Mišo Kovač

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Mišo Kovač

Mišo Kovač (born July 17, 1941) is a Croatian singer who used to be one of the most popular musical icons of the former Yugoslavia.

[edit] Biography

Mišo Kovač was born to Zrinka and Jakov Kovač on 16 July 1941 in Tribunj, a modern-day Croatian town close to Šibenik at a time when the region was under Italian occupation during World War II. He had a sister named Blanka and a brother named Ratko.

Young Mišo Kovač was learning the trade of carpet maker, but his appearance at a talent show in Karlovac changed his life. He made such an impression with his rendition of I Can't Stop Loving You by Ray Charles that he decided to become a professional singer. His first hit came in 1969 with the song Više se neće vratiti (sold in half a million copies) and in 1970 he won the prestigious Split Music Festival with the song Proplakat će zora (also half a million copies).

This and other songs, inspired by Dalmatian folk music, helped Mišo Kovač establish himself as the most popular musician of the former Yugoslavia. In the next two decades, Mišo Kovač won many prestigious festival awards, topped music charts and sold vinyl discs, cassettes and CDs in record numbers. His song Dalmacija u mom oku (Dalmatia In My Eye) was seen as a semi-official anthem of Dalmatia.

Mišo Kovač was also one of the first entertainers in the former Yugoslavia to use image and lifestyle in order to maintain popularity. In 1973 he married beauty queen Anita Baturina with whom he would have two children, son Edi (in 1975) and daughter Ivana. He also wore expensive clothes, while his moustache and shoulder-length black hair became a trademark of his own.

Collapse of Yugoslavia marked the beginning of Mišo Kovač's downfall. During first elections in Croatia Mišo Kovač was one of the few figures from Croatian entertainment industry to support reformed Communists of Ivica Račan and his support went even further - he claimed that he would emigrate if Franjo Tuđman and his Croatian Democratic Union come to power. When Tuđman indeed came to power, Mišo Kovač became a sort of non-person because of that. His first appearance of Croatian television occurred in 1991 during the war when Mišo Kovač showed his patriotic credentials with song inspired by attack of Krajina Serbs and JNA on his native Šibenik.

At the same time Mišo Kovač's 16-year old son Edi joined special unit of Croatian Army called Škorpioni. In the beginning of 1992 Edi Kovač was fatally shot in Zagreb in debatable circumstances, with death being officially declared an accident. Mišo Kovač was not only deeply affected by the tragedy but he also refused to believe the official version. He claimed that his son was murdered and his quest to find his son's killers got him in contact with the far right Croatian Party of Rights. He began to support the party and appear on the rallies, dressing in the Ustasa-influenced black uniform of the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS), the party's militia. He also began to call himself Mate Mišo Kovač.

At the same time, Mišo Kovač also announced his retirement from the music business and held series of farewell concerts, most memorable being held on Poljud Stadium in 1993. Despite his announcement, he continued to record new albums and new songs. Yet, the tragedy nevertheless continued to affect his mental health and family life. He gave interviews claiming to possess healing abilities, and in late 1990s his long-time marriage came to an end, while his surviving daughter became heroin addict. In early 1999 Mišo Kovač, following the break-up of romantic relationship with a young Slovenian astrologer, attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest. He recovered and gradually patched differences with his family.

Although it isn't likely that he would reign supreme as he did in 1970s and 1980s, Mišo Kovač still enjoys reputation of musical legend and has many loyal fans all over the former Yugoslavia.