Najbolji Hrvatski Tamburaà ¡i (English: Best Croatian Tambura Players), known until 1997 as Zlatni Dukati (English: Golden Ducats), is a Croatian tambura group.
The group was formed in 1983 as Zlatni Dukati. Their first album, Ni sokaci nisu à ¡to su nekad bili, was released by Jugoton (now Croatia Records). The original members were: Zoran Buckovià(prim), Stanko à  arià(basprim), Zdravko à  ljivac (basprim), à ½eljko Miloà ¡ (Jinx) (ÃÂelo), Mario Pleà ¡e (kontra), Mato LukaÃÂevià(bas), Marijan Majdak (vocals).
In this lineup, the group performed for one season. Then, Mato LukaÃÂeviàand Stanko à  ariàcontinued under the name Zlatni Dukati, joining a group of tambura players from their hometown of à  titar. Led by à  ima DominkoviÃÂ, the lineup included: Andrija MiliÃÂiÃÂ, Mato MiliÃÂiÃÂ, Mirko Gaà ¡paroviÃÂ, Josip DominkoviÃÂ, Mato LukaÃÂeviÃÂ, and Stanko à  ariÃÂ, and later Hrvoje Majiàjoined. Until 1985, they performed in the area around à ½upanja. The group disbanded due to disagreements.
A year later, Mato LukaÃÂeviÃÂ, in collaboration with Kreà ¡imir Bogutovac â Stipa, reassembled the group with: Petar Nikolià(violin), Hrvoje Majià(prim), Mirko Gaà ¡parovià(basprim), Kreà ¡imir Bogutovac (Stipa) (basprim), Mato MiliÃÂià(Pià ¡ta) (kontra), Mato LukaÃÂevià(bas). This lineup also performed in the à ½upanja area, notably with a regular engagement at the tavern restaurant "Kristal" in 1986 and 1987. At the end of 1986, Stanko à  ariàrejoined the group, and Petar Nikoliàleft. In the summer of 1987, the group began performing throughout Croatia with the help of the music agency "Lira" from ÃÂakovec.
The same year, collaboration was arranged with composer Josip IvankoviÃÂ, resulting in the album Nek zvone tambure released in 1988. After disagreements with the collaboration method with Josip IvankoviÃÂ, in mid-1988, Kreà ¡imir Bogutovac Stipa left the group, and the remaining five continued the collaboration with IvankoviÃÂ, producing a series of albums.
During a tour organized by the Croatian Fraternal Union from the USA, the idea was born to record an album of patriotic songs Hrvatska pjesmarica, which significantly contributed to the popularization of the group and tambura music in general. This was also a great contribution of the group to the liberation of the national spirit and the development and establishment of democratic relations in the then socialist Republic of Croatia.
After the Greater Serbian aggression on Croatia, in 1991, the group continued to record so-called "war songs", i.e., the album U meni Hrvatska, which, according to military experts at the time, raised the morale of Croatian defenders and civilians.
Collaboration with Josip Ivankoviàended in 1996 after increasingly frequent disagreements and conflicts, which are still awaiting a court epilogue due to IvankoviÃÂ's lawsuits and demands. Due to the above, in 1997, at the suggestion of representatives of the record label Croatia Records, the group changed its name to Najbolji Hrvatski Tamburaà ¡i. Despite the name change, the group continued to work successfully, resulting in albums Vranac (the last released under the name "Zlatni Dukati"), Nek me pamte gradovi, Hrvatske pjesme iz Bosne i Hercegovine, Sedam dana, Divne godine, Tamburica od javora suva, Sretan Boà ¾iÃÂ, and Nostalgija.
In 1999, the group was struck by the suicide of longtime prim player Hrvoje MajiÃÂ, after which the remaining members continued working. Denis à  pegelj from Virovitica joined in place of the deceased MajiÃÂ, replacing him starting from the album Sedam dana.
In June 2006, a new member, cellist Krunoslav GolubiÃÂiÃÂ, joined the group, and from his arrival, NHT operated in the lineup: Stanko à  arià(basprim 1, lead vocal), Denis à  pegelj (prim), Mirko Gaà ¡parovià(basprim 2), Krunoslav GolubiÃÂià(ÃÂelo), Mato MiliÃÂià(Pià ¡ta) (kontra), Mato LukaÃÂevià(bas).
In July 2007, the group celebrated 20 years of work. This anniversary coincided with the release of two golden collections by Croatia Records, containing a cross-section of the group's work to date.
The next album Slavonijo, biseru Hrvatske was released in 2010. This was the first album of the group awarded the discographic award Porin in the category "Best Tambura Music Album", while the song "Ã Â to te Sokol nije volio" won the award in the category "Best Folk Song".
2012 was marked by the celebration of 25 years of the group's professional activity. On this occasion, a celebratory concert was held on November 14 in the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb. The concert was deliberately held two days before the final verdict of the Hague Tribunal to generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markaàand four days before the anniversary of the occupation of Vukovar. The concert was content-wise dedicated to that moment, so a large part of the repertoire related to songs that depicted the audience's mood towards the mentioned events. The concert was released the following year as a live album Najbolji hrvatski tamburaà ¡i â 25 godina.
Later, the group turned to releasing singles accompanied by music videos: "Zaboravio bih", "Bez tebe mi ne mirià ¡e cvijeÃÂe", "Sve ÃÂu prodat sutra", and "Teà ¡ko mi je bez Klobuka".
On November 24, 2017, they held a celebratory concert for 30 years of work in Lisinski Hall in Zagreb. Shortly after, an album with songs from the concert was released.
In September 2025, Mirko Gaà ¡paroviàsuddenly passed away. No statement has been made regarding a new potential basprim player.
The band has been noted for building a professional career in tambura music and contributing to its revival during political changes in Croatia.
Former members:
ç â covers
List of songs the group recorded during their career that did not appear on any album