Rock and roll, much like pop music, quickly conquered the world. One of the first rock and roll songs was Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode.' Many consider him the pioneer of rock, but because the music industry at the time didn't favor him as an African American, Elvis Presley was promoted to the forefront, soon becoming the first rock star or the so-called 'King of Rock and Roll.' However, the unstoppable rise of rock began with the song 'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley & His Comets from the 1950s. After Elvis, when rock rhythms had already spread across the globe, powerful bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and others emerged. Around that time, a rock and roll scene also started to develop in the former Yugoslavia. Early bands like 'Zlatni prsti' achieved significant success, but everything became more notable with the emergence of larger musical groups and singer-songwriters in the following two decades, the 60s and 70s.
1960s: The rock and roll scene in Yugoslavia began to form during the 1960s, influenced by classic rock and rockabilly artists such as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and others. Many young people started playing so-called 'electric music.' The first musician to rise to popularity was Mile Lojpur (1930-2005), a guitarist from Zrenjanin and Belgrade. Another notable figure is Karl Metikoš (1940-1991) from Zagreb, who moved to Paris and achieved an international career under the pseudonym Matt Collins. He recorded for Philips Records and had the opportunity to meet legends like Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka. Serbian singer Đorđe Marjanović (1931) was the first Yugoslav megastar. In the early 1960s, numerous musical groups with pop-rock repertoires were formed, many inspired by European artists like the then-popular Cliff Richard (1940), Tom Jones, or instrumentalists like The Shadows (formed in 1958/59). Yugoslav groups included The Hurricanes from Rijeka, The White Arrows, The Robots, and The Red Corals from Zagreb, and The Silhouettes and The Ellipses from Belgrade. Then came the emergence of the Belgrade-based Zlatni dečaci with Boba Stefanović.
In 1963, two more important Belgrade bands were formed: Samonikli and Crni biseri. Delfini, based in Zagreb, were also formed that same year. After the British musical invasion (1963-1967), many of these bands switched to British rhythm and blues. The popular rock and roll group from the 60s in Skopje was Bis Bez, considered the 'Macedonian Beatles.' The Sarajevo scene already had the brilliant and unmatched Indexi. Later, the excellent and melodic Pro arte emerged, led by Čobi. In the Banat region, Pančevo bands and Zrenjanin's Omegas held the lead.
The 1960s also saw the unstoppable rise of Beatlemania. Many newly formed bands were influenced by The Beatles or The Stones, and both groups had cult status and a large number of fans in Yugoslavia. One of the most important sources through which young people were informed about the latest news in the world of pop-rock was the famous Radio Luxembourg. Some British musicians even performed in Yugoslavia during that time of the 'Iron Curtain' (e.g., The Searchers and The Hollies), and Yugoslav musicians played across Europe, especially in neighboring countries like Italy and Austria. The legendary chess player and music editor of 'Veče uz radio,' Nikola Karaklajić, led the 'Zlatni dečaci' to England at that time, where the audience was amazed, wondering how such a band could emerge in a communist Yugoslavia, unaware that thousands of pop-rock bands of varying quality and sensitivity were already active in the country. It is known that there were several Yugoslav-Italian beat music festivals on the border with Italy.
The youth of Yugoslavia didn't lag far behind the West and showed their rebellious spirit. The boys grew their hair long, and the girls wore mini skirts. The first 'long-haired' singer from these parts was the legendary Silhouettes singer Zoran Miščević (1945-1995), who became the idol of a new generation. His example was soon followed by other musicians, including our own Lira. By the late 60s, the long-haired managed to convince the communist officials that they were loyal to socialism. Thus, long hair became socially acceptable. The mini skirt became a favorite among teenage girls, and the first to wear them were high school girls from Belgrade and Zagreb. From collections of photographs and a film recording from the New Year's Eve of 1971, it is evident that even girls from Kumana 'tried out' the new Twiggy fashion. By the mid-1960s, some bands like Pančevo's Gentlemen, Zagreb's Robots, and the reformed Silhouettes were influenced by rhythm and blues, while others were more oriented towards pop music. The most popular foreign bands were the English Manfred Mann (1962), The Animals (1963), The Kinks (1964), and The Who (1964), and also the American The Byrds (1964). Garage rock (also called '60s punk) was also embraced. The main competitors of the already mentioned Silhouettes were Belgrade's Ellipses (1962/63), who started playing soul music.
The Indexi, who were active for over forty years, should not be overlooked. They formed in Sarajevo in 1962 and were influential not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also in the rest of the country. One of the most famous members of the Indexi, Kornelije Kovač from Niš (1942), formed the legendary Belgrade Korni grupa (1968-1974). Dado Topić also began his career in this group. Both Korni grupa and the legendary band Smak from Kragujevac, with frontman Radomir Mihajlović-Točak (founded in 1971), cultivated complex pop-rock music. In 1966, with the approval of the President of the Youth Union of Yugoslavia, the first Belgrade Gitarijada was held, where Ellipses won. The youth were criticized in Politika for inappropriate behavior, leading to a special party analysis after Gitarijada. Analysts concluded that 'rock as youth music can be a good way to attract them to socialism.' It was also concluded that wearing long hair and mini skirts was not an ideological problem, but rather a generational gap.
Festivals: Many pop-rock music festivals were established throughout the SFR Yugoslavia, including the Split and Opatija Festivals, Belgrade Spring, Skopje Festival, Vaš šlager sezone in Sarajevo, and later Makfest in Macedonian Štip. The pop music played at these festivals can be compared to older Eurovision Song Contests, the German schlager genre, or Italy's Sanremo Festival, representing a category of pop aimed at an adult audience. High-quality pop-rock music was nurtured at these events. The specific sound of Dalmatian pop music played at festivals in tourist parts of the Adriatic coast, which also contained local folk elements, was very popular. Some of the well-known performers were Oliver Dragojević from Vela Luka (1947-2019) and Mišo Kovač from Tribunj (1941). One of the most romantic performers was Kićo Slabinac, with the song 'Zbog jedne divne crne žene,' which is still very popular and one of the best love pop ballads of all time.
1970s: The 1970s were marked by rock genres such as hard rock, progressive rock, jazz rock, art rock, glam rock, folk rock, symphonic rock, blues rock, and boogie rock. During this period, some of the largest Yugoslav stadium rock bands were formed: Ju grupa (1970), Smak (1971), Time (1971), Teška industrija (1974), Parni valjak (1975), Leb i sol (1976), Galija (1977), and Atomsko sklonište (1977). The peak of Yugoslav pop-rock was undoubtedly played by the biggest band from this region, Bijelo dugme, and by the unrivaled solo artist Zdravko Čolić.
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