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Artist
Oliver Dragojević
12+ albums
croatianpopmale vocalistsbalkandalmatian
about
Oliver Dragojević (Split, Croatia, 7 December 1947 - 29 July 2018) was a Croatian singer and songwriter. 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 (a cappella) 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's parents had three daughters, all of whom died young during the Second World War. His family escaped to a refugee camp in El Shatt, Egypt, together with many other women and children from Dalmatia. Oliver was born on December 7, 1947, not long after his family returned to their ancestral town of Vela Luka on the Dalmatian island of Korčula. His brother, Aljoša, was born in 1949. When Oliver was five, his father Marko bought each of his sons a harmonica. Oliver mastered the instrument quickly, and entertained other kids on his street, as well as passengers on board of ships on the busy route Vela Luka - Split. As Oliver showed a strong passion for music, his parents decided to enroll him in a music school in Split. There he learned to play the piano, clarinet and bass guitar. "I attended school in Split, but I always loved being at home, and I spent all my free time in Vela Luka. In winter we would harvest olives, and would warm up with wood-burning
