Zlatni Dečaci
Encyclopedia
Zlatni Dečaci were a former Yugoslav rock
band from Belgrade
, notable as one of the pioneers of the former Yugoslav rock scene.
Nikola Karaklajić.
The band regularly performed at the dances
held in club Euridika in Belgrade. During these evenings Stefanović performed both with Zlatni Dečaci and with Saša Radojčić's jazz trio
. Moma Davidović and Tomi Sovilj performed with the band occasionally, but after some time, Stefanović remained the only vocalist.
Zlatni Dečaci wanted to break through to Yugoslav radio stations, which were at the time closed for beat music
, so they started recording beat covers of classical music
pieces. Karaklajić took those recordings to the Netherlands, where he participated in a chess tournament
, managing to broadcast them on radio, so the editors of the label Fontana Records
became interested in the band. The band, under the name Golden Boys, released the single "Swan Lake" (a theme
from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
's opera
Swan Lake
) and "Humoresque" (a verion of a humoresque by Antonín Dvořák
) through the label. A year later, those two recordings, alongside versions of the theme from Charles Gounod
's opera
Faust
and the Ion Ivanovici
's waltz
"Waves of the Danube
", were released on the EP
Humoreska, released by Jugoton
. With these compositions the band gained nationwide popularity and performed across Yugoslavia. Their next EP, released during the same year, featured the songs "Čudna devojka" ("Strange Girl", a cover of Marty Robbins
' song "Devil Woman
"), "Sadko" (a theme from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
's opera Sadko
), "Napušteni dom" ("Deserted Home", a cover of The Four Pennies
song "A Place Where No One Goes"), and "Foxtrot Oriental". The single was sold in more than 100,000 copies.
In April 1966, thanks to Karaklajić, they left to England
. Karaklajić was invited to a chess tournament, and to acquire visas
more easily, he represented the band members as young chess players. The band performed in Bognor Regis
in front of some 1,500 people. They performed covers of rock hits, but their cover of Macedonian
folk song "Jovano Jovanke
" saw greatest success with the audience. Before returning home, the band also performed in the club Shoreline. During the same year, Brajević left the band, and was replaced by Gradimir Janković.
In 1967, the band released their third and the final EP with the songs "Sam" ("Alone", a cover of Bobby Vinton
song "Mr. Lonely
"), "Samo ti" ("Only You", a cover of The Who
song "It's Not True"), "Pamtim taj dan" ("I Remember the Day", a cover of the song "Skokiaan
" written by August Msarurgwa
), and "Ne želim kraj" ("I Don't Want the End to Come", a cover of The Zombies
song "Kind of Girl"). During the same year, after the performance on the Belgrade Spring Festival, Stefanović left the band. The rest of the band continued with the vocalist Moma Davidović, but soon ended their activity.
singer and composer, recording five studio albums and about fifty 7" singles, and winning numerous awards at Yugoslav and international pop music festivals.
In 1968, Kacl joined the newly formed Korni Grupa
. After leaving the band, he retired from music. He died in a car accident
in 1984.
Davidović moved to France
, where he recorded several 7" singles under the names David Colsberry and David Loris.
Brajević moved to the United States
. He self-released a CD with all recordings made by Zlatni Dečaci in a limited number of copies. He wrote the book Album sa sličicama iz mog života (Album with Pictures from My Life), originally published in Washington, D.C.
(1985), and later in Belgrade (2000).
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from 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...
, notable as one of the pioneers of the former Yugoslav rock scene.
History
The band was formed in 1962 by high school friends: Slobodan "Boba" Stefanović (vocals), Velibor "Borko" Kacl (guitar), Predrag Lukić (keyboards), Dušan Banović (drums), and Vidoje "Vili" Brajević. Initially, the band was named The Tigers, but changed the name after a suggestion of journalist and chess masterChess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
Nikola Karaklajić.
The band regularly performed at the dances
Dance party
A dance party is a social gathering where dancing is the primary activity. Some dance parties are held in a casual setting and open to the public, such as a rave, or those held in nightclubs and discothèques...
held in club Euridika in Belgrade. During these evenings Stefanović performed both with Zlatni Dečaci and with Saša Radojčić's jazz trio
Jazz trio
The term "piano trio" in jazz usually refers to a group comprising a pianist, a double bass player and a drummer. The pianist is usually considered the leader of these trios, and trios are usually named after their pianist...
. Moma Davidović and Tomi Sovilj performed with the band occasionally, but after some time, Stefanović remained the only vocalist.
Zlatni Dečaci wanted to break through to Yugoslav radio stations, which were at the time closed for beat music
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
, so they started recording beat covers of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
pieces. Karaklajić took those recordings to the Netherlands, where he participated in a chess tournament
Chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition among serious players.Today, the most recognized chess...
