Dragana Todorović ( , / ; born 2 October 1962), better known under the stage name Bebi Dol (), is a Serbian singer and songwriter. Born in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, she made her debut in 1981 with the single "Mustafa". Bebi Dol rose to further prominence by representing
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
at the
1991 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rome, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song " Insieme: 1992" by Toto Cutugno and was organised by the European Br ...
with "
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
". She has released four studio albums to date: ''Ruže i krv'' (1983), ''Ritam srca'' (1995), ''Ljuta sam...'' (2002) and ''Čovek rado izvan sebe živi'' (2006).
Early life
Dragana Šarić was born on 2 October 1964 in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
FPR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
, to mother Magdalena, who worked for
Television Belgrade and father Milisav, a military jazz musician. Three months after she had been born, the family relocated to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark, and later continued moving across Europe because of her father's job, who performed in American military bases.
When Šarić turned seven, they eventually moved back to Belgrade so she can attend school there.
She was a student at the
Mokranjac Music School The Mokranjac Music School (), formerly Serbian School of Music (Српска музичка школа), is a music school in Belgrade founded by Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac on 21 September 1896, under the auspices of the First Belgrade Choral So ...
.
After graduating from the 14th Grammar School in Belgrade, Šarić started studying
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
at the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy ( sr, Филозофски факултет Универзитета у Београду), established in 1838 within the Belgrade Higher School, is the oldest Faculty at the University of Belgrade ...
.
Career
1980s and 1990s
In the late 1970s, Šarić made her first professional attempt as a singer alongside fellow-music school students as members of a band called Tarkus. Together they won a competition organized by
Radio Belgrade
Radio Belgrade ( sr, Радио Београд, ) is a state-owned and operated radio station in Belgrade, Serbia. It has four different programs (Radio Belgrade 1, Radio Belgrade 2, Radio Belgrade 3, and Radio Belgrade 202), a precious archive o ...
and received an offer to make studio recordings.
Šarić also served as a guest vocalist on the 1980 album ''Vrt svetlosti'' by
Igra Staklenih Perli.
The following year, she formed short-lived band Annoda Rouge with her boyfriend
Goran Vejvoda
Goran Vejvoda ( Serbian: Горан Вејвода, ''Goran Vejvoda'') (born 1956 in London, United Kingdom) is an English-born, French-based, Serbian media artist (musician, composer, sound and visual artist, performance artist, photographer, wri ...
and guitarist
Ivan Vdović
Ivan "Ivica" Vdović ( sr-cyr, Иван "Ивица" Вдовић; 14 March 1961 – 25 September 1992), also known as Vd ( sr-cyr, Вд), was a Serbian musician, drummer of Yugoslav rock bands such as Suncokret, Šarlo Akrobata and Katarin ...
. In 1981, Šarić also made her solo debut with "Mustafa", released under
PGP RTB
PGP-RTB (abbreviation for sr, Produkcija gramofonskih ploča Radio televizije Beograd) was a major state-owned record label and chain record store in the former SFR Yugoslavia, based in Belgrade, Socialist Republic of Serbia. After the breakup ...
. The
7-inch single
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...
, which had been recorded two years prior in collaboration with
Saša Habić
Aleksandar "Saša" Habić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Хабић; born 17 March 1956) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav musician, record producer and composer. During his career as a producer he worked with artists like Piloti, Divlji Anđeli, U ...
, included the
Oriental music-inspired title track and "Na planeti uzdaha". She released it under the stage name Bebi Dol, which was given to her by the members of the band
Idoli
Idoli ( sr-cyr, Идоли; trans. The Idols) were a Serbian new wave band from Belgrade. They are considered to be one of the most notable acts of the Yugoslav rock scene, and their 1982 album ''Odbrana i poslednji dani'' was on several occas ...
.
By the end of the year,
Yugoslav music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with recorded music.
Notable mu ...
''
Džuboks
''Džuboks'' ( sr-cyr, italic=yes, Џубокс, trans. ''Jukebox'') was a Yugoslav music magazine. Launched in 1966, it was the very first magazine in SFR Yugoslavia dedicated predominantly to rock music and the first rock music magazine to be p ...
'' declared "Mustafa" the record of the year.
In March 1983, Bebi Dol and
Lepa Brena
Fahreta Živojinović (; ; born 20 October 1960), known by her stage name Lepa Brena (), is a folk singer, actress, and businesswoman. She is the best-selling female recording artist from the former Yugoslavia.
