Mišo Kovač

Mate Kovač, better known as Mišo, was born to Zrinka and Jakov Kovač on 16 July 1941, in Šibenik. He had a sister named Blanka and a brother named Ratko. During his youth, Kovač lived in the same street in Šibenik as musicians Vice Vukov and Arsen Dedić. He made the HNK Šibenik junior team as a goalkeeper, but he barracked for Hajduk Split and often travelled by boat from Šibenik to Split on game day just to see them play. His earliest goals in life were to eventually represent Hajduk Split, but that all changed at the age of 16 when he heard Ljubo Lučev sing and then devoted himself entirely to music.

His early musical influences were Italian artists Luciano Tajoli, Tony Dellaga and Adriano Celentano, as well as American singers Johnnie Ray, Elvis Presley and later Willie Nelson. In 1961 he shared equal first place with Mirko Vukšić, future guitarist with Croatian group Mi ("We"), in a talent contest called Prvi glas Šibenika ("First voice of Šibenik"), where he covered an Elvis Presley hit.

He then served in the Yugoslav Army, being stationed at Belgrade, where he sang every Saturday night to his fellow conscripts and friends. After military service, he went to live in Zagreb, hoping to develop his career. His first big break came in 1964 at a talent contest in Karlovac, where he was noticed by leading music producers after singing "Ne mogu prestat' da te volim" (his rendition of "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles), which also became his first recording soon after.

In very short time four of his singles/EP's were certified Silver (with sales of over 50,000) - they included: "Ja odlazim" (I'm Leavin; 1966 EP), "Vrijeme plakanja" (Crying Time; 1967 EP), San Francisko (San Francisco; 1968 EP) and "Da je duži moj dan" (If I Only Had Time; 1968).

His first huge hit came in 1969 with the song "Više se nećeš vratiti" (You won't be coming back), written by Đorđe Novković and selling well over 400,000 copies (later re-recorded in 1985), as well as a Gold disc award for "Čemu da živim" (What Should I Live For), and in 1970 he earned another Silver disc award with "Serenada" (Seranade).

In 1971 he won his first prestigious Split Festival with the song "Proplakat će zora" (Dawn Will Cry), which went on to sell well over half a million copies and could be the best selling single ever in former Yugoslavia but very difficult to prove since the war. Kovač donated all his earnings from the song to building a new highway from Zagreb to Split. He also gained two other Silver disc awards in 1971 with the hits "Mornaru za sretan put" (Sailor Have a Safe Trip) and "Za mene sreće nema" (There is No Luck for Me). He also released his first album in 1971, self-titled, and it eventually earned him a Platinum award for sales of well over 200,000 copies.

He nearly died in a car accident near Zadar in 1971 when his car was completely destroyed and as a result he had a scar above his upper lip. During his recovery, Kovač decided to let his moustache grow to hide his scar, and the moustache later became his trademark.

In 1972 Kovač went to see one of his idols, Elvis Presley, perform live at New York's Madison Square Garden, and the King's rendition of Frank Sinatra hit "My Way" left a lasting impression on him.[4][5] In the same year back at home, he was awarded another Gold disc award with "Zalij to cvijeće suzama sreće" (Pour This Flower With Tears of Happiness).

Another Gold Disc award came in 1974 with the hit "Drugi joj raspliće kosu, a ja je volim" (Somebody Else Untangles Her Hair but I Love Her; with sales of well over 100,000). The following year he recorded "Ostala si uvijek ista" (You Remained Always The Same), which Kovač later claimed was his personal best recording of his career. That song was re-issued ten years later on an album with the same title which sold well over 400,000 copies (certified Diamond award and went on to be his best selling album ever).

Further gold discs followed, with "Noćas ćemo zemlji k'o materi reći" (Tonight Our Homeland Will Be Spoken of Like Our Mothers) in 1977, "Dobra ti večer, mati moja" (Good Evening, to My Mother) in 1980, "Dalmacija u mom oku" (Dalmatia in My Eyes) in 1982 which is still seen as a semi-official anthem of Dalmatia, although it did not even make the national charts when first released but a live version hit #2 in 1988, and "Šibenske kale" (Streets of Šibenik) in 1982. Then, between 1985–88 he issued some of his biggest hits and well known songs like, "Ako me ostaviš" (If You Leave Me), "Jedan dan života" (One Day of Life), "Sutra me sude" (Tomorrow They Will Judge Me), "Odavno više ne plačem zbog tebe" (I Stopped Crying Long Ago About You), "Ja nemam više razloga da živim" (I Don't Have Any Reason to Live), "Ti si pjesma moje duše" (Seven Spanish Angels, title translates as You're the Song of My Soul), "Svi pjevaju, ja ne čujem" (Everybody's Singing, but I Can't Hear) and many others.

