Oliver Dragojevià(; 7 December 1947 â 29 July 2018) was a Croatian singer and composer, who was considered one of the most enduring musical stars and cultural icons in Croatia with a discography that spanned nearly five decades. His style blended traditional klapa melodies of Dalmatia, a coastal region in his native Croatia, with jazz motifs wrapped up in a modern production.
For his influential musical career, he reached critical and commercial acclaim in Croatia and neighbouring countries, and numerous accolades, including numerous Porin and Indexi awards. He is one of the few Croatian musicians who performed at major international venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, L'Olympia, and Sydney Opera House.
Due to his popularity in Croatian music and his impact on Dalmatian music, he is often regarded as the "greatest musician in Croatian history", and his music videos on YouTube have accumulated more than 700 million views. In 1995, he was awarded the Order of Danica Hrvatska for his services to culture.
Oliver's mother Kata (1907âÂÂ1994) and father Marko Dragojevià(1908âÂÂ1991) had three daughters, all of whom died young during World War II. His family escaped to a refugee camp in El Shatt, Egypt, together with many other women and children from Dalmatia.
Dragojeviàwas born on 7 December 1947 in Split, not long after his family returned to their ancestral town of Vela Luka, on the Dalmatian island of KorÃÂula. He had an older brother Aljoà ¡a (1946âÂÂ2011). When Oliver was five, his father 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 of Vela LukaâÂÂSplit. As Dragojeviàshowed a strong passion for music, his parents decided to enroll him in a music school in his hometown. There he learned to play the piano, clarinet and bass guitar.
DragojeviÃÂ's first performance was at the Split Children's Festival in 1961 with the song "Baloni" (Balloons). In a competition of amateur singers, his cult band from Split, Batali, won the first place for their rendition of "Yesterday", a Beatles classic. In 1972, DragojeviÃÂ went abroad to further develop his craft. 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 "ÃÂa ÃÂe mi Copacabana" (What Do I Need Copacabana For).
A year later, composer Zdenko Runjiàand DragojeviÃÂ, released the song "Galeb i ja" (Seagull and I); it proved to be a big hit across the former Yugoslavia and made Dragojeviàa household name. That was followed by hits "Romanca" (Romance), "Oprosti mi, pape" (Forgive Me, Father), "Stari morski vuk" (An Old Sea Wolf). Runjiàwould further collaborate with Dragojeviàon further 200 songs, until RunjiÃÂ's death. Between 1975 and 1980, the DragojeviÃÂ/Runjiàduo dominated the music scene of the former Yugoslavia. Part of the secret of their success was a third contributor, Jakà ¡a Fiamengo, who wrote the lyrics to some of DragojeviÃÂ's most iconic songs, namely: "Nadalina", "Piva klapa ispo' volta" (The Klapa Sings Under the Vault), "Karoca" (Carriage), "Nià ¡ta nova" (Nothing New), "Infià ¡a san u te" (I Am Crazy About You), and "Ostavljam te samu" (I Leave You Alone). In 1990 Dragojeviàwon the Split Festival with "Ti si moj san" (You Are My Dream), and the Jugovizija Jamboree with the song "SreÃÂa je tamo gdje si ti" (Happiness is Where You Are), both collaboration with Zorica Kondà ¾a.
Most of DragojeviÃÂ's songs are considered evergreen on the Balkans. Dubbed "the Cosmic Dalmatian" Dragojeviàwas widely lauded and remembered for his emotionally intense ballads and equally candide performances. These include "Vjerujem u anÃÂele" (I Believe in Angels), "Kad mi doÃÂeà ¡ ti" (When You Come to Me), "La Musica di Notte" (covered also by the DubrovaÃÂki Trubaduri), "Bez tebe" (Without You), "Pred tvojim vratima" (transl. "In Front of Your Door", released 24 November 2002 on Trag u beskraju), "Cesarica" (from the album Melodije Hrvatskog Jadrana '93, released 15 July 1993), "Pismo moja" (My Song) and "Vjeruj u ljubav" (Believe in Love) (from the same-named album, released 1 January 1979 and as a rendition on 15 June 2009).
Dragojeviàparticipated five times in national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. He made his debut in the Jugovizija 1988 with hopes to represent Yugoslavia performing "Dà ¾eni", which finished second. He returned to the contest again in 1990 with Zorica Kondà ¾a performing "SreÃÂa je tamo gdje si ti" (Happiness is Where You Are) and finishing third. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Dragojeviàparticipated in the Dora 1994 with hopes to represent Croatia, with "Arja". The song ended up in fourth place. He participated in the Dora 1995 again with "Boginja" (Goddess), finishing second, and in the Dora 1997 with "Lucija", finishing eight.
For his album made with long-term collaborator Zlatan Stipià ¡iàGibonni, Familija (Family), they were awarded a Porin Award for Album of the Year in 2017.
DragojeviÃÂ married his wife Vesna in 1974, with whom he had three sons: Dino (b. 1975), and twins Damir and Davor (b. 1978). He had five grandchildren.
In August 2017, DragojeviÃÂ revealed he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In June 2018, he was hospitalised in the due to breathing difficulties, where on 29 July 2018 at 2:00 am, DragojeviÃÂ died after succumbing to a year-long battle with the disease. He was 70.
The Croatian Government declared 31 July as the National Day of Condolences to honour him. The same day, over 10,000 people on Split waterfront terraced the coffin with his body to the catamaran for Vela Luka. DragojeviÃÂ was buried at the cemetery of St. Roko in Vela Luka on 1 August.