Bele Višnje (
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...
: , ) was a
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n and
Yugoslav rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in
Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...
in 1962, notable for being one of the pioneers of the
Yugoslav rock scene
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 Montenegr ...
. Originally active during 1962–1973 period, the band gained local popularity but did not release any material during their original run. In the early 1990s, former members reunited, recording a studio album featuring their 1960s songs.
History
1962–1973
Bele Višnje were formed in
Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...
in the autumn of 1962 by Aleksandar Slaviković "Gušter" (guitar), Ljubodrag Jovanović "Borovac" (bass guitar), Zoran Sokić "Sole" (keyboards), Mišo Ilić (rhythm guitar), Dragan Maksimović (drums), Slobodan Pajić "Pajo" (vocals) and Muhamed Hukić "Hujo" (vocals).
["Sećanje Slobodana Pajića na 'Bele višnje' i Aca Guštera", Чачански Глас](_blank)
/ref> In the second half of 1963, Ilić was replaced by Stevo Radović (rhythm guitar, vocals), Maksimović was replaced by Predrag Radonjić, and Sokić switched from keyboards to bass guitar. This would become the band's most successful lineup. Prior to the arrival of Radović, the band performed covers only, mostly of songs by Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
, The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
and The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, and after Radović joined the band, they started working on their own songs, mostly composed by him. During their initial years, Bele Višnje performed regularly on dances in Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...
and nearby cities, holding regular Thursday dances in hall in Čačak.
On 8 March 1964, the band performed, alongside the band Iskre, singer Miki Jevremović
Miodrag "Miki" Jevremović (27 March 1941 – 13 January 2017) was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer of popular music.
Biography
Miki Jevremović was born on 27 March 1941 in Belgrade to Vidoje Jevremović and Angelina (née Blagojević) Jevremov ...
, actor Mija Aleksić
Milosav "Mija" Aleksić ( sr-cyr, Милосав "Мија" Алексић; 26 September 1923 – 12 March 1995) was a Serbian actor.
Early life
Aleksić was born in the Gornja Crnuća village within the municipality of Gornji Milanovac, Kingdo ...
and Boris Radak's ballet company
A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...
, on the celebration of Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium anniversary. On the first Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
Gitarijada festival, held on 9 January 1966, the band performed first, starting their performance with a cover of the folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
song "" ("You Have Dark Eyes, Girl"). On the festival the band won the seventh place, which gave them an opportunity to perform at larger concerts. In the autumn of 1966, Sokić and Pajić left the band, deciding to dedicate themselves to their studies. During 1966, the band started to perform the song "" ("Blond Haired Girl"), which saw success with the audience. Several years later, the song was recorded—under a slightly different title, ""—by singer Kićo Slabinac
Krunoslav "Kićo" Slabinac (28 March 1944 – 13 November 2020) was a Croatian pop singer. His specialties were the songs nowadays inspired by folk music of Slavonia region of Croatia, and the uses of traditional instruments such as the tamburica ...
, who had served the army with Radović in Titograd
Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...
and achieved nationwide popularity with the song. With the new bass guitarist, Miki Vukadinović, Bele Višnje performed on the second Belgrade Gitarijada festival, held on 23 January 1967. The band performed a cover of the Bosnian folk song " Moj dilbere" ("My Darling") and the song "Tango" and won the third place.
During the following years, the lineup changed several more times; Slobodan Rabrenović (guitar), Jovan Matijašević (bass guitar), Vladimir Šunjevarić (guitar) and Zoran Branković (bass guitar) passed through the band. The group ended their activity at the end of 1973. The following year, Radović recorded the 7-inch single
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
with the songs "" ("Chips
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...
Hit") and "" ("Magical Eyes"), releasing it under the name Bele Višnje through Diskoton
''Diskoton'' was a major record label in SFR Yugoslavia, based in Sarajevo, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company ceased to exist in 1992, with the outbreak of the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The studio was destroyed along ...
.
Post-breakup
After he left Bele Višnje, Slaviković performed with the bands Studenti (''The Students''), Plamenih 5 and San. In the 1970s, he performed as a member of Đorđe Marjanović
Đorđe Marjanović ( sr-Cyr, Ђорђе Марјановић; 30 October 1931 – 15 May 2021) was a Serbian and SFRY, Yugoslav singer.
Marjanović began his career in the mid-1950s, rising to fame in the late 1950s with his theatrical on-stag ...
's and Miki Jevremović
Miodrag "Miki" Jevremović (27 March 1941 – 13 January 2017) was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer of popular music.
Biography
Miki Jevremović was born on 27 March 1941 in Belgrade to Vidoje Jevremović and Angelina (née Blagojević) Jevremov ...
's backing bands, performing on several of their Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
tours. In 1980, he withdrew from the scene. He died Belgrade on 23 October 2017.
During the 1970s, Zoran Branković performed with the rock bands Vatra (''Fire''), Krvna Grupa (''Blood Type'') and folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
groups O đila and Novi Spomenari (''The New Scrapbooks''). He has recorded three ethnic music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
solo albums, ''Brankovići s kolena na koleno'' (''The Branković Family from One Generation to Another'', 2005), ''Solunac'' (''Salonica Front
The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...
Veteran'', 2016) and ''Lefterija'' (2023), and the children's music
Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...
album ''Uspavanke'' (''Lullabies'', 2018). He has authored two books about rock music in Čačak, ''Kako je Čačak zavoleo rokenrol'' (''How Čačak Fell in Love with Rock and Roll'', 2013) and ''Dečaci sa Morave'' (''The Boys from Morava'', 2019), the latter about the 1960s Čačak band of the same name.
1990 and 2010 reunions
Bele Višnje reunited in 1990 in lineup featuring Stevo Radović (rhythm guitar, vocals), Vladimir Šunjarević (guitar), Slobodan Pajić (vocals), Jovan Matijašević (bass guitar) and Predrag Radonjić (drums). As during their original run the band did not make any studio recordings, in 1994 the band, on the initiative of Smak
Smak ( sr-Cyrl, Смак; trans. ''The end time'') was a Serbian and SFRY, 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 yu rock, former Yugoslav rock scene. T ...
guitarist Radomir Mihajlović "Točak", recorded their old songs, produced by Mihajlović, and released them on the audio cassette
The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...
(''Songs of Our Youth'') through Zvuci Galaksije record label. The album was produced by Mihajlović. In 2005, ''Pesme naše mladosti'' was reissued on CD by the same record label.
In November 2010, the band reunited to perform on a celebration of fifty years of rock music in their hometown Čačak.
Post reunions
Radović died in Belgrade on 13 December 2017.
Discography
Studio albums
* (1994)
Singles
*"" / "" (1973)
References
External links
Bele Višnje
at Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bele Visnje
Serbian rock music groups
Serbian folk rock groups
Yugoslav rock music groups
Beat groups
Musical groups from Čačak
Musical groups established in 1962
Musical groups disestablished in 1973
Musical groups reestablished in 1990
1962 establishments in Yugoslavia
1962 establishments in Serbia