Four of his albums released in the 1980s earned Platinum awards with sales of over 200,000, with "Dalmacija u mom oku" (Dalmatia in My Eyes) in 1982, "Zajedno smo" (We Are Together) in 1984, "Malo mi je jedan život" (One Life is Too Short) in 1987 and "Mišo! Koncert" (Mišo! Concert), recorded live in 1988.

In the next two decades, Kovač won many prestigious festival awards, topped music charts (albeit not so much the national Yugoslavian charts) and sold well over 20 million records during his long and successful career (ultimately making him the biggest ever selling artist in the former Yugoslavia).

Kovač divorced his first wife Ljubica Komadina after four years of marriage, and in 1973, he married former Miss Teen Yugoslavia of 1970, Anita Baturina (b. 1953), with whom he has a daughter Ivana (b. 1977), who is also a singer. Kovač and Baturina also had a son Eduard "Edi" (b. 1975) who died in 1992.

His life and career turned sour with the outbreak of war in Croatia and his first appearance on Croatian Radiotelevision after the collapse of Yugoslavia occurred in 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence when Kovač showed his reluctant patriotism with a song inspired by attacks from the Krajina Serbs and JNA on his native Šibenik, "Grobovi im nikad oprostiti neće" (The Graves Will Never Forgive Them).

At the same time, Kovač's son Edi joined the special unit of Croatian Army called Škorpioni ("The Scorpions") and in 1992 he was fatally shot in Zagreb in controversial circumstances, with his death being officially declared as an accident. Mišo was deeply affected by the tragedy and refused to believe the official reason for his son's death. He claimed that his son was murdered and his quest to find his son's killers got him involved with the Croatian Party of Rights. He began to support the party and appear at their rallies, dressing in the black uniform of the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS), the party's militia. He also changed his professional name from Mišo to Mate (for only a short time).

The death of his son had a devastating effect on his personal life and marriage, and in 1996 he divorced Anita Baturina, followed by years of alcohol abuse and severe depression caused him to try and commit suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 1999. After fully recovering and returning to the music scene, he married Lidija Pintarić. Kovač often spoke about his loyalty and gratitude to Lydia and the importance of their relationship and marriage she had towards his recovery.

He is also been quoted as saying that he still only needs "a carton of tobacco, 5 coffees, half a pizza and one coca-cola drink to survive each day", which he made when the media in Croatia issued reports that all the money he earned during his fame has been spent on the many women he loved in his life and that he was penniless.

In 2012, Croatian Music Institute presented Mišo Kovač with the 'Porin za životno djelo' ("Porin award for life achievement"), and he still enjoys the reputation and fame of a musical legend and has many loyal fans all over the former Yugoslavia.

In 2016 he released a new haunting single, "Takav sam rođen" (That's How I Was Born), which can be viewed as a wonderful tribute to his own life, and in the same year his 1987 hit "Poljubi zemlju" (Kiss The Ground) was played on the Mars Rover Curiosity, and for the first time ever a Croatian song was played on another planet.

At the 2019 Humanitarian Concert in honor of Croatian music called "To je moja zemlja", which was held at Stadion Poljud in Split, a special award was presented to Kovač for being the most popular performer of all-time. His daughter Ivana proudly accepted the award on his behalf.

After winning the 1980 Split Festival, Mišo Kovač declared he wouldn't appear in any other song festivals from now on. He won the festival five times, more than any other artist in the former Yugoslavia at the time, and three of those songs that won (1971, 1977, 1980) also topped the nationwide music charts in Yugoslavia.

1969 - Bez tebe nisam sretan [Without you I'm not happy] - written by Ivica Krajač and Alfi Kabiljo

1970 - Serenada [Seranade] - written by Vinko Lesić

1971 - Proplakat će zora [Dawn will cry] - written by Dragutin Britvić and Stjepan Mihaljinec: 1st place (No. 1 HIT)

1972 - Odvest ću te na vjenčanje [I will take you to a wedding] - written by Stjepan Mihaljinec (No. 18 HIT)

1973 - Bijela lađa [White ship] - written by Tomislav Zuppa and Zdenko Runjić

1974 - Obala mojih snova [The coast of my dreamland] - written by Đorđe Novković and Dušan Šarac

1975 - Ja ne mogu drugo nego da te ljubim [I can't do anything else except love you] - written by Drago Britvić: 1st place

1976 - did not enter

1977 - Noćas ćemo zemlji k'o materi reći [Tonight our homeland will be spoken of like our mothers] - written by Dragutin Britvić and Stjepan Mihaljinec: 1st place (No. 1 HIT)

1978 - Šuti srce, mogli bi te čuti [Be quiet heart, we might hear you] - written by Dragutin Britvić

1979 - Ne tuguj, Dalmacijo [Don't grieve, Dalmatia] - written by Gordan Franić and Teo Trumbić: 1st place (No. 2 HIT)

1980 - Dobra ti večer, mati moja [Good evening, to my mother] - written by Krsto Juras and Dušan Šarac: 1st place (No. 1 HIT)

• Mišo Kovač at IMDb