Zdenko Runjić (26 October 1942 – 27 October 2004) was a Croatian songwriter. In his long career, he established himself as one of the most prolific and most popular songwriters of
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 ...
and Croatia.
Biography
Runjić was born on 26 October 1942 in the village of
Garčin
Garčin is a village and a municipality in Brod-Posavina County, Croatia. The total population is 4,806, distributed in the following settlements:
* Bicko Selo, population 517
* Garčin, population 911
* Klokočevik, population 607
* Sapci, po ...
near
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 ...
.
Many of his songs were inspired by the folk traditions of Dalmatia. The songs became classics and Runjić helped the careers of many notable Croatian musicians such as
Oliver Dragojević
Oliver Dragojević (; 7 December 1947 – 29 July 2018) was a Croatian singer and composer, who was considered one of the most enduring musical stars and cultural icons in Croatia with a discography that spanned nearly five decades. His style ble ...
,
Doris Dragović
Dorotea "Doris" Budimir (, ; born 16 April 1961) is a Croatian singer-songwriter who has represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with the song " Željo moja", finishing 11th with 49 points, and Croatia in the Eurovision Song Con ...
and
Meri Cetinić
Meri Cetinić (born 15 June 1953) is a Croatian pop singer and soprano vocalist.
Cetinić was born in Split and graduated at the Teachers Academy of the University of Split
The University of Split ( hr, Sveučilište u Splitu) is a universit ...
. He was especially successful at the prestigious
Split Music Festival The Split Festival (officially ''Festival zabavne glazbe Split'' or ''Splitski Festival'') is a pop music festival held annually, in July, in Split, Croatia. It has been held since 1960. It is one of the premier Croatian music festivals.
Since its ...
. He wrote almost 700 songs which sold several million copies in both albums and singles. More than 200 songs were written for Dragojević alone. He was also a successful businessman and music producer. He owned a record company called Skalinada which became one of the most prominent record companies of Croatia.
In 1993, following the dispute with the Split Music Festival organisers, he founded the rival music festival called ''Melodije Hrvatskog Jadrana'' (Melodies of the Croatian Adriatic) and it soon became the key music festival of the country. On 27 October 2004, Runjić died in Krapinske Toplice from a stroke while recovering from a heart attack.
See also
*
Croatian music
The music of Croatia, like the divisions of the country itself, has two major influences: Central European, present in central and northern parts of the country including Slavonia, and Mediterranean, present in coastal regions of Dalmatia and ...
References
External links
Discography of Zdenko RunjićSome audio clips
Croatian songwriters
1942 births
2004 deaths
People from Slavonski Brod
Musicians from Split, Croatia
Burials at Lovrinac Cemetery
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