Jadranka Stojaković

Jadranka Stojaković (July 24, 1950 - May 3, 2016) was a Bosnian singer-songwriter, popular in the former Yugoslavia, known for her unique, beautiful voice. Her most famous hits are "Sve smo mogli mi", "Što te nema" and "Bistre vode Bosnom teku". Her performance of a famous poem "Emina" by Bosnian Serb poet Aleksa Šantić is considered one of the most beautiful and touching. Born in Sarajevo to a family of primary school teachers (her father is from Doboj, her mother from Dalmatia), Jadranka's first years were spent in a small village near Bosanski Novi where her parents got assigned to teach. Her parents soon divorced and she moved with her mother to Sarajevo, before soon continuing on to Dubrovnik, Gradac na Moru, Vareš, etc., basically places that experienced shortages of primary school teachers where her mother would get work. They eventually settled in various villages around Sarajevo, which is where Jadranka spent a notable part of her childhood. At the age of 16, Jadranka Stojaković joined her uncle Vukašin Radulović's jazz group and performed with them throughout the country as well other parts of Europe (mostly Germany). In 1981 she sang backing vocals with Ismeta Dervoz for Yugoslav representative Vajta at the 1981 Eurovision Contest in Ireland. In 1984, when the Winter Olympics were held in her native Sarajevo, she sang the official theme song of the Games. Around that time, she was awarded the prize given to Yugoslavia's best artist. She was among the country's most talented and admired singers and songwriters. From 1988 til 2011, Jadranka Stojaković resided in Japan. In 2009, she suffered an accident on stage, tripping over a cable during concert. She was diagnosed ALS and subsequently returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she spent last years of her life. In 1997, she performed the ending theme for Konami's video game, Vandal Hearts on the Sony PlayStation. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.