Lepa Brena grew up in Brčko, Bosni ...
were chosen by
Radio Television Belgrade
Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
to compete at the
Jugovizija Jugovizija, Cyrillic: Југовизија, English: Yugovision, was the Yugoslav national final to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by the Yugoslav broadcaster Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT) and its subnational public ...
music festival in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
in order to represent Yugoslavia at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1983
The Eurovision Song Contest 1983 was the 28th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Munich, then West Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" by Nicole (German singer), Nicole. ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. Her entry "Rudi", which referred to
Rudolph Valentino
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...
, eventually placed sixth. The song was later that year released as a
12-inch single
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
along with the cover of "
Baby Love
"Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, ''Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964. ...
" by
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
. Her first solo concert was announced for June 13, 1983 at
Atelje 212
Atelje 212 ( sr-Cyrl, Атеље 212) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia.
Established in 1956 on the premises of the ''Borba (newspaper), Borba'' building in front of 212 chairs, its opening play was the staging of Johann Wolfgang von Goeth ...
theater. Subsequently, Bebi Dol joined
Zdravko Čolić
Zdravko Čolić (, ; born 30 May 1951) is a Bosnian Serb singer and is widely considered one of the greatest vocalists and cultural icons of the former Yugoslavia. Dubbed the " Tom Jones of the Balkans", he has garnered fame in Southeastern Europ ...
on his national tour and then moved to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, where she spent several years performing at the
Sheraton Hotel
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Cen ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
.
During her time in Egypt, Bebi's debut album ''Ruže i krv'' was eventually released in late 1983 through PGP-RTB to critical acclaim.
After relocating back to Yugoslavia, Šarić provided singing voiceover for the character of
Sonja Savić
Sonja Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Соња Савић; 15 September 1961 – 23 September 2008) was a Serbian actress, famous for her husky voice and series of impressive roles in some of the more memorable 1980s Yugoslav films. Sonja appeared in Miroslav ...
in the 1985 movie ''Život je lep''. In the following years, she had award-winning performances at the International Music Fair (MESAM) with "Inšalah", "Slatke suze ljubavi" and "Kad sreća odlazi" in 1986, 1988 and 1989, respectively.
She also portrayed
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
in ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', played during 1987 at
Titograd National Theatre. In 1989, Bebi Dol also performed at the Gold Malaysian Festival in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
and collaborated with
Neil Rolnick
Neil Burton Rolnick (born October 22, 1947) is an American composer and educator living in New York City.
Life
Rolnick was born in Dallas, Texas, and studied English literature at Harvard University where he received a BA in 1969. He then turned ...
.
She made her return to
Jugovizija Jugovizija, Cyrillic: Југовизија, English: Yugovision, was the Yugoslav national final to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by the Yugoslav broadcaster Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT) and its subnational public ...
in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, March 1991.
There, she ended up winning the contest with "
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
", which was written by herself and Zoran Vračević.
On 4 May, Bebi Dol represented Yugoslavia at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1991
The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rome, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song " Insieme: 1992" by Toto Cutugno and was organised by the European Br ...
held in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy, where she received only one point from
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and thus placed second to last. She was also the last official Eurovision entry from Yugoslavia, as the country ''de facto'' ceased to exist later that year. Šarić stated that after Eurovision she lived in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
where she signed a two year recording contract, but ultimately decided to move back to Serbia due to
political instability Political decay is a political theory, originally described by Samuel P. Huntington, which describes how chaos and disorder can arise from social modernization increasing more rapidly than political and institutional modernization. Huntington provi ...
in her country.
In 1995, Bebi Dol released her second studio album ''Ritam srca'', which included popular songs like the previously released "Brazil" and "Hajde da...". Bebi Dol performed "Ruža", alongside other musicians from around the world, at the 1999 "Tomorrow's Children" charity concert organized by
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland.
2000s-present: Later career in music and television
In 2002, Bebi Dol released her comeback album ''Ljuta sam...'' under
PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS ( sr, Produkcija gramofonskih ploča Radio televizije Srbije) is a major record label based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a successor of PGP-RTB which was established in 1959 in Belgrade, then capital of Socialist Republic of Serbia and So ...
, dedicated to all the people she lost in her life. A year later in April, she entered the
Beovizija 2003
Beovizija 2003 was the first edition of Beovizija. It was held from April 12 to April 14, 2003. Unlike the other editions of Beovizija, this wasn't involved in choosing the Serbo-Montenegrin entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Serbia and Mo ...
festival with "Tvrdoglava", placing 10th. Same year, she began hosting her own talk show ''Bla Bla Bebi'' on TV Art. In late 2006, Bebi released a
cover album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
in English, entitled ''Čovek rado izvan sebe živi'', through Mascom Records.
