Ljiljana Buttler (née Petrović; 14 December 1944 – 26 April 2010) was a Yugoslav- Romani folk singer comparable to

Esma Redžepova Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska ( mk, Есма Реџепова-Теодосиевска, ; 8 August 1943 – 11 December 2016) was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. Because of her prolific repertoire, which included hund ...

, Vida Pavlović, and

Šaban Bajramović Šaban Bajramović ( sr-Cyrl, Шабан Бајрамовић, ; rom, Shaban Bajramovičh; 16 April 1936 – 8 June 2008), nicknamed Šabi (Шаби), was a Serbian vocalist and recording artist of Arlije Romani ethnicity. He was one of the mos ...

Early life

Buttler was born as Ljiljana Petrović on 14 December 1944 in Belgrade,

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Her father was a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

accordionist from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, while her mother was Ljiljana Petrović, a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n singer from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. Her father left the family shortly after the birth of his daughter. Petrović moved to the city of

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. Administratively, Bijeljina is part of the Republika Srpska ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, where her mother performed in pubs. As a teenager she began singing, she returned to Belgrade where she settled in the

Skadarlija Skadarlija ( sr-Cyrl, Скадарлија) is a vintage street, an urban neighborhood and former municipality of Belgrade, Serbia, located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad (Old Town). Skadarlija partially preserves the ambience of ...

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

quarter.

Career

Her debut album was recorded in 1982, and her popularity rose in that decade. During the Yugoslav civil war in the 1990s, she emigrated to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, Germany, married and took her husband's name. In 2002, Dragi Šestić pursued her to come back and record an album. Her last album was released in 2009. She died of cancer in 2010, aged 65.

Discography

# Ljiljana Petrović: «Djelem, Djelem Daje» with Ansambl Zorana Pejkoviča (1981) RTV Ljubljana LD 0720 # Ljiljana Petrović: «Pevam Do Zore - Zabavljam Druge» with Orkestar Dragana Kneževica (1983) RTV Ljubljana LD 0868 # Ljiljana Petrović: (self-titled) with Orkestar Dušana Mitrovica-Nivoda (1984) RTV Ljubljana LD 1242 # Ljiljana Buttler &

Mostar Sevdah Reunion Mostar Sevdah Reunion is a world-fusion musical ensemble from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina playing almost exclusively sevdalinka fused with contemporary musical styles. The band is composed of experienced musicians and often collaborates with r ...

: «The Mother of Gypsy Soul» (2002)

Snail Records A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

# Ljiljana Buttler & Mostar Sevdah Reunion: «The Legends of Life» (2005)

# Ljiljana Buttler: «Frozen Roses» (2009)

External links

Obituary in ''The Guardian''

Snail Records - The Official record label

Ljiljana Buttler -My Space page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttler, Ljiljana 1944 births 2010 deaths Balkan music Romani musicians Singers from Belgrade Musicians from Düsseldorf Deaths from cancer in Germany Yugoslav emigrants to Germany