Serbian pop is the pop music scene ofSerbia. From the 1940s until the 1980s, while Serbia was aconstituent republic ofSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbian pop scene was a part of theSFR Yugoslav pop scene.
Pop music in Serbia existed beforeSecond World War. It is known that in late 1920s guest of Serbian capitalBelgrade was a famous singer and actressJosephine Baker which suggests that in Serbia there were manygramophone records of this style of music and similar music styles such asjazz. It also confirms the statement of the actress Ognjenka Het in the radio show ofRadio Belgrade calledTwo white pigeons in 1986 and is also confirmed by other direct and indirect sources. While the first singer-songwriters appear in other parts of Yugoslavia in that time in Serbia were performedromances,starogradska muzika, andfolk music by the singers Edo Ljubić, Fulgencije Vucemilović, Milan Timotić, Olga Jančevecka and others.[1] Mijat Mijatović, Sofka Nikolić, Bora Janjić – Šapčanin mostly performed folk songs,sevdalinka, starogradska muzika, but sometimes they also performed pop music. Bora Janjić – Šapčanin recorded the cover of HungarianschlagerSad Sunday.
Serbian pop music in this period was influenced byschlager music,chansons andcanzonas.Vojin Popović is remembered as one of the pioneers of pop music in Serbia and Yugoslavia. He appears during the war with the songNe brini majčice mila, but original performance of this song was not preserved. He released seven singles between 1953 and 1956 featuring different ensembles. One of the first composers of pop music wasDarko Kraljić. His famous compositions includeZašto si pospan Čo,Čamac na Tisi,Hej momci mladi.Čamac na Tisi andHej momci mladi belong to Serbian postwar music, while it is not certain when the songZašto si pospan Čo was created. It is considered that the song was created before or during the Second World War.
Pop music has been on the sidelines with the arrival of communist authorities. Music was mostly performed at balls or could be heard through radios. Few people had gramophone or possibility to get it.[2]
In the early 1950s decreased Soviet influence in Yugoslavia and it led to the first postwar musical wave in Yugoslavia – Mexican songs. Mexican movies became popular as well as songMama Huanita from the movieUn día de vida.
The most famous musician of the early 1950s was drummerSpasa Milutinović. He mostly performed jazz music but also and pop music with his small musical group whose singers were Vojin Popović andMara Janković. There are few surviving records, mostly byJugodisk andYugoton.
In the late 1950s appear new musicians such asLola Novaković,Dušan Jakšić,Nada Knežević and very popularĐorđe Marjanović.
Lola Novaković was one of the most popular Yugoslav female singers of her time. She is remembered by the great number of wins on different festivals in Yugoslavia and Europe. In 1960 she became first Yugoslav musician to perform in Soviet Union. She also performed on theNear East and Japan. She released her first two songs in 1958Alisa U Zemlji Čudesa and famous Cuban hitBabalu. After that she released significant numbers of singles, EPs and compilations.
Dušan Jakšić is notable by his numerous hits of which the most popular beingSve moje jeseni su tužne. Nada Knežević is the popular jazz and pop singer, she performed as the UN guest onSinai Peninsula, and in jazz clubs in Germany andScandinavia.
Đorđe Marjanović gained fame and numerous fans by appearing on television with the songZvižduk u osam. Besides his long career in Yugoslavia, he made significant career performing in Soviet Union. He released 5 albums between 1959 and 1982:Muzika za igru (1959),Mustafa (1961),Prijatelji Zdravo (1967),Hvala vam prijatelji (1979) andDvadeset nikad više (1982).
In the same time was active Vokalni kvartet Predraga Ivanovića which the most famous songPod sjajem zvezda appears in the Yugoslav movieLjubav i moda.Cune Gojković, singer with diverse repertoire performed Mexican songs.Dragan Toković recordsMaria, Ne Budi Tužna in 1959. He is remembered for his pop and jazz compositions. Another significant figure of this period wasMihailo Živanović, composer, clarinetist, conductor and arranger.[3]
The Sixties were a fruitful year for pop in Yugoslavia. Various festivals were set up across the country such asBelgrade Spring. They were being closely monitored and the great attention was paid on quality. Music has become available to anyone with the advent of television and mass phenomenon vinyl records. Singers maintained tours and solo concerts.
One of the most popular songs of the 1960s is Darko Kraljić's songDevojko mala, soundtrack from the movieLjubav i moda sung by actorVlastimir Đuza Stojiljković. Song later became popular in the Soviet Union.
A new group of singers appeared such asDragan Stojnić,Ljubiša Bačić,Sedmorica mladih,Miki Jevremović,Ljiljana Petrović,Radmila Karaklajić,Tihomir Petrović,Krsta Petrović,Zafir Hadžimanov,Mirjana Beširević,Diego Varagić,Ivanka Pavlović,Leo Martin,Plavi Ansambl,Olga Nikolić,Slobodan Bob Đorđević,Senka Veletanlić,Vanja Stojković,Nena Ivošević,Rista Milovanović,Pera Dimitrijević, Ivana Nikolić,Daliborka Stojšić,Vera Pančić and others.
Notable to mention is alsoCroatian Serb singer-songwriterArsen Dedić who remained popular to date with his chansons and great number of records.
In Belgrade were held popularigranke onKalemegdan, Lazarevićeva, Mašinac and in theBelgrade Youth Center.[4]
In 1970s and 1980s pop music began to lose its popularity due to the growing interest inrock music.
One of the biggest stars of Yugoslav and Serbian pop in the 1970s isBosnian Serb singerZdravko Čolić. Zdravko Čolić performed disco and pop music followed by his dance groupLokice. As of 2014 he recorded 14 albums with significant number of hits.
Boba Stefanović,Beti Đorđević andVladimir Savčić Čobi with his groupPro Arte were another notable group of musicians during the 1970s.[5]
Obraz uz obraz was a popular TV show ofRTV Beograd hosted by actorsMilena Dravić andDragan Nikolić where most of the popular musicians of the time performed between 1972 and 1974.
The groupZana arrived on the pop scene in the 1980s with the songDodirni mi kolena.Bebi Dol became famous with her songsMustafa andRudi and debut albumRuže i krv which was voted debut album of the year[citation needed]. Girl groupAska performed at theEurovision Song Contest 1982 with the songHalo, halo.Maja Odžaklievska recorded the songBudi dobar, kao što sam ja.[6]
In the turbulent years of the 1990s pop music fell into the shadow ofEurodance.Tap 011 was one of the most popular groups of the 1990s with their hitsZbog tebe,Bunda,Okreni broj 95,Plava... Kovač sisters duo,K2 worked with many producers worldwide and released five albums. New pop singers include Bajone,Cali4nia,Zorana Pavić,Gloria,Ceca Slavković, Bojan Milanović,Saša Vasić,Tanja Banjanin,Leontina Vukomanić,Ksenija Mijatović,Romana Panić.
In the 2000s pop music increase its popularity with artist such as:
Serbian singers performed inEurovision Song Contest as part of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro before Serbia's debut in 2007.
Lola Novaković achieved the firstYugoslav significant results at Eurovision winning 4th place in 1962 with the songNe pali svetla u sumrak.
Željko Joksimović took the second place at the2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the songLane moje representing Serbia and Montenegro. In 2012, as Serbian representative, he came third with the songNije ljubav stvar.
Marija Šerifović won the first place at the2007 Eurovision Song Contest at Serbia's debut in the competition, and Serbia was the host of the 2008 contest inBelgrade Arena.