An Intro to Yugo-Rock
Well folks, it's Sunday and you know what that means, ANOTHER blog post.
In this blog post I will be doing something TOTALLY different. I will actually SHARE SOME MUSIC FROM MY HOME COUNTRY. My family is from the former Yugoslavia, and to be humble, our music there at the time was SIMILAR to music in the UK and US.
Specifically in this post, we will be talking about the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock. This so-called "school" started out in the early 60s, and was around for about three decades (to about the start of the Yugoslav Wars). There are three big bands in particular, Indexi (The Indexes), Bijelo Dugme (White Button), and Crvena Jabuka (Red Apple).
The earliest of these bands, Indexi, was formed in 1962 in Sarajevo. Their name was derived from the Index, a student's grade log. The band worked with a whole host of drummers and keyboardists over the years, but the core of the band featured Slobodan A. Kovachevich (guitars), Davorin "Pimpek" Popovich (vocals), and Fadil Redzich (bass). For the first five years of their career, they played instrumental covers, but in 1967 started composing their own music. They were pioneers of progressive rock in the former Yugoslavia. In 1973, they released their signature song,which is still a classic to this day and was covered several times, Bacila je Sve Niz Rijeku (She Threw it All Down a River). Indexi's greatest influences include the Beatles and Yes.
By this time, a new band started forming, Bijelo Dugme, with guitarist/songwritter Goran Bregovich at the forefront. The band evolved from several of Bregovich's former bands such as Kodeksi (The Codexes) and Jutro (The Morning), which featured future vocalist Zeljko Bebek. Their first record Kad bi Bio Bijelo Dugme (If I Were a White Button) featured Selma. After their 1975 record, Shta bi Dao da si na Mom Mjestu (What Would You Give if You Were in My Place) was recorded in London with producer Neil Harrison (who actually admited he liked what he heard EVEN IF he did not understand the lyrics). They reached their peak in 1976 with Eto Bash Hochu (There I Really Will). After that album, sales began sliding and in 1977 they held a free concert at Belgrade's Hajduchka Chesma (Hayduk's Fountain) which was captured on a live record).
The band continued into the 1980s when Bebek left in 1983 to be replaced with Mladen Vujichich (Tifa) for their self-titled 1984 record. Their last two records, in 1986 and 1988, were recorded with singer Alen Islamovich. In my opinion, Bijelo Dugme represents some Deep Purple, as well as a little Led Zeppelin and Yes.
Meanwhile in the 80s a new musical movement was blooming, the so-called New Primitives movement. One of the biggest bands to emerge from this was Crvena Jabuka. This Beatles-influenced group got their start in the spring of 1985 with Drazen "Zijo" Richl and Zlatko Arslanagich who were described as a Yugoslav Lennon-McCartney due to their songwritting works. The band's name, in fact, is a tribute to Apple Records.
Their self-titled 1986 debut featured perhaps their signature song, Dirlija whose title is ambiguous and vague. Nevertheless, their debut was very well received, and they even quoted Pete Townshend's My Generation in one of its tracks. However, on the way to their first concert in Mostar, the band lost two of its members, Drazen Richl and Aljosha Buha (bass player). This really inhibited the band to continue for a while, but in 1987, they recorded a tribute album Za sve Ove Godine (For All These Years) for the two late members. Drazen Zerich, who had sung backing vocals on their debut, became the lead singer. In 1988, Crvena Jabuka was reborn and released a gold-certified record Sanjati (To Dream). The record even includes an interpolation of the Beatles 1963 hit Twist and Shout as Svidja mi se Ova Stvar (I Like This Thing). By 1992, the political distabilization of the nation had taken hold and Crvena Jabuka had split. They reconvened in Zagreb in 1995 with a reinvented, adult-contemporary sound and released their second golden album - practicaly becoming more successful than Bijelo Dugme.
For the time being, this was a brief introduction to the rock of the former Yugoslavia. There are many other bands that I will talk about in future postings and even go in depth with some of the bands discussed today. I would encourage you to listen to songs other than what I have linked (click on YouTube suggestions that you see) and comment your opinion.
