojačaj radio (Turn Up the Radio a Bit) (1981)
- Šta mi radiš (What Are You Doing to Me?) (1983)
- Ti si mi u krvi (You Are in My Blood) (1984)
- Rodi me, majko, sretnog(Give a Birth to Me, [My] Mother, as a Happy Guy) (1988)
- Da ti kažem šta mi je (To Tell You What's Up with Me) (1990)
- Kad bi moja bila (If You Were Mine) (1997)
- Okano(My Eyelish) (2000)
- Čarolija (Enchantment) (2003)
- Zavičaj (Homeland) (2006)
- Kad pogledaš me preko ramena (When You Look At Me Over the Shoulder) (2010)
- Vatra i barut(Fire and Gunpowder) (2013)
- Ono malo sreće (That Bit of Luck) (2017)
Singles
- "Sinoć nisi bila tu" / "Tako tiho" (1972)
- "Stara pisma" / "Pod lumbrelon" (1972)
- "Gori Vatra" / "Isti put" (1973)
- "Bling, blinge, blinge, bling" / "Julija" (1973)
- "Dome moj" / "Ljubav je samo riječ" (1974)
- "Ona spava" / "Zaboravi sva proljeća" (1974)
- "Zelena si rijeka bila" / "Ne dam ti svoju ljubav" (1974)
- "Madre Mia" / "Rock n roll himmel" (1974)
- "Zvao sam je Emili" / "Sonata" (1975)
- "April u Beogradu" / "Svitanje" (1975)
- "Alles was ich hab" / "Lampenfieber" (1975)
- "Ti si bila, uvijek bila" / "A sad sam ja na redu" (1976)
- "Ljubav ima lažni sjaj" / "Balerina" (1977)
- "Živiš u oblacima" / "Zašto spavaš" (1977)
- "Light me" / "I'm not a robot man" (1978)
- "Loš glas" / "Ne mogu biti tvoj" (1978)
- "Druže Tito, mi ti se kunemo" / "Titovim putem" (1980)
- "Biraj ti" (2024)
Live albums
- Stadium Marakana (2001) /Live, 2xDVD/
- Belgrade Arena (2005) /Live, 2xDVD/
- Stadium Marakana (2007) /Live, 2xDVD/
- Stadium Koševo (2010) /Live, 2xDVD/
- Belgrade Ušće (2011) /Live, 2xDVD/
Compilations
- Pjesme koje volimo (The Songs We Like) (1984)
- Poslednji i prvi (The First And the Last) (1994)
- Zauvek (Forever) (1998)
- Zauvek 2 (Forever 2) (1999)
- 7X Čola Box Set (2000)
- Balade (The Ballads) (2002)
- The Best of Zdravko Čolić (double-CD set) (2004)
- The Best of Zdravko Čolić (2008)
Tours
- Zavičaj Tour (2006–09)
- Kad pogledaš me preko ramena Tour (2010–13)
- Vatra i barut Tour (2014–17)
- Ono malo sreće Tour (2018–19)
Note
- PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, a federal state in a former FPR Yugoslavia.: 94
He has said that he "has in some way stayed a citizen of the former country [Yugoslavia], but till today has not stopped feeling as a Sarajlija [Sarajevan],"[16] and that he is "a Sarajevan and Bosnian" wherever he is and "that is the way it will be the rest of" his life.[7]
He first moved to Belgrade (SR Serbia) in late 1971 to join Korni Grupa, and after living there for six months—he returned to Sarajevo (SR BiH) to finish his studies.[17] He served the SFR Yugoslavia military in SR Serbia between 1978 and 1980. He lived in Ljubljana (SR Slovenia) in 1984; then lived in Zagreb (SR Croatia) for five years.[16] He finally moved again back to Belgrade in 1989[13] where he lived.
He has recently been described as a Bosnian-born (or former Bosnian[18][page needed]) Serbian singer.[18][page needed][4][page needed][19]
References
- ^ "When Zdravko used to be Dravco". CDM (in Montenegrin). CDM. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ ZDRAVKO ČOLIĆ 'Od 1985. do 1990. uopće nisam pjevao, a u tom sam periodu samo s jednom osobom iz glazbenog svijeta komunicirao: Arsenom Dedićem'
- ^ “ONO MALO SREĆE” ZDRAVKA ČOLIĆA PROGLAŠEN NAJBOLJIM ALBUMOM 2018. GODINE! (in Croatian) - Croatia Records
- ^ OCLC 428980841.
Among them, arguably the most beloved is the Bosnian-born Zdravko Colic (b. 1951). The fifty-seven-year-old singer, who started out as a balladeer in the early 1970s, could perhaps best be described as Serbia's version of Tom Jones.
- ^ Zdravko Čolić u varaždinskoj Areni: Karte su u prodaj, a dobra zabava zagarantirana!
- ^ "Otkrivamo vam kako je nastao legendarni hit 'Ti si mi u krvi'". 24sata.hr. 3 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Zdravko Čolić: Razvijao sam glas pjevajući gangu u rodnoj Hercegovini" [Zdravko Čolić: I have developed my voice by singing ganga in birth Herzegovina]. vrisak.info (in Croatian). 14 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
Ja sam Sarajlija i Bosanac gdje god bio i to će tako biti cijeli život.
- ^ "Zdravko Čolić". story.rs (in Serbian). 2014. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ F., G. (19 July 2021). "Nenade, bolje ti je da skačeš! Stekić zbog Zdravka Čolića ostavio pevanje i postao legenda". 24sedam.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "Prvi nastup, honorar i prva ljubav Zdravka Čolića u Herceg Novom". RadioJadran.com. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ Čulić, Ilko. "Tržište na dnu! Ne mogu ga spasiti ni Thompson i cajke". Express. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Petar Peca Popović (10 September 2016). "Sa njim to taje dugo: Pre tačno 45 godina Zdravko Čolić je prvi put stigao u Beograd". Blic. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ "MAJSTORI SINHRONIZACIJE: Ko se krije iza Duška Dugouška, Šilje, Popaja, Sunđera Boba? (FOTO) (VIDEO)". telegraf.rs. 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Biografija Zdravko Čolić" (in Serbian). Puls. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Interview with Zdravko Čolić". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 26 April 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
Na neki način ja sam ostao stanovnik bivše države, ali do dana današnjeg se nisam prestao osjećati Sarajlijom ...
- ^ "Zdravko Čolić". nadlanu. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4094-3758-1.
Meanwhile, big Serbian (or former Bosnian) stars like Ceca, Zdravko Colic,
- OCLC 852716225.
Sources
- Puls Online. "Zdravko Čolić - Čola". Lična karta. Puls Online. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014.
- "Biografija". Zdravko Čolić. 13 October 2012.
- "Biografija". Opusteno.
External links
- Zdravko Čolić discography at Discogs