Kemal Monteno
Bosnian singer-songwriter (1948–2015) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kemal Monteno (17 September 1948 – 21 January 2015) was a Bosnian recording artist and singer-songwriter whose career stretched from the 1960s to the 2010s. He is widely considered one of the greatest songwriters of the former Yugoslavia.
Kemal Monteno | |
|---|---|
Monteno in 2011 | |
| Born | 17 September 1948 |
| Died | 21 January 2015 (aged 66) Zagreb, Croatia |
| Resting place | Bare Cemetery, Sarajevo |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Spouse |
Branka Monteno (m. 1971) |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Folk, pop, sevdalinka |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, guitar |
| Labels | Jugoton, Diskoton, Croatia Records, Nimfa Sound |
Monteno wrote songs for other performers as well, most notably Zdravko Čolić, Toše Proeski, and the rock band Indexi.[1]
Early life
Monteno's father Osvaldo was an Italian from Monfalcone.[2] During World War II, he was drafted and deployed to occupied Yugoslavia in 1945 where he met a Bosniak woman named Bahrija in Sarajevo and fell in love.[3] Osvaldo left his pregnant wife in Italy to marry Bahrija.[4] Osvaldo's Italian wife gave birth in 1946 to a daughter named Daniela, Monteno's half-sister. Kemal was born to Osvaldo and Bahrija two years later in Sarajevo. Although his father was Catholic and his mother was a Muslim, Monteno was given a Muslim first name.[5]
Osvaldo only spoke Italian and sang canzones to Monteno when he was a child, while his mother sang him Bosnian sevdalinkas.[6] Both Osvaldo and Bahrija were employed at Sarajevo's Koševo Stadium.[7]
Career
Monteno recorded his first song "Lidija" in 1967 and enjoyed a prosperous career in Yugoslavia. He is perhaps best known for "Sarajevo, ljubavi moja", which gained a cult following and is considered an evergreen homage to his home town.[8]
Many of his songs have also been performed by others. For instance, "Bacila je sve niz rijeku" was a hit not only for him, but for Toše Proeski, Crvena Jabuka and Indexi (the latter being the big hit). Similarly, others had success performing "Nekako s proljeća" (that one being a duet with Crvena Jabuka in 1991) and "Nije htjela". In a February 2014 interview, Monteno said that "Nije htjela" (She Did Not Want To) was written about a famous Yugoslav musician's wife, who was in love with another singer.[9]
Over the years, due to his style of music, he became known as the "Bosnian Roy Orbison", and even the "Bosnian Neil Diamond."[10]
Personal life
Monteno met his future wife Branka in 1967 in Sarajevo. They married on 26 June 1971[11] when he returned from his mandatory stint in the Yugoslav People's Army.[12] Together they had a daughter Adrijana and a son Đani.[13] He spent the entirety of the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in besieged Sarajevo.[14]
Illness and death
Summarize
Perspective
Monteno was diagnosed with diabetes in the late 1990s and received three-hour dialysis twice a week at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb. Diabetes weakened his heart and Monteno felt that the stress of the war in his country also contributed to his illness.[15][16]
Monteno suffered a heart attack on 30 December 2011[17] and had bypass surgery in January 2012. A performance at the 2012 Split Festival that summer was cancelled due to health issues[18] and rumors of his death circled the internet on 10 October 2012, even being picked up as fact by media in the region.[19]
On 15 November 2014, after nearly three years of waiting, Monteno received a phone call that a kidney was available for transplant.[20] He received the transplant the following morning in Zagreb.[21][22] He was again hospitalized in December 2014 and doctors believed that his "body did not accept the kidney that was transplanted in November."[23][24][25]
Monteno died on January 21, 2015, at Zagreb Rebro Hospital of pneumonia and sepsis.[26] In the hospital, doctors fought for Monteno's life for hours to no avail.[27][28][29] He was buried in his hometown of Sarajevo at the Bare Cemetery on 28 January 2015, seven days after his death.[30]
Discography
Studio albums
- Muziko, ljubavi moja (1973)
- Žene, žene (1975)
- Moje pjesme, moji snovi (1977)
- Za svoju dušu (1980)
- Dolly Bell (1981)
- Uvijek ti se vraćam (1984)
- Moje najdraže pjesme (1985)
- Romantična ploča (1986)
- Kako da te zaboravim (1987)
- Dunje i kolači (2004)
- Samo malo ljubavi (2009)
- Šta je život (2013)
Singles and EPS
- Sviraj, gitaro moja / Još juče bili smo sretni (1969)
- Tužna je muzika / Pružam ti ruke (1971)
- Što sam ti skrivio, živote moj / Jedne noći u Decembru (1971)
- Laž (1972)
- Dušo moja / Nana (1973)
- Pahuljice moja (1974)
- Moj prijatelj ari / Mali mir (1974)
- Adrijana / Novembar (1974)
- Pjesma zaljubljenika / Znam sve o tebi (1975)
- Hiljade bijelih marama / Kad nas jednom godine odnesu (1976)
- Tajna žena / Kad smo pošli mi u šumu (1976)
- Sarajevo, ljubavi moja / Kratak je svaki tren (1976)
- Ljubavna bol (1977)
- Cvite bili iz Đardina / Nemoj reći doviđenja (1977)
- Volim te živote kakav jesi / Na kraju grada (1978)
- Sunce djetinjstva / Putovanja, putovanja (1978)
- Nije htjela / Nek' sviraju gitare (1978)
- Ej, srećo moja / Čekat ću te (1978)
- Adriana, Adriana / Bracera (1979)
- Postoji li mjesto / Ti si moja poezija (1979)
- Energoinvest (1982)
Compilation albums
- Volim te živote kakav jesi (1978)
- The Platinum Collection (2007)
- The Best Of... // Live (2012)
- 50 originalnih pjesama (2014)
References
External links
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