Until next time, here is a Crvena Jabuka cover of the aforementioned Indexi hit.
In this blog post I will be doing something TOTALLY different. I will actually SHARE SOME MUSIC FROM MY HOME COUNTRY. My family is from the former Yugoslavia, and to be humble, our music there at the time was SIMILAR to music in the UK and US.
Specifically in this post, we will be talking about the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock. This so-called "school" started out in the early 60s, and was around for about three decades (to about the start of the Yugoslav Wars). There are three big bands in particular, Indexi (The Indexes), Bijelo Dugme (White Button), and Crvena Jabuka (Red Apple).
The earliest of these bands, Indexi, was formed in 1962 in Sarajevo. Their name was derived from the Index, a student's grade log. The band worked with a whole host of drummers and keyboardists over the years, but the core of the band featured Slobodan A. Kovachevich (guitars), Davorin "Pimpek" Popovich (vocals), and Fadil Redzich (bass). For the first five years of their career, they played instrumental covers, but in 1967 started composing their own music. They were pioneers of progressive rock in the former Yugoslavia. In 1973, they released their signature song,which is still a classic to this day and was covered several times, Bacila je Sve Niz Rijeku (She Threw it All Down a River). Indexi's greatest influences include the Beatles and Yes.
By this time, a new band started forming, Bijelo Dugme, with guitarist/songwritter Goran Bregovich at the forefront. The band evolved from several of Bregovich's former bands such as Kodeksi (The Codexes) and Jutro (The Morning), which featured future vocalist Zeljko Bebek. Their first record Kad bi Bio Bijelo Dugme (If I Were a White Button) featured Selma. After their 1975 record, Shta bi Dao da si na Mom Mjestu (What Would You Give if You Were in My Place) was recorded in London with producer Neil Harrison (who actually admited he liked what he heard EVEN IF he did not understand the lyrics). They reached their peak in 1976 with Eto Bash Hochu (There I Really Will). After that album, sales began sliding and in 1977 they held a free concert at Belgrade's Hajduchka Chesma (Hayduk's Fountain) which was captured on a live record).
The band continued into the 1980s when Bebek left in 1983 to be replaced with Mladen Vujichich (Tifa) for their self-titled 1984 record. Their last two records, in 1986 and 1988, were recorded with singer Alen Islamovich. In my opinion, Bijelo Dugme represents some Deep Purple, as well as a little Led Zeppelin and Yes.
Meanwhile in the 80s a new musical movement was blooming, the so-called New Primitives movement. One of the biggest bands to emerge from this was Crvena Jabuka. This Beatles-influenced group got their start in the spring of 1985 with Drazen "Zijo" Richl and Zlatko Arslanagich who were described as a Yugoslav Lennon-McCartney due to their songwritting works. The band's name, in fact, is a tribute to Apple Records.
Their self-titled 1986 debut featured perhaps their signature song, Dirlija whose title is ambiguous and vague. Nevertheless, their debut was very well received, and they even quoted Pete Townshend's My Generation in one of its tracks. However, on the way to their first concert in Mostar, the band lost two of its members, Drazen Richl and Aljosha Buha (bass player). This really inhibited the band to continue for a while, but in 1987, they recorded a tribute album Za sve Ove Godine (For All These Years) for the two late members. Drazen Zerich, who had sung backing vocals on their debut, became the lead singer. In 1988, Crvena Jabuka was reborn and released a gold-certified record Sanjati (To Dream). The record even includes an interpolation of the Beatles 1963 hit Twist and Shout as Svidja mi se Ova Stvar (I Like This Thing). By 1992, the political distabilization of the nation had taken hold and Crvena Jabuka had split. They reconvened in Zagreb in 1995 with a reinvented, adult-contemporary sound and released their second golden album - practicaly becoming more successful than Bijelo Dugme.
For the time being, this was a brief introduction to the rock of the former Yugoslavia. There are many other bands that I will talk about in future postings and even go in depth with some of the bands discussed today. I would encourage you to listen to songs other than what I have linked (click on YouTube suggestions that you see) and comment your opinion.
Until next time, here is a Crvena Jabuka cover of the aforementioned Indexi hit.
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