Rani Mraz

Rani Mraz
The most famous Rani Mraz lineup, in 1978; from left to right: Bilja Krstić, Verica Todorović, Đorđe Balašević, Bora Đorđević
Background information
Origin	Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Genres	Pop rock, rock
Years active	1977 – 1981
Labels	Jugoton, PGP-RTB
Associated acts	Žetva, Suncokret, Riblja Čorba, Bilja & Bistrik
Past members	Đorđe Balašević Verica Todorović Vladimir Knežević Bora Đorđević Biljana Krstić Aleksandar Dujin Aleksandar Kravić

Rani Mraz (Serbian Cyrillic: Рани Мраз; trans. Early Frost) were a former Yugoslav rock band from Novi Sad, formed in 1977 by former Žetva member Đorđe Balašević. During the initial period, the band went through several lineup changes, until Balašević and female singer Biljana Krstić remained the only official members of the band. The two released two studio albums under the name Rani Mraz, before officially dissolving in 1981.

Rani Mraz was formed at the end of 1977 by former Žetva members Đorđe Balašević and female vocalist Verica Todorović. The first lineup of the band also featured the guitarist Vladimir Knežević "Knez". The band had their first public appearance in December 1977 at the Sportsman of the Year Award ceremony, held in Belgrade's Pionir Hall, where they performed Žetva hit "U razdeljak te ljubim" ("I Lay a Kiss on Your Parting"), with alternative lyrics and entitled "U levicu te ljubim" ("I Lay a Kiss on Your Left Hand"), dedicating it to boxer Mate Parlov. Soon after, Balašević was invited to appear in Radio Novi Sad, to record one of his songs, which would represent Radio Novi Sad on the 1978 Opatija Festival. The song chosen was "Moja prva ljubav" ("My First Love"), and it was recorded with the members of the band Neoplanti, as Rani Mraz was still lacking members. The single cover featured, beside Balašević, Todorović and Knežević, Balašević's friend Slobodan Pavković, a football player at the time playing for FK Novi Sad. Although Rani Mraz did not win the festival, the song became a hit, and the single, released by Jugoton, was sold in more than 130,000 copies.