Arsen Dedić

Arsenije "Arsen" Dedić (pronounced [ǎrsen děːditɕ]; 28 July 1938 – 17 August 2015) was a Yugoslav and Croatian singer-songwriter, and one of the most prominent Serbs from Dalmatia. Dedić wrote and performed chansons as well as film music. He was also an award-winning poet, and was one of the best-selling poets of former Yugoslavia.

Arsenije Dedić was born in Šibenik, in the Littoral Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia) as the second child to Jovan Dedić and Veronika (née Mišković). His father Jovan was ethnic Serb, an Orthodox Christian, while his mother Veronika (nicknamed Jelka) was ethnic Croat who converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy after marrying Jovan. His father was a bricklayer, volunteer firefighter and musician, and his mother was an illiterate housewife, whom Arsen later taught. Arsen was baptized in the Orthodox Church under the name Arsenije, after Archbishop Arsenije III Čarnojević. He finished music school. He and his older brother Milutin Dedić (named after Stefan Milutin) left Šibenik for Zagreb and Belgrade, respectively, in 1957. Milutin is since a painter and columnist still living in Belgrade. Arsen studied law at Zagreb but dropped out in 1959, enrolling in the Music Academy of Zagreb, receiving a diploma in 1964.

Arsen became a household name in the 1960s, thanks to pop music festivals and his brand of music, which was at first influenced by Dalmatian folklore, but is mostly comparable to the French chanson genre. Throughout the decades Dedić became one of the most respected musicians in former SFR Yugoslavia and maintained this reputation to this day. Dedić died 17 August 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia. He was 77 years old.

Arsen Dedić was married to German-born Croatian pop singer Gabi Novak. Their son Matija Dedić is one of the most respected jazz musicians in Croatia, and has together with Marina a daughter "Lu". They also had a daughter, Sandra.

Albums released on vinyl

• Čovjek kao ja (1969)
• Arsen 2 (1971)
• Homo Volans (double album) (1973)
• Vraćam se (1975)
• Porodično stablo (1976)
• Arsenal (1976)
• Otisak autora (1976)
• Pjesme sa šlagom (1976)
• Dedić-Golob (1977)
• Kuća pored mora (instrumentals) (1978)
• Rimska ploča (1980)
• Pjevam pjesnike (1980)
• Naručene pjesme (1980)
• Gabi i Arsen (1980)
• Carevo novo ruho (1981)
• Arsen pjeva djeci (1982)
• Provincija (1984)
• Kantautor (double album) (1985)
• Moje popevke (1986)
• Kino Sloboda (1987)
• Arsen & Bora Čorba Unplugged `87 (1987)
• Hrabri ljudi (Gabi i Arsen) (1988)
• Glazba za film i TV (1989)
• Svjedoci priče (1989)

Albums released on CD

• Najbolje od Arsena (1991)
• Tihi obrt (1993)
• Ko ovo more platit (1995)
• Ministarstvo (1997) / Ministarstvo straha (2000, 2005)
• Herbar (1999)
• Čovjek kao ja (1969/1999)
• Kino Sloboda (1987/2000)
• Kinoteka (2002)
• Homo volans (1973/2003)
• Imena žena (2003)
• Na zlu putu (2004)
• Ministarstvo Straha (2006)
• Rebus (2008)

• "Brod u Boci" (Croatia Concert, Zagreb, 1971)
• "Hotel Balkan" (Znanje, Zagreb, 1987)
• "101 Pjesma" (Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1989)