Oliver Dragojević
| Oliver Dragojević | |
|---|---|
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Dragojević in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Oli |
| Born |
7 December 1947 Vela Luka, Croatia |
| Genres | Klapa, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Website | www |
Oliver Dragojević (born 7 December 1947) is Croatian pianist and singer who is considered one of the most enduring musical stars and cultural icons in Croatia, with a discography that spans nearly four decades. His style blends traditional Klapa melodies of Dalmatia, a coastal region in his native Croatia, with jazz motifs wrapped up in a modern production. He is one of the few Croatian musicians who has performed at Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Olympia (Paris) and Sydney Opera House.
Dragojević had three sisters, who died young as refugees during the Second World War. The family had escaped war to a refugee camp in El Shatt Egypt as had many women and children from Dalmatia. Dragojević himself was born on 7 December 1947, not long after his family returned to their ancestral village of Vela Luka on the Dalmatian island of Korčula. His brother Alyosha was born not long after in 1949. At the age of five, his father Marko, bought Dragojević a harmonica. As he got better he started to entertain the kids from his street, and passengers on board the frequent ship route Vela Luka - Split. With the young Dragojević's passion for music, his parents sent him to a music school in Split. There he learnt to play the piano, clarinet and bass guitar.
"I attended school in Split, but I always loved being home, spending all my free time in Vela Luka. In winter we would harvest olives by hand, we warmed up with wood burning stoves, but the room always stayed cold. It was rustic but you had mom, dad, brother, cousins, aunts ... always a full house" he recalled.
Dragojević's first performance was at the "Split Children's Festival" in 1961 with the song "Baloni". In a competition of amateur singers, his cult band from Split, "Batalla" won first place for their rendition of Yesterday a Beatles classic. In 1972 to further develop his craft, he went abroad. He played in clubs across Germany, Sweden and Mexico. His solo singing career began in 1974 at the Split Festival, where he won with the song "Ća će mi Copacabana".
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Wikipedia