Miodrag "Miki" Jevremović (27 March 1941 – 13 January 2017) was a Serbian and Yugoslav singer of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

Biography

Miki Jevremović was born on 27 March 1941 in

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 ...

to Vidoje Jevremović and Angelina (née Blagojević) Jevremović. He attended a gymnasium where he was exempt from final exams (''matura'') on account of being an excellent student. He enrolled at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

, but never graduated. He rose to prominence and enjoyed popularity in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in the 1960s and 70s. He participated in various Yugoslav music festivals, including "Vaš šlager sezone" (

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

), "Beogradsko proleće", "Zagrebački festival", "Opatijski festival" and "Splitski festival". In the 1990s, he also participated in summer festivals in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. He collaborated with many composers within the country and abroad, such as Boris Bizetić, Mikis Teodorakis etc. The beginning of his career was marked by the songs: "Mama", "Pijem" and "Osamnaest žutih ruža" (where he was backed by Zlatni dečaci). Later hits were: "Ako jednom vidiš Mariju", "S kim si sada kad je tužno vreme" and "Pesnikova gitara". His later hits include: "Grkinja", "Lihnida" and "Neka toče staro vino". In the 1970s, alongside

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 ...

and Radmila Karaklajić, he was also very popular in the

USSR 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 ...

, where he was declared singer of the year in 1974 and 1975. His daughter, Jelena Jevremović, is also a singer in

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 ...

. Besides music, Jevremović was interested in

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 ...

, and he participated in several tournaments in Yugoslavia and abroad. His greatest success was a draw with world champion

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, ⁣and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 ...

. His highest

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

rating was 2125. On December 29, 2016, Jevremović suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, which resulted in his death after a two week

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

on January 13, 2017. He was buried in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens at the Belgrade New Cemetery.

In popular culture

During the height of Jevremović's popularity, there was a rivalry between his fans and the fans of

. Thus, there were clubs of ardent fans: "đokisti" (Đokists) and "mikisti" (Mikists). In popular culture, this division is seen in the TV series ''

Državni posao ''Državni posao'' ( sr-Cyrl, Државни посао; ) is a Serbian comedy television series starring Dimitrije Banjac, Nikola Škorić and Dejan Ćirjaković. They are also the authors of the show. The show began airing in September 2012. I ...

''. The main character of this comedy, Đorđe Čvarkov, is a Mikist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jevremović, Miki 1941 births 2017 deaths Serbian male singers Serbian pop singers Yugoslav male singers Singers from Belgrade Serbian chess players Yugoslav chess players