Safet Isović (; 20 October 1936 – 2 September 2007) was a
Bosnian singer who performed the Bosnian traditional music
sevdalinka
Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...
.
Early life and family
Isović was born into a
Bosniak
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
family in
Bileća
Bileća ( sr-cyrl, Билећа) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants.
History
...
, located in the
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
region of modern-day
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 ...
, while it was a part of
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
. Safet was one of three children of Ahmet Isović and Ermina; his brother's name was Fehim and his sister was Fehma. Safet's father Ahmet was the son of Zaim Isović, whose first wife, Derviša (née Baraković), died during childbirth on 19 June 1900.
Safet became a war refugee at the age of five in 1941 when
Yugoslavia was invaded by Nazi Germany. His family escaped to
Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
, where he attended elementary school. After the war, the Isović family returned to Bileća. In his youth, Safet's family moved around
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and lived in several cities, including Bileća, Banja Luka,
Trebinje
Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the re ...
and
Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...
.
Career
Upon graduating from high school, Isović wanted to enroll in college in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
, but under pressure from his parents he moved to
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 ...
in 1955 and began attending law school.
While studying in Sarajevo, he was persuaded by college friends to audition for the student ensemble “Slobodan Princip Seljo,” where he impressed the panel. Shortly after joining the group, friends persuaded him to audition for
Radio Sarajevo
Radio Sarajevo is a radio station and magazine that began airing 10 April 1945, four days after the liberation of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina near the end of World War II. It was Bosnia and Herzegovina's first radio station. The first words s ...
. He failed his first audition but passed the second and spent the following year with music teachers, singing and learning to play the piano. After a year of study, he was invited to record two songs, which were released on 6 April 1957.
Isović held his first solo concert on 19 March 1963 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 ...
and was the only singer from the former Yugoslavia ever to perform at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
During his 50+ year-long career, he covered many
sevdalinka
Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...
and Bosnian folk songs, including ''
Moj dilbere''.
Isović won many awards and performed at some of the largest festivals throughout the
former 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 Yu ...
. This contributed significantly to the rebirth of the
sevdalinka
Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...
. He won the ''Golden Microphone'' award in Yugoslavia and 35 regional silver and gold record awards.
In a radio interview, fellow Bosnian sevdalinka singer
Silvana Armenulić
Silvana Bajraktarević (born Zilha Bajraktarević; 18 February 1939 – 10 October 1976), known professionally as Silvana Armenulić (), was a Bosnian singer-songwriter and actress and one of the most prominent commercial folk music and traditi ...
said that she was a fan of his music and called Isović her "darling."
Personal life and politics
Although a self-described anti-Communist, Isović spent time with
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politicians
Avdo Humo
Avdo Humo (1 February 1914 – 24 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Bosnian communist politician, writer and an Order of the People's Hero recipient.
Humo held highest positions in the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1972, Hum ...
and
Džemal Bijedić
Džemal Bijedić ( cyrl, Џемал Биједић, ; 12 April 1917 – 18 January 1977) was a Bosnian and Yugoslav politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 30 July 1971 until his death in a plane crash on 18 January 1977.
...
, and Yugoslav president
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
and his wife
Jovanka Broz
Jovanka Broz (; sr-Cyrl, Јованка Броз, Будисављевић; 7 December 1924 – 20 October 2013) was the First Lady of Yugoslavia as the wife of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Yugoslav ...
.
Isović was a staunch supporter of
Bosniak nationalism
Bosniak nationalism ( bs, bošnjački nacionalizam) or Bosniakdom ( bs, bošnjaštvo) is the nationalism that asserts the nationality of Bosniaks and promotes the cultural unity of the Bosniaks. It should not be confused with Bosnian nationalism ( ...
and was one of the signatories of the founding charter of the
SDA
SDA or sda may refer to:
Educational institutions
* San Dieguito Academy, Encinitas, California, US
* SDA Bocconi School of Management, in Milan, Italy
Science and technology Biology
* Specific dynamic action, the thermic effect of food
* Str ...
. Later, he would serve as their delegate in the
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
of
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 ...
.
In the summer of 1992, Isović was injured by bombing during the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
when a grenade hit his apartment, which followed the
dissolution of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
. During the
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
of the 1990s, Isović became a war refugee for the second time in his life, living in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
, Croatia until the end of the Bosnian War. He spent the final decade of his life in Sarajevo.
Death
Isović died on 2 September 2007 in Sarajevo and was buried the next day at
Ali Pasha's Mosque. His death provoked a massive outpouring of grief around the country. At a memorial service held at the
National Theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was called the "Father of the
Sevdalinka
Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...
" by
Beba Selimović
Izeta Selimović (27 March 1936 – 10 March 2020), known by her stage name Beba Selimović, was a Bosnian sevdalinka- folk singer and was one of the leading female singers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in Yugoslavia, along with Zehra Deović, ...
. The Minister of Culture and Sport,
Emir Hadžihafizbegović
Emir Hadžihafizbegović (; born 20 August 1961) is a Bosnian actor. Often regarded as one of the best actors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, he has appeared in over fifty films, including ''When Father Was Away on Business'' (1985), ''Remake'' (2003 ...
said that Safet Isović did great deeds both when he spoke and when he sang. Ivica Šarić, of the Sarajevo Opera, said that the world was left now without the best interpreter of
sevdalinka
Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...
.
Safet Isović is Buried - Nezavisne Novine
/ref>
See also
*List of Bosnia and Herzegovina patriotic songs
This is a list of Bosnian patriotic songs.
See also
*Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*List of Bosnia and Herzegovina folk songs
*Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Notes
External links
Bi ...
References
External links
Safet Isović discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isovic, Safet
1936 births
2007 deaths
People from Bileća
Sevdalinka
20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina male singers
Musicians from Bileća
Musicians from Sarajevo
Party of Democratic Action politicians
Yugoslav male singers
Yugoslav Wars refugees