Zehra Deović

Zehra Deović

Deović in 1962
Born 9 December 1938
Foča, Zeta Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Residence Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Occupation
  • singer
Years active 1960–present

Musical career

Genres
Instruments
  • vocals
Labels
Associated acts

Zehra Deović (born 9 December 1938) is a Bosnian sevdalinka-folk singer and was one of the leading female singers of the 1960s and 1970s in Yugoslavia, along with Silvana Armenulić, Nada Mamula and Beba Selimović.[1]

Deović started working at Radio Sarajevo in 1960 and released her first album two years later.[2] She lives and works in Sarajevo.

Biography

Deović was born in Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of three children of Halim and Abida Deović.[3] Her father died in 1941 and she relocated as a World War II refugee to Sarajevo in 1943 with her mom and siblings. After three years, they returned to Foča.

As a child, Deović joined Foča's youth cultural club "Jedinstvo" (Unity) and first began performing with them in major cities of Yugoslavia in 1953. During these tours she had the chance to perform alongside the famous folk singers of the time, such as Vuka Šeherović.

In 1960, she moved back to Sarajevo for schooling and auditioned for Radio Sarajevo with the folk song "Dvije su se vode zavadile". She passed and was given a recording contract with the Zagreb-based label Jugoton. Deović released her debut studio album Pjesme iz Bosne on 11 December 1962. Through her career she was a frequent participant in the annual music festival in Ilidža, in addition to multiple other music festivals in the region.

Discography

Ne znam šta ću majko (1966) was Deović's fifth extended play.

Extended plays

  • Pjesme iz Bosne (1962)
  • Ja prošetah čaršijom (1963)
  • Izmamilo sunce (1964)
  • Oj Igmane (1965)
  • Ne znam šta ću majko (1966)
  • Ni Bajrami više nisu (1968)
  • Voljela sam (1971)
  • Zovem te ljubavi (1973)

Studio albums

References

  1. "Un sentimento bosniaco". Girodivite. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. Anđelić, Jasna (2010). "Zehra Deović, la prima donna du sevdah". Danas (Le Courrier des Balkans). Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  3. "Velikani sevdaha: Zehra Deović". Sevdalinka. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.

External links