, managing to broadcast them on radio, so the editors of the label Fontana Records
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
became interested in the band. The band, under the name Golden Boys, released the single "Swan Lake" (a theme
Theme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
) and "Humoresque" (a verion of a humoresque by Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
) through the label. A year later, those two recordings, alongside versions of the theme from Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
and the Ion Ivanovici
Ion Ivanovici
Ion Ivanovici was a Romanian military band leader and composer, best remembered today for his waltz Waves of the Danube....
's waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
"Waves of the Danube
Waves of the Danube
"Waves of the Danube" is a waltz composed by Iosif Ivanovici in 1880, and is one of the most famous Romanian tunes in the world. In the United States, it is frequently referred to as "The Anniversary Song", a title given by Al Jolson when he and Saul Chaplin released an adaptation of the song in...
", were released on the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Humoreska, released by Jugoton
Jugoton
Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
. With these compositions the band gained nationwide popularity and performed across Yugoslavia. Their next EP, released during the same year, featured the songs "Čudna devojka" ("Strange Girl", a cover of Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
' song "Devil Woman
Devil Woman (Marty Robbins song)
Devil Woman is a 1962 country single written and performed by Marty Robbins. "Devil Woman" became Marty Robbins' seventh single to reach number one on the country chart, spending eight weeks at the top spot. "Devil Woman" also crossed over onto the pop chart, peaking at number sixteen...
"), "Sadko" (a theme from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's opera Sadko
Sadko (opera)
Sadko is an opera in seven scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by the composer, with assistance from Vladimir Belsky, Vladimir Stasov, and others. Rimsky-Korsakov was first inspired by the bylina of Sadko in 1867, when he completed a tone poem on the subject, his Op. 5...
), "Napušteni dom" ("Deserted Home", a cover of The Four Pennies
The Four Pennies
The Four Pennies were an English, 1960s pop group, most notable for their 1964 UK chart topping song, "Juliet". The group's name came after a meeting above the Blackburn music shop owned by Mary Reidy, the shop being situated on 'Penny Street' where it is still located today as "Reidy's Home of...
song "A Place Where No One Goes"), and "Foxtrot Oriental". The single was sold in more than 100,000 copies.
In April 1966, thanks to Karaklajić, they left to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Karaklajić was invited to a chess tournament, and to acquire visas
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
more easily, he represented the band members as young chess players. The band performed in Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...
in front of some 1,500 people. They performed covers of rock hits, but their cover of Macedonian
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
folk song "Jovano Jovanke
Jovano Jovanke
Jovano, Jovanke is a traditional folk song of the Macedonia region. It is popular in and frequently performed in the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia and northern Greece. It is about two young lovers separated by their disapproving parents...
" saw greatest success with the audience. Before returning home, the band also performed in the club Shoreline. During the same year, Brajević left the band, and was replaced by Gradimir Janković.
In 1967, the band released their third and the final EP with the songs "Sam" ("Alone", a cover of Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
song "Mr. Lonely
Mr. Lonely
"Mr. Lonely" is a song co-written and recorded by Bobby Vinton. The song originally appeared on Vinton's album Roses Are Red in 1962. Later that year, Buddy Greco recorded a version of the song using a very similar musical arrangement as Vinton's version. Greco's single release reached #64 on the...
"), "Samo ti" ("Only You", a cover of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
song "It's Not True"), "Pamtim taj dan" ("I Remember the Day", a cover of the song "Skokiaan
Skokiaan
"Skokiaan" is a popular tune originally written by Rhodesian musician August Musarurwa in the tsaba-tsaba big band style that succeeded marabi...
" written by August Msarurgwa
August Msarurgwa
August Musarurwa was the Zimbabwean composer of the 1950s hit tune Skokiaan .-History:...
), and "Ne želim kraj" ("I Don't Want the End to Come", a cover of The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
song "Kind of Girl"). During the same year, after the performance on the Belgrade Spring Festival, Stefanović left the band. The rest of the band continued with the vocalist Moma Davidović, but soon ended their activity.
Post breakup
Stefanović started a successful career as a pop musicPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer and composer, recording five studio albums and about fifty 7" singles, and winning numerous awards at Yugoslav and international pop music festivals.
In 1968, Kacl joined the newly formed Korni Grupa
Korni Grupa
Korni Grupa was a former Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade. Korni Grupa was one of the first former Yugoslav rock bands to achieve major mainstream popularity. The band's first releases were commercial pop-oriented songs. Korni Grupa later turned towards progressive rock, continuing, however, to...
. After leaving the band, he retired from music. He died in a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
in 1984.
Davidović moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he recorded several 7" singles under the names David Colsberry and David Loris.
Brajević moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He self-released a CD with all recordings made by Zlatni Dečaci in a limited number of copies. He wrote the book Album sa sličicama iz mog života (Album with Pictures from My Life), originally published in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1985), and later in Belgrade (2000).