Beba Selimović | |
|---|---|
 Selimović in 1964 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | First Lady of Sevdah |
| Born | Izeta Selimović (1936-03-27)27 March 1936 |
| Died | 10 March 2020(2020-03-10) (aged 83) |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | singer |
| Instrument | vocals |
| Years active | 1954-2020 |
| Labels | |
Izeta "Beba"Selimović (27 March 1936 – 10 March 2020) was aBosniansevdalinka-folk singer and was one of the leading female singers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s inYugoslavia, along withZehra Deović,Nada Mamula andSilvana Armenulić.[1]
Selimović was born on 27 March 1936 inTrebinje,Bosnia and Herzegovina, while it was a part of theKingdom of Yugoslavia. The Selimović family originally hails fromBileća.[2] Being the youngest of five children in aBosniak family, she was calledbeba (baby) by her older siblings and took that as herstage name when she became a professional singer.
At the age of seven, Selimović moved toSarajevo with her family in 1943, duringWorld War II, where she completed her schooling.[3][4]
Aged 17, Selimović was one of six people chosen out of 300 candidates to sing forRadio Sarajevo, which kicked off her professional career in 1954 as a soloist for the station. Her firstsingle, "Po mojoj bašti zumbuli cvjetaju" ("In My GardenHyacinths Bloom"), was released in 1958. She retired in 1988 following the release of her final studio album. Although her recorded songs have appeared on many compilation albums since the late 1980s, she did not record any new music since then.
During her long career, Selimović sang exclusively in two genres:Bosnian folk andsevdalinka. She recorded songs with multiple Bosnian sevdalinka singers such asZaim Imamović,Zehra Deović,Nada Mamula,Safet Isović andMeho Puzić. She was good friends with Isović and Puzić until their deaths in 2007.
Selimović married in 1958 at age 19, became a mother at the age of 20 and was later widowed at age 32 when her husband Sabrija died in a car crash in October 1971. She and her husband had two sons together, Samir and Senad. Her second marriage was to violinist Dževad Šabanagić. The couple lived in Sarajevo and they survived theSiege of Sarajevo during thewar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[5] She was one of the speakers at the funeral forSafet Isović on 3 September 2007.
Although retired from public life and opting to rarely grant interviews, she agreed to be interviewed for a November 2014 article with the newspaperDnevni avaz. Selimović said that she had retired years ago and ignored requests to perform on television, saying she had given the opportunity to younger generations to "continue."[6]
Selimović died on 10 March 2020 in her sleep, at age 83. She was buried in a Muslim funeral at Sarajevo'sBare Cemetery on 12 March 2020.
