Mišo Kovac
Encyclopedia
Mišo Kovač is a Croatia
n singer who was one of the most popular musical icons of the former Yugoslavia, and still popular today in Croatia.
, a modern-day Croatia
n town close to Šibenik
at a time when the region was under Italian
occupation during World War II
. He had a sister named Blanka and a brother named Ratko.
While still young Mišo Kovač was learning the trade of carpet
maker, but his appearance at a talent show in Karlovac
changed his life. There, he made such an impression with his rendition of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles
that he decided to become a professional singer. His first hit came in 1964 with the song "Više se neće vratiti" (written by Đorđe Novković, sold in half a million copies) and in 1970 he won the prestigious Split
Music Festival with the song "Proplakat će zora" (also half a million copies).
Most of his songs were inspired by Dalmatia
n folk music
, and soon Mišo Kovač establish himself as the most popular musician
of the former Yugoslavia. In the next two decades, Mišo Kovač won many prestigious festival awards, topped music charts and sold vinyl
discs, cassettes and CDs in record numbers. His song "Dalmacija u mom oku" (Dalmatia In My Eye) was and still is seen as a semi-official anthem
of Dalmatia
.
Mišo Kovač was also one of the first entertainers in the country to use image and lifestyle in order to maintain popularity. In 1973 he married beauty queen Anita Baturina with whom he would have two children, son Edi (in 1975) and daughter Ivana. He also took to wearing expensive clothes, while his moustache and shoulder-length black hair became a trademark of his own.
The collapse of Yugoslavia marked the beginning of hard times and tragedy for Kovač. In 2007 interview for Aleksandar Stanković, he confirmed that at that time he offered Johnny Štulić to found a party that would try to save Yugoslavia. During the first elections
in Croatia, he was one of the few figures from the Croatian entertainment industry to support reformed Communists
of Ivica Račan
and even claimed that he would emigrate if Franjo Tuđman and his Croatian Democratic Union
come to power. However, when Tuđman did come to power, Mišo Kovač did not leave, and became seen as a rather non-person afterwards. His first appearance of Croatian television
occurred in 1991 during the war
when Mišo Kovač showed his patriotism with a song inspired by attacks from the Krajina Serbs
and JNA
on his native Šibenik, "Grobovi im nikad oprostiti neće" (The Graves Will Never Forgive Them).
At the same time Mišo Kovač's 16-year old son Edi joined special unit of Croatian Army called Škorpioni (the Scorpions). In the beginning of 1992 Edi Kovač was fatally shot in Zagreb in debatable circumstances, with death being officially declared an accident. Mišo Kovač was deeply affected by the tragedy and refused to believe the official reasons for death. He claimed that his son was murder
ed and his quest to find his son's killers got him in contact with the far right Croatian Party of Rights
. He began to support the party and appear on the rallies, dressing in the black uniform of the Croatian Defence Forces
(HOS), the party's militia
. He also changed his first name Mišo to Mate.
At the same time, Mišo Kovač also announced his retirement from the music business and held series of farewell concert
s, most memorable being held on Poljud Stadium in 1993. Despite his announcement, he continued to record new albums and new songs.
In 2000s he performed another change of political orientation, this time performing for Croatian Democratic Union on their 8th convention on 30 June 2007.
Although he has not regained the popularity he had during the 1970s and 1980s, Mišo Kovač still enjoys the reputation of a musical legend and has many loyal fans all over the former Yugoslavia.
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 who was one of the most popular musical icons of the former Yugoslavia, and still popular today in Croatia.
Biography
Mišo Kovač was born to Zrinka and Jakov Kovač on 16 July 1941 in TribunjTribunj
Tribunj is a village and a municipality in Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. It is located about three kilometers northwest of Vodice and has peaceful water front cafes.-External links:***...
, a modern-day 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 town close to 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...
at a time when the region was under Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
occupation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He had a sister named Blanka and a brother named Ratko.
While still young Mišo Kovač was learning the trade of carpet
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
maker, but his appearance at a talent show in Karlovac
Karlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
changed his life. There, he made such an impression with his rendition of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
that he decided to become a professional singer. His first hit came in 1964 with the song "Više se neće vratiti" (written by Đorđe Novković, sold in half a million copies) and in 1970 he won the prestigious Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
Music Festival with the song "Proplakat će zora" (also half a million copies).
