Rani Mraz | |
|---|---|
 The most famous Rani Mraz lineup, in 1978; from left to right:Bilja Krstić, Verica Todorović,Đorđe Balašević,Bora Đorđević | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Novi Sad,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia |
| Genres | Pop rock, rock |
| Years active | 1977–1981 |
| Labels | Jugoton,PGP-RTB |
| Past members | Đorđe Balašević Verica Todorović Vladimir Knežević Bora Đorđević Biljana Krstić Aleksandar Dujin Aleksandar Kravić |
Rani Mraz (Serbian Cyrillic: Рани Мраз; trans.Early Frost) were aYugoslav rock band fromNovi Sad, formed in 1977 by formerŽetva memberĐorđe Balašević. During the initial period, the band went through several lineup changes, until Balašević and female singerBiljana Krstić remained the only official members of the band. The two released two studio albums under the name Rani Mraz, before officially dissolving in 1981.
Rani Mraz was formed at the end of 1977 by formerŽetva membersĐorđe Balašević and female vocalist Verica Todorović. The first lineup of the band also featured the guitarist Vladimir Knežević "Knez". The band had their first public appearance in December 1977 at the Sportsman of the Year Award ceremony, held inBelgrade'sPionir Hall, where they performed Žetva hit "U razdeljak te ljubim" ("I Lay a Kiss on Your Parting"), with alternative lyrics and entitled "U levicu te ljubim" ("I Lay a Kiss on Your Left Hand"), dedicating it toboxerMate Parlov. Soon after, Balašević was invited to appear inRadio Novi Sad, to record one of his songs, which would represent Radio Novi Sad on the 1978Opatija Festival. The song chosen was "Moja prva ljubav" ("My First Love"), and it was recorded with the members of the band Neoplanti, as Rani Mraz was still lacking members. The single cover featured, beside Balašević, Todorović and Knežević, Balašević's friendSlobodan Pavković, afootball player at the time playing forFK Vojvodina.[1] Although Rani Mraz did not win the festival, the song became a hit, and the single, released byJugoton,[2] was sold in more than 130,000 copies.
The band was invited to perform for the presidentJosip Broz Tito, and for this occasion Balašević wrote "Računajte na nas" ("Count on Us"), a song which praisedPeople's Liberation War from a slightly different perspective than habitualsocialist realism. With this song, Balašević appeared at theOmladinski festival inSubotica. Soon after, on suggestion of journalistPeca Popović, formerSuncokret membersBora Đorđević andBiljana Krstić joined the band, becoming the members of the most famous, but short lasting Rani Mraz lineup. This lineup of the band recorded "Računajte na nas" and released it as a single, with the song "Strašan žulj" ("Awful Blister") as the B-Side.[3] "Računajte na nas" soon became a hit and an anthem of Yugoslav youth. The readers of theDžuboks magazine voted "Računajte na nas" the Single of the Year, and Balašević was voted third on the list of Composers of the Year (behindGoran Bregović andRadomir Mihajlović). During the summer of 1978, Rani Mraz held numerous concerts inBelgrade's Dom omladine. Balašević entertained the audience with his humorous stories and Đorđević performed his songs "Lutka sa naslovne strane" ("Doll on the Front Cover"), "Mirno spavaj" ("Sleep Peacefully"), "Zvezda potkrovlja i suterena" ("Star of Attics and Basements") and others. After recording the songs "Oprosti mi Katrin" ("Forgive Me, Catherine") and "Život je more" ("Life Is a Sea"), Bora Đorđević left the band, forming thehard rock bandRiblja Čorba (which eventually became one of the top acts of theformer Yugoslav rock scene). The band was joined by the keyboardist Aleksandar Dujin "Duja" and the bass guitaristAleksandar Kravić "Caki". Soon after, Balašević recorded his first solo release "Ljubio sam snašu na salašu" ("I Kissed the Girl on the Farm"), and Rani Mraz released the single with songs "Oprosti mi, Katrin" and "Život je more". During the summer Balašević appeared on the Evening of Free Forms of the 24thZagreb Festival, both as a singer-songwriter, with the song "Marina", and as an author, with the song "Život je jednosmerna cesta" ("Life Is a One-Way Road"), performed byJadranka Stojaković.
In 1979, Rani Mraz released their debut albumMojoj mami umesto maturske slike u izlogu (To my Mom instead of a Prom Photo in the Shop-Window). Just before the start of the recording, Verica Todorović left the band (later continuing her career as afolk singer), so Krstić and Balašević remained the only two official members of the band. The album was recorded withstudio musicians: Bojan Hreljac (bass guitar), Vladimir Furduj (drums), Sloba Marković (keyboard) and Mića Marković (saxophone). The album was produced byJosip Boček, who also played the guitar. The album featured hits "Sve je dobro kad se dobro svrši" ("All's Well that Ends Well"), "Mnogo mi znači to" ("It Means a Lot to Me"), "Neki novi klinci" ("Some New Kids") and "Drago mi je zbog mog starog" ("I'm Glad for My Old Man"). During the summer, Đorđe Balašević and Biljana Krstić, with the band Neoplanti, held numerous concerts across Yugoslavia. At this time, Balašević started performing his well-known humorous monologues. PoetsMika Antić andPero Zubac made guest appearances on some of Rani Mraz concerts. On theSplit music festival, Balašević won the first place with the song "Panonski mornar" ("Pannonian Sailor"). In September, Rani Mraz held eight sold out concerts in Belgrade'sDom Sindikata. At the end of the year, the single "Prvi januar – popodne" ("January 1 – Afternoon") was released, although the7-inch vinyl mistakenly featured the song as theB-side, and the song "Lagana stvar" ("Slow Tune") as theA-side.[4]
During the spring of 1980, before Balašević's departure tothe army, Rani Mraz started their work on their second album.Odlazi cirkus (The Circus Is Leaving), the second and the last album under the name Rani Mraz, was released in November 1980. The album featured hits "Priča o Vasi Ladačkom" ("The Story of Vasa Ladački"), "Mirka", and "Menuet" ("Minuet"). During his service in the army Balašević released the single "Triput sam video Tita" ("I Saw Tito Three Times"),[5] deciding to start a solo career after his return from the army.
In 1982, Balašević releasedPub (Jack), the album with which he started his official solo career. Biljana Krstić started her solo career in 1983, with the albumPrevari noćas svoje društvo sa mnom (Cheat on Your Friends with Me Tonight).[6]
The albumMojoj mami umesto maturske slike u izlogu was polled in 1998 as the 44th on the list of 100 greatest Yugoslav popular music albums in the bookYU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike (YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music).[7]
In 2006, the song "Priča o Vasi Ladačkom" was ranked No. 13 on theB92 Top 100 Domestic Songs List.[8] In 2011, the song "Menuet" was polled, by the listeners ofRadio 202, one of 60 greatest songs released byPGP-RTB/PGP-RTS during the sixty years of the label's activity.[9]
