| Silvana Armenulić | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Zilha Bajraktarević |
| Born | 18 May 1939 Doboj, Vrbas Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Died | 10 October 1976 (aged 37) Kolari, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Genres | Sevdalinka |
| Occupations | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1955-1976 |
| Labels | PGP-RTB |
Silvana Armenulić (pronounced [silvǎːna armɛ̌nulit͡ɕ]) (18 May 1939 – 10 October 1976) was one of the most prominent commercial folk music (neo-folk) and traditional sevdalinka singers in former Yugoslavia. Her life was cut short when she died in a road accident at the age of 37, but she continues to be well regarded in the region, and recognized for her unique singing style and voice.
Armenulić was born Zilha Bajraktarević in Doboj to a Bosniak family with 10 children. She started singing at an early age, but her father, Mehmed Bajraktarević, a local cake shop operator, was not supportive of her singing career. At the age of 16, she moved to Sarajevo where she lived with her aunt and sang in local kafanas. Eventually she moved to Belgrade, the capital of SFR Yugoslavia, in order to further her singing career. There she adopted the stage name Silvana after the Italian actress Silvana Mangano. She married tennis player Radmilo Armenulić, with whom she had a daughter named Gordana (born 13 January 1964).
Silvana had a younger brother named Hajrudin Bajraktarevic who died about two weeks after being mauled by a dog. She also had 7 sisters, three of which were singers. Dina (born 1949), Mirsada (1951-1976) and Abida. After her brothers death, her father found solace in alcohol and solitude, neglecting the family.
Her career took off rapidly and she became one of the biggest commercial folk stars in SFR Yugoslavia. This led to numerous and well-publicized country-wide singing engagements. She also appeared in many popular Serbian TV sitcoms such as Ljubav na seoski način and folksy movies such as Građani sela Luga.
In 1969 she and Serbian singer Toma Zdravković sang in the same group, and Zdravković, to express his gratitude to her for helping him out, wrote the song "Šta će mi život".
...We met a lot, in different towns of Yugoslavia, and in 1969, we sang in the same band. I was already a well known and requested composer. She was completely down. She was depressed all the time and wanted me to write her a song. But what? All of my songs were inspired by my sympathies and love-life, but we were good ol' friends. I had no inspiration. Until one day, I went drinking with my friends, we were drunk for 3 days in a row, and the fourth day I woke up at a hotel, went down to the lounge, ordered a cup of coffee and just like that, I was hungover and wrote "Šta će mi život". I recorded the song in the studio and wanted to use it for a festival coming up, but when she heard it, she wanted to have it. And what could I do? It was her song, inspired by her life, and her problems. I gave her the song and it was a bingo. I wish I had never written it. She died 7 years later, it was like the song came true...
The song became one of the biggest folk hits ever written in Yugoslavia and transformed Zdravković and Armenulić herself into superstars. But Armenulić's life ironically ended seven years later.
On 10 October 1976, at the age of 37, she died in a car accident near the town of Kolari, along with her pregnant sister Merima (Mirjana) Bajraktarević and violinist and Radio Belgrade folk orchestra conductor Rade Jašarević.