Most of his songs were inspired 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 folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and soon Mišo Kovač establish himself as the most popular musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
of the former Yugoslavia. In the next two decades, Mišo Kovač won many prestigious festival awards, topped music charts and sold vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
discs, cassettes and CDs in record numbers. His song "Dalmacija u mom oku" (Dalmatia In My Eye) was and still is seen as a semi-official anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
of 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....
.
Mišo Kovač was also one of the first entertainers in the country to use image and lifestyle in order to maintain popularity. In 1973 he married beauty queen Anita Baturina with whom he would have two children, son Edi (in 1975) and daughter Ivana. He also took to wearing expensive clothes, while his moustache and shoulder-length black hair became a trademark of his own.
The collapse of Yugoslavia marked the beginning of hard times and tragedy for Kovač. In 2007 interview for Aleksandar Stanković, he confirmed that at that time he offered Johnny Štulić to found a party that would try to save Yugoslavia. During the first elections
Croatian parliamentary election, 1990
Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 22 April 1990, with a second round of voting on 6 May. The first free elections since multi-party politics were introduced, they resulted in a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 55 of the 80 seats...
in Croatia, he was one of the few figures from the Croatian entertainment industry to support reformed Communists
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...
of Ivica Račan
Ivica Racan
Ivica Račan was a Croatian career politician, leader of the League of Communists of Croatia and later Social Democratic Party from 1989 to 2007...
and even claimed that he would emigrate if Franjo Tuđman and his Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
come to power. However, when Tuđman did come to power, Mišo Kovač did not leave, and became seen as a rather non-person afterwards. His first appearance of Croatian television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
occurred in 1991 during the war
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
when Mišo Kovač showed his patriotism with a song inspired by attacks from the Krajina Serbs
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
and JNA
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
on his native Šibenik, "Grobovi im nikad oprostiti neće" (The Graves Will Never Forgive Them).
At the same time Mišo Kovač's 16-year old son Edi joined special unit of Croatian Army called Škorpioni (the Scorpions). In the beginning of 1992 Edi Kovač was fatally shot in Zagreb in debatable circumstances, with death being officially declared an accident. Mišo Kovač was deeply affected by the tragedy and refused to believe the official reasons for death. He claimed that his son was murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed and his quest to find his son's killers got him in contact with the far right Croatian Party of Rights
Croatian Party of Rights
The Croatian Party of Rights is a right-wing political party in Croatia. The "right" in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that the party has vowed to protect since its founding in the 19th century...
. He began to support the party and appear on the rallies, dressing in the black uniform of the Croatian Defence Forces
Croatian Defence Forces
The Croatian Defence Forces was the military arm of the Croatian Party of Rights from 1991 to 1992 during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars....
(HOS), the party's militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. He also changed his first name Mišo to Mate.
At the same time, Mišo Kovač also announced his retirement from the music business and held series of farewell concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, most memorable being held on Poljud Stadium in 1993. Despite his announcement, he continued to record new albums and new songs.
In 2000s he performed another change of political orientation, this time performing for Croatian Democratic Union on their 8th convention on 30 June 2007.
Although he has not regained the popularity he had during the 1970s and 1980s, Mišo Kovač still enjoys the reputation of a musical legend and has many loyal fans all over the former Yugoslavia.
Albums
- Mišo Kovač (1971)
- Portret (1973)
- Mi smo se voljeli (1974)
- Najveći uspjesi 1 (1975)
- Najveći uspjesi 2 (1975)
- Ovo je naša noć (1977)
- Uvijek ima nešto dalje (1979)
- Čovjek bez adrese (1980)
- Jači od vjetra (1981)
- Dalmacija u mom oku (1982)
- Osjećam te (1983)
- Zajedno smo (1984)
- Potraži me u pjesmi (1984)
- Ostala si uvijek ista (1985)
- Ti si pjesma moje duše (1986)
- Malo mi je jedan život s tobom (1987)
- Koncert (1988)
- Samo nas nebo rastavit može (1989)
- Za kim zvono plače (1990)
- Grobovi im nikad oprostiti neće (1991)
- Pjesma za Edija (1993)
- Mate Mišo Kovač (1994)
- Mojoj vjernoj publici (1995)
- Osjećam se jači (1997)
- Budi čovjek dobre volje (1999)
- Pjevaj, legendo (1999)
- Rane godine 1964-69 (1999)
- Dalmatino (2001)
- Oj ti dušo duše moje (2003)
- Hitovi (2005)
- Mišo u Šibeniku (2005)
- Ja sam kovač svoje sreće (2006)
- The Platinum Collection (2007)