Arsen Dedić is a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 who has been prominent in the Croatian as well as former Yugoslav music scene. Dedić writes and performs chanson

Chanson

A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...

s as well as film music. He is also an award-winning poet, and has been one of the best-selling poets of former Yugoslavia.

Biography

Arsen Dedić was born in Šibenik

Šibenik

Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

 to a poor Serbian Orthodox family

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 and was baptized under the name Arsenije, after Archbishop Arsenije III Čarnojević

Arsenije III Carnojevic

Arsenije III Čarnojević was the Archbishop of Peć and Patriarch of Serbs from 1674 to 1691 and Metropolitan of Szentendre from 1691 to his death in 1706.-Family:Arsenije was born to the Cetinje clan of Old Montenegro...

. His father Jovan was a bricklayer

Bricklayer

A bricklayer or mason is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...

, volunteer firefighter

Firefighter

Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...

 and musician, and his mother Jelka was an illiterate housewife, whom Arsen later taught. He finished music school. He and his older brother Milutin Dedić (named after Stefan Milutin) left Šibenik for Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

 and Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, respectively, in 1957. Milutin is since a painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

 still living in Belgrade. Arsen studied law at Zagreb but drops out in 1959, enrolling in the Musical Academy of Zagreb - receiving a diploma in 1964.

Arsen became a household name in the 1960s, thanks to pop music festival

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

s and his brand of music, which was at first influenced by Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

n folklore, but is mostly comparable to the French chanson

Chanson

A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...

 genre. Throughout the decades Dedić became one of the most respected musicians in former SFR Yugoslavia and maintained this reputation to this day.

Notable books of poetry include:

• "Brod u Boci" (Croatia Concert, Zagreb, 1971)
• "Hotel Balkan" (Znanje, Zagreb, 1987)
• "101 Pjesma" (Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1989)

Arsen Dedić is married to German-born Croatian pop singer Gabi Novak

Gabi Novak

Gabi Novak is a Croatian pop and jazz singer. She became famous in the 1960s.Gabi was born to a Croatian father and a German mother.She is married to Arsen Dedić, a renowned singer-songwriter who also composed many of her songs....

. Their son Matija Dedić is one of the most respected jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 musicians in Croatia, and has together with Marina a daughter "Lu". They also have a daughter, Sandra.

Albums released on vinyl

• Čovjek kao ja (1969)
• Arsen 2 (1971)
• Homo Volans (double album) (1973)
• Vraćam se (1975)
• Porodično stablo (1976)
• Arsenal (1976)
• Otisak autora (1976)
• Pjesme sa šlagom (1976)
• Dedić-Golob (1977)
• Kuća pored mora (instrumentals) (1978)
• Rimska ploča (1980)
• Pjevam pjesnike (1980)
• Naručene pjesme (1980)
• Gabi i Arsen (1980)
• Carevo novo ruho (1981)
• Arsen pjeva djeci (1982)
• Provincija (1984)
• Kantautor (double album) (1985)
• Moje popevke (1986)
• Kino Sloboda (1987)
• Arsen & Bora Čorba Unplugged `87
  Arsen & Bora Čorba Unplugged `87
  Arsen & Bora Čorba Unplugged `87 is the bootleg recording of the unplugged concert Croatian singer-songwriter Arsen Dedić and Serbian rock musician Bora Đorđević held in Terazije Theatre in Belgrade on March 6, 1987...
  
  (1987)
• Hrabri ljudi (Gabi i Arsen) (1988)
• Glazba za film i TV (1989)
• Svjedoci priče (1989)

Albums released on CD

• Najbolje od Arsena (1991)
• Tihi obrt (1993)
• Ko ovo more platit (1995)
• Ministarstvo (1997) / Ministarstvo straha (2000, 2005)
• Herbar (1999)
• Čovjek kao ja (1969/1999)
• Kino Sloboda (1987/2000)
• Kinoteka (2002)
• Homo volans (1973/2003)
• Imena žena (2003)
• Na zlu putu (2004)
• Ministarstvo Straha (2006)
• Rebus (2008)

External links

• Compositions by Arsen Dedić