Slobodan "Boba" Stefanović ( sr-cyr, Слободан "Боба" Стефановић; 21 May 1946 – 9 February 2015) 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 singer and songwriter. He was one of the leading stars of the Yugoslav pop scene in the 1970s. Stefanović started his musical career in 1962 as the vocalist of the

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 Zlatni Dečaci, with which he achieved nationwide popularity. He left the band in 1967, deciding to dedicate himself to his solo career. He graduated from the Belgrade

Faculty of Dramatic Arts The Faculty of Dramatic Arts (; abbreviated FDU) is a constituent institution of the University of Arts in Belgrade which focuses on education and research in the fields of film, theatre, dramaturgy, culture, radio, acting and medias. It was esta ...

and during the late 1960s and the 1970s he released three studio albums and a large number of EPs and 7" singles with which he achieved large mainstream popularity. His popularity declined in the 1980s, and during the 1990s and 2000s he performed live occasionally only, dedicating himself to other activities, until 2012, when he had his last public performance.

Musical career

With Zlatni Dečaci (1962-1967)

Stefanović started his career in 1962, as the frontman of the

band Zlatni Dečaci (''The Golden Boys''). The band gained the attention of the public with their live performances, on which they performed covers of rock hits and instrumental versions of classical pieces. Thanks to

Nikola Karaklajić Nikola Karaklajić (Cyrillic: Никола Караклајић, Belgrade, 24 February 1926 – 16 December 2008) was a Serbian-Yugoslav chess master. He was the first notable exponent and probably inventor of the Belgrade Gambit.David Hoope ...

, a national

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

champion and radio personality, who took the band's demo recordings to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Dutch record label

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label. History Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...

got interested in the band, so, in 1965, Zlatni Dečaci released their debut record, a

7" 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 standal ...

with the songs "Swan Lake" (a version of a

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

from

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'') and "Humoresque" (a version of a humoresque by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

), for the label, thus becoming the first Yugoslav rock band to release a record for the foreign market. The band's popularity in Yugoslavia grew, Zlatni Dečaci eventually becoming one of the most popular Yugoslav bands of the 1960s. The band released three EPs in Yugoslavia, appeared in numerous TV shows and recorded numerous tunes for radio stations. In 1966 the band held several performances in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Stefanović left the band in 1967, after his solo performance on the Belgrade Spring festival. The band continued with the new vocalist for a while, but disbanded soon after.

Solo career (1967-2012)

After he left Zlatni Dečaci, Stefanović graduated from the Belgrade

and started his solo career as a pop singer. He released his debut solo record, the EP ''Kraj leta'' (''End of Summer'') in 1967.Boba Stefanović releases at Discogs
/ref> In 1973 he released his first full-length album, ''Ako si me drugačije zamišljala oprosti...'' (''If You Imagined I'm Different, Forive Me...''). On the album he was backed by Radio Television Zagreb Dance Orchestra,

Radio Television Belgrade The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly referred to as Radio Television of Serbia (), or RTS (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Serbia. RTS has four organizational units – radio, television, music pro ...

Revue Orchestra and Radio Television Sarajevo Revue Orchestra. Songs on the album were composed by Aleksandar Korać, Nikica Kalogjera and

Vojkan Borisavljević Vojislav "Vojkan" Borisavljević (5 May 1947 – 23 February 2021) was a Serbian composer and conductor. He composed more than five hundred songs for the most famous Yugoslav singers - Leo Martin, Zdravko Čolić, Đorđe Marjanović, Miki Jevre ...

, with lyrics written by Ivica Krajač, Olivera Borisavljević and Zvonimir Skerl. For his second studio album, ''Autoportret'' (''

Self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

''), released in 1976, Stefanović authored all the songs. Members of

Korni Grupa Korni Grupa ( sr-cyr, Корни Група, trans. ''Korni Group'') was a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1968. Launched and led by, as well as named after, the keyboardist Kornelije Kovač, the band was one of the first Yugoslav ro ...

Josip Boček (guitar), Bojan Hreljac (bass guitar), Vladimir "Furda" Furduj (drums) and

Kornelije Kovač Kornelije "Bata" Kovač ( sr-Cyrl, Корнелије "Бата" Ковач, ; ; 1 January 1942 – 13 September 2022) was a Serbian composer. Early life Born in Niš during World War II in the Nazi-occupied Serbia to a Hungarian father an ...

