Radomir Mihailović (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Радомир Михаиловић; born 13 June 1950), also known as Točak (''wheel'' in English) is a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. He is best known as the guitarist for the Serbian and formerly Yugoslav

Smak Smak ( sr-Cyrl, Смак; trans. ''The end time'') was a Serbian and Yugoslav band from Kragujevac. The group reached the peak of popularity in the 1970s when it was one of the most notable acts of the former Yugoslav rock scene. The band's le ...

Biography

Mihailović was born on 13th of July, 1950, in

Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...

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 ...

. He started playing various stringed instruments at 5 years old, to finally commit to the guitar at the age of 9. In his early youth, he was a member of a band from Čačak, called ''Dečaci sa Morave'' (Boys from Morava). In 1970, he played frequently in various clubs in Belgium. Not long after, in 1971 he forms

(eng. ''Endtime''), a rock band from

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

, which would become one of the most popular bands in the region, being widely considered as one of the best Yugoslav bands of all time. He is the leading composer and guitarist for the band. Their first full-length album, ''

'', was released in 1975. It was a major success, and followed up by what many considered their best record, ''

Crna dama ''Crna dama'' is the second studio album by the Serbs, Serbian band Smak, released in 1977. Track listing Personnel Smak * Boris Aranđelović — vocals * Radomir Mihajlović, Radomir Mihajlović "Točak" — guitar * Miodrag Petkovski, Mi ...

'' (eng.Black Lady), in 1977. The album was recorded in

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by such notable artists as Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Paul McCartney, ...

, and produced by

Martin Levan Martin Levan is a music producer and sound engineer who, during the 1980s and 1990s, designed the sound for many of the major musicals in the West End of London. Early career Levan began his career as the tea boy at Morgan Studios, London in 19 ...

, a famous

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

producer, who, among others, worked on

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

's first album. The English version of the album was also released in 1978, called "

Black Lady Black Lady is an American card game of the Hearts group for three to six players and the most popular of the group. It emerged in the early 20th century as an elaboration of Hearts and was initially also called Discard Hearts. It is named after ...

". These two albums showcased the scope of the band, which had incorporated various musical styles, such as blues, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, jazz rock, and the ethnic music from the region. Mihailović's unique virtuous style of playing is a big part of the band's sound. He plays the electric guitar with fingers, rather than with a pick. He recorded a number of solo singles, and published one solo album. He also composed a highly-acclaimed soundtrack for the movie "Byzantine Blue", receiving the Crystal Prysm award. He runs his own school of guitar 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 ...

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

*''R.M. Točak'' ( ZKP RTLJ, 1976) *''Vizantijsko plavo'' (

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

, 1993)

Live albums

*''RMTocak trio Live in Skopje `84'' *''RMTocak trio Live in Zagreb `87'' *''TEK Live in Nish 1994''

Singles

*"Mantilija" / "Specijalka" (

Jugodisk Jugodisk was a record label was established in 1968, in the then Socialist Republic of Serbia in SFR Yugoslavia in Belgrade, today Serbia. Before 1981, it was known as Beograd Disk. In 2003, the company was sold at a state auction to the show bus ...

1980) *"Marš..." / "...na Drinu" (

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 ...

1984)

With Smak

References

* ''EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006'', Janjatović Petar; * ''Nevidljive terazije Slobodana Stojanovića Kepe'', Jakovljević Mirko;

External links

Radomir Mihailović Točak at Progarchives