Oliver Dragojević

Oliver Dragojević (7 December 1947 – 29 July 2018) was a Croatian recording artist, who was considered one of the most enduring musical stars and cultural icons in Croatia with a discography that spanned nearly five decades. His style blended traditional klapa melodies of Dalmatia, a coastal region in his native Croatia, with jazz motifs wrapped up in a modern production. For his influential musical career, he reached critical and commercial acclaim in Croatia and neighbouring countries, and numerous accolades, including numerous Porin and Indexi awards. He is one of the few Croatian musicians who performed at major international venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, L'Olympia and Sydney Opera House.

Dragojević's father Marko (1908–1991) and mother Kata (1907–1994) had three daughters, all of whom died young during the Second World War. His family escaped to a refugee camp in El Shatt, Egypt, together with many other women and children from Dalmatia. Oliver was born on 7 December 1947 in Split, not long after his family returned to their ancestral town of Vela Luka, on the Dalmatian island of Korčula. He had an older brother, Aljoša (1946–2011). When Oliver was five, his father Marko bought each of his sons a harmonica. Oliver mastered the instrument quickly, and entertained other kids on his street, as well as passengers on board of ships on the busy route of Vela Luka – Split. As Oliver showed a strong passion for music, his parents decided to enroll him in a music school in Split. There he learned to play the piano, clarinet and bass guitar."I attended school in Split, but I always loved being at home, and I spent all my free time in Vela Luka. In winter we would harvest olives, and would warm up with wood-burning stoves, though the room always stayed cold. The house was old and dingy, but my mom, dad, brother, cousins, and aunts were there – the house was always full," he recalled. He married Vesna Dragojević in 1974, with whom he had three sons, Dino (b. 1975) and twins Damir and Davor (b. 1978).

Illness and death

In August 2017, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In June 2018, he was hospitalised in the Split Hospital due to breathing difficulties, where on 29 July 2018 at 2:00 am, Dragojević died after succumbing to a year long battle with the lung cancer. He was 70. The Croatian Government declared 31 July 2018 as the National Day of Condolences to honour him. Also, on 31 July 2018, over 10,000 people on Riva in Split, terraced the coffin with his body to the catamaran for Vela Luka. He was buried at the St. Roko Graveyard in Vela Luka, on 1 August 2018.

Dragojević's first performance was at the "Split Children's Festival" in 1961 with the song "Baloni". In a competition of amateur singers, his cult band from Split, "Batali" won first place for their rendition of "Yesterday", a Beatles classic. In 1972, Oliver went abroad to further develop his craft. He played in clubs across Germany, Sweden and Mexico. His solo singing career began in 1974 at the Split Festival, where he won with the song "Ča će mi Copacabana".

A year later, composer Zdenko Runjić and Dragojević, released the song "Galeb i ja". It proved to be a big hit across the former SFR Yugoslavia and made Dragojević a household name. This was followed by hits "Romanca", "Oprosti mi, pape", "Stari morski vuk". Runjić would further collaborate with Dragojević on further 200 songs, until Runjić's death. Between 1975-1980, the Dragojević/Runjić duo dominated the music scene of the former SFR Yugoslavia. Part of the secret of their success was a third contributor, Jakša Fiamengo, who wrote the lyrics to some of Dragojević's most iconic songs, namely: "Nadalina", "Piva klapa ispod volta", "Karoca", "Ništa nova", "Infiša san u te", and "Ostavljam te samu". In 1990, Dragojević won the Split Festival with Ti is moj san, and the Jugovizija Jamboree with the song Sreća je tamo gdje si ti, both collaboration with Zorica Kondža.