(keyboards) played on the album as the studio band. On the album recording Stefanović played harmonica, acoustic guitar and percussion. The track "Ona, ona, ona" ("She, She, She") featured Radio Television Belgrade Revue Orchestra conducted by Vojislav Simić. His third album, ''Boba'' (1979), featured music and lyrics authored by Stefanović, but also by

Zdenko Runjić 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 and Croatia. Biography Runjić was born on 26 ...

(music),

Đorđe Novković Đorđe Novković (; 2 September 1943 - 6 May 2007) was a Croatian songwriter of partly Serbian descent who was known for his work in Yugoslavia and Croatia. Novković composed more than 2,500 songs and sold approximately 20 million records. He is ...

(music), Jakov Džolić (lyrics),

Marina Tucaković Marina Tucaković ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Туцаковић; 4 November 1953 – 19 September 2021) was a Serbian lyricist and songwriter. Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, Tucaković had a degree from the Economic Faculty at the Universit ...

(lyrics), Nena Labić (lyrics) and Biljana Petrović (both music and lyrics). His fourth studio album, ''Tornado'' (1983) was more rock-oriented than his previous solo releases. The songs on the album were written by Stefanović, who also played guitar on the album recording. Guitar on the recording was also played by Josip Boček and by former Zlatni Dečaci member Velibor "Borko" Kacl, bass guitar was played by Goce Dimitrovski and Kire Mitrev, drums were played by Lazar Tošić, and keyboards were played by

Laza Ristovski Lazar "Laza" Ristovski (Serbian Cyrillic: Лаза Ристовски, ; 23 January 1956 – 6 October 2007) was a Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms ...

. The album featured a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

version of Stefanović's old hit "Obriši suze, draga" ("Wipe Off Your Tears, My Darling"). On his fifth studio album, ''Evergreen Man'' (1987), he recorded covers of the songs "

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

", "

If You Go Away "If You Go Away" is Rod McKuen's English-language version of the 1959 Jacques Brel song "Ne me quitte pas". Created as part of a larger project to bring Brel's work into English, "If You Go Away" is considered a pop standard and has been recorde ...

", " Jezbel", " You Mean Everything to Me", "

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

" and other evergreen hits. On the album he was accompanied by Radio Television Belgrade

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. Stefanović released his last studio album, entitled ''To je to'' (''That's It'') in 2001; on this album he was once again author of all the songs. During his career Stefanović released three

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

and 26

s. In 1976 he released a

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

single for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

market under the name Stefan Boba. With his songs he won first prizes on Skopje Festival,

Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...

Festival, Vaš šlager sezone (''You're Schlager of the Season'') festival and Belgrade Spring festival (where he won First Prize on three occasions). He had also won the

Golden Orpheus Golden Orpheus (, ''Zlatniyat Orfey'') was an international vocal competition and song contest, held annually from 1965 to 1999 in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. The festival program included a Bulgarian song competition, an international vocal competi ...

festival in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

festival in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and the ''Man and the Sea'' festival in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. At the beginning of the 1970s, Stefanović was, for a short time, a member of the group One i Oni (''Them Girls and Them Boys''), which consisted of him, Minja Subota, Lidija Kodrič and Daliborka Stojišić, and which performed mostly in the

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 ...

and other countries of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

. In 1991 Stefanović provided vocals for the ''Solunske pesme'' (''Songs from the

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 ...

'') EP, which featured Serbian patriotic songs from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He also wrote songs for singers Beti Đorđević, Nada Knežević and Biljana Petrović. Stefanović had his last public performance in 2012, on the ''Spring in Belgrade'' concert in Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, where he performed his hit "Obriši suze, draga"."Боба Стефановић је био наш највећи сценски шармер", Politika.rs
/ref> Health problems forced him to retire from singing.

Other activities

With Lokica Stefanović, Boban Stefanović formed the

dance troupe A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different list of dance ...

Jazz-Ball, and later the dance troupe Bobete (''Bobettes''). At the beginning of the 1990s, Stefanović started his own singing school, which was attended by

Vlado Georgiev Vladimir "Vlado" Georgiev ( sr-cyr, Владо Георгиев, ; born 6 June 1976) is a Serbian singer-songwriter and producer, one of the prominent musicians in the Balkans. Georgiev served as a judge on television series '' Prvi glas Srbij ...