The following year she released a
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
from her concert held at the
Terazije Theatre
Theatre on Terazije ( sr, italic=yes, Позориште на Теразијама, Pozorište na Terazijama) is a Broadway-style theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia.
Located in Terazije square, it is the only theatre in Serbia which exclusively ...
in February 2007. It featured covers from
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk.
Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
,
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
as well as the songs from her previous release. In 2008, Bebi Dol released a compilation album, titled ''...Pokloni se...'', and performed in the Belgrade's
Sava Centar
Sava Centar ( sr, Сава центар) is an international congress, cultural and business centre of various multi-functional activities located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is the largest audience hall in the country and entire forme ...
in November.
Since 2009, Šarić has competed in several
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
shows, including ''
Farma
''The Farm'' is a reality competition television franchise created by the Swedish producer Strix. Sold to more than 40 countries, ''The Farm'' is one of their most popular formats, including '' Survivor'', '' The Bar'' or ''Fame Factory''. In s ...
'', ''Dvor'' and ''
Zadruga
A zadruga (, ) refers to a type of rural community historically common among South Slavs.
The term has been used by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to designate their attempt at collective farming after World War II.
History
Originally, gener ...
''. During 2017, Bebi Dol was also a contestant on the
fourth Serbian season of ''
Your Face Sounds Familiar
''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' (Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series ''Soundmixshow'', was f ...
'', winning the first episode as
Emeli Sandé
Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian fathe ...
. In 2020, Šarić made a cameo appearance in the series ''Tajkun'', directed by
Dragan Bjelogrlić
Dragan Bjelogrlić "Bjela" ( sr, Драган Бјелогрлић, ; born 10 October 1963) is a Serbian actor, director and producer.
Career
Bjelogrlić made his acting debut as a 15-year old, playing Sava Jovanović Sirogojno in ''Boško Buha'' ...
, as a folk singer named Martina, performing "Rano je za tugu" by
Haris Džinović
Haris Džinović (; born 26 September 1951) is a Bosnian and former Yugoslavian folk singer, composer and lyricist.
Džinović is one of the best known singers of Southeastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geogra ...
.
Personal life
During the 1980s, Šarić dated
Croat
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
ian singer
Massimo Savić
Massimo Moreno Savić (6 June 1962 – 23 December 2022), also known simply as Massimo, was a Croatian pop singer.
His father was a native of Tulež near Aranđelovac. His mother was Italian from Istria, a native of Raša near Labin.
He fir ...
, with whom she recorded duet "Sunce sja, trava miriše".
On 27 September 2014, she married
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-born Serbian professor of Russian language and literature, Aleks Todorović, after four years of dating.
It was also reported that she has changed her name to Danica Todorović.
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''Ruže i krv'' (1983)
* ''Ritam srca'' (1995)
* ''Ljuta sam...'' (2002)
* ''Čovek rado izvan sebe živi'' (2006)
;Live albums
* ''Veče u pozorištu'' (2007)
;Compilations
* ''...Pokloni se...'' (2008)
;Singles
* "Mustafa" / "Na planeti uzdaha" (1981)
* "Rudi" (12-inch single; 1983)
* "Inšalah" / "Ruža na dlanu" (split single with
Zana Nimani
Zana Šiškin (; sr-cyr, Зана Шишкин, ; born in September 1961) is a Serbian former singer, best known as the first frontress of the pop rock band Zana.
Biography
Zana Nimani was born in 1961 in Belgrade, to Kosovo Albanian parents ...
; 1986)
* "Prove To All" / "How Good Not To Love" (1986)
* "
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
" (1991)
Filmography
See also
*
Popular music in Yugoslavia
Popular music in Yugoslavia includes the pop and rock music of the former SFR Yugoslavia, including all their genres and subgenres. The scene included the constituent republics: SR Slovenia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Monteneg ...
*
Music of Serbia
Music of Serbia represents the music, musical heritage of Serbia, both historical and modern. It has a variety of traditional music styles, which are part of the wider Music of Southeastern Europe, Balkan musical tradition, with its own distinctiv ...
*
List of musicians from Serbia
References
Sources
* Janjatović, Petar (2007). ''
EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960–2006''. Belgrade: self-released. .
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1962 births
Living people
Singers from Belgrade
Serbian rock singers
Serbian pop singers
Serbian singer-songwriters
20th-century Serbian women singers
Yugoslav rock singers
Yugoslav women singers
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Yugoslavia
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1991
21st-century Serbian women singers