, Ceca Slavković, Filip Žmaher and other prominent artists from the Serbian scene. He wrote the book ''Prva ljubav Dušana Silnog'' (''First Love of

Dušan the Mighty Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name fo ...

''), which he illustrated with his own

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s, and which was published with the music Stefanović composed as the soundtrack to the story. He made an appearance as a guitar player in

Živko Nikolić Živko Nikolić (Cyrillic: Живко Николић; 20 November 1941 – 17 August 2001) was a Montenegrin film director. Biography Živko Nikolić was born in Ozrinići, Nikšić municipality in today's Montenegro, in 1941. He graduated fr ...

's 1986 film ''

The Beauty of Vice ''The Beauty of Vice'' () is a 1986 Yugoslav drama film directed by Živko Nikolić. The film sold 866,474 tickets at the box office. Cast * Mira Furlan - Jaglika * Mima Karadžić - Luka * Petar Božović - Žorž * Alain Noury - foreign nu ...

''.

Death

Stefanović died in Belgrade on 9 February 2015, at the age of 69."Preminuo pevač Boba Stefanović", b92.net
/ref>

Discography

With Zlatni Dečaci

EPs

*''Labuđe jezero'' (1966) *''Čudna devojka'' (1966) *''Sadko'' (1967)

Singles

*"Swan Lake" / "Humoresque" (1965) *''Muzika iz filma Kuda posle kiše'' (1967)

Solo

Studio albums

*''Ako si me drugačije zamišljala oprosti...'' (1973) *''Autoportret'' (1976) *''Boba'' (1979) *''Tornado'' (1983) *''Evergreen Man'' (1987) *''To je to'' (2001)

Compilations

*''Boba Stefanović'' (1998)

EPs

*''Kraj leta'' (1967) *''Pisma tebi'' (1968) *''Moja stara gitara'' (1970)

Singles

*"Svako mora imati nekog" / "Daj mi, daj" (1970) *"Obriši suze, draga" / "Kada te nema" (1970) *"Od proleća cvetnog do beloga sna" (

flexi disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

; 1970) *"Bolno srce plače" / "Moja ljubljena" (1971) *"Čuvaj se vatre" / "Budi samo moja" (1972) *"Ljubica" / "Tvoj prvi ples" (1972) *"Za tvoju ljubav živim" / "Jedna crnka dugokosa" (1972) *"Klečim i molim" / "Plačimo zajedno" (1973) *"Bez tebe ne mogu" / "Ostani moja" (1973) *"Mari, Mari" / "Oprosti mi, Mari" (1973) *"Piši mi" / "Kome da dam" (1973) *"Vrati mi snove za dvoje" / "Nema, nema nje" (1974) *"Koliko te volim" / "Hiljadu gitara" (1974) *"Ruže" / "Oči drage žene" (1975) *"Kažu mi da si još uvek sama" / "Jedna noć sa tobom" (1975) *"Vodite me njoj" / "Dok te ljubi on" (1976) *"Dan ljubavi" / "Ostavi sve" (With

Bisera Veletanlić Bisera Veletanlić ( sr-cyr, Бисера Велетанлић, ; born 15 September 1942 in Sisak) is a Serbian jazz singer, one of the greatest names of Yugoslav evergreen scene and the star of music festivals in the 1970s. She has been called "o ...

, Nada Knežević and Beti Đorđević; 1975) *"Ona, ona, ona" / "Ja bih hteo" (1976) *"Nie Kann Etwas Schöner Sein" / "In Meiner Einsamkeit..." (1976) *"Živim tako sam" / "Ne mogu bez tebe" (1977) *"Hiljadu mandolina" / "Čovek sa gitarom" (1977) *"Sudbino" / "Nikada" (1978) *"Ala mi je, pa mi je" / "Ima, ima, ima..." (With Dragan Toković; 1978) *"Da li si noćas sama" / "Kad bi znala" (1978) *"Vrati se ljubavi" / "U 'Super salonu'" (1978) *"A onda šta" / "Da li neko zna" (1979)

References

External links

Boba Stefanović
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:Stefanovic, Boba 1946 births 2015 deaths Serbian rock singers Serbian pop singers Serbian singer-songwriters Serbian male singer-songwriters Serbian songwriters Yugoslav rock singers 20th-century Serbian male singers Yugoslav male singers Musicians from Belgrade University of Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts alumni