Šemsa Suljaković

Šemsa Suljaković
Birth name	Šemsa Suljaković
Born	(1951-09-29) 29 September 1951 (age 73) Maglaj, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
Genres	Folk, turbo-folk, pop-folk
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1971–present
Labels	PGP-RTB, Diskos, Nimfa Sound, Grand Production, Južni Vetar

Šemsa Suljaković (born 29 September 1951)^[1][2] is a Bosnian folk singer.^[3]

Early life

Suljaković was born in Maglaj, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia. She was born as the eldest of six children into an ethnic Bosniak family.^[4]

Career

Suljaković's singing career began after her mother moved the family to their grandparents' home in the Širokača neighborhood of Sarajevo. Their neighbor Sena was a folk singer married to an accordionist and performed at a local kafana frequently. One night, Sena persuaded Šemsa to come with her to the kafana. That night Šemsa discovered her talent for singing and the next day the owner of the kafana asked her to start singing there nightly. Her music career officially began in 1971.^[4]

Suljaković recorded her first extended play (EP) Otišla je ljubav s našeg kućnog praga / Ja zbog tebe sve (The Love Is Gone From Our Doorstep / I Do Everything Because of You) in 1978, with lyrics written by Rade Vučković and music by Šaban Šaulić, along with the music ensemble of Aca Stepić. She continued singing in the kafana while her songs received airplay. The two songs did well, but the success did little for Suljaković's professional career as the public assumed the singer was Branka Stanarčić [sr], another performer, due to similarities in their voices.^[4]

Her second EP, Gledam sretne ljude / Šta je s tobom u poslednje vrijeme (I Look at Happy People / What's Gotten Into You Recently), was released in 1980.^[4]

She achieved fame with the musical group Južni Vetar; the band's first commercial hit came in 1981 with Suljaković as the singer.^[5] Throughout the 1980s, Šemsa and her band held countless concerts at venues, fairs, weddings and multiple other places.^[6]

Šemsa's biggest hits are "Pristajem na sve", "Zašto si se napio", "Sirotinja ljude svađa", "Zar za mene nema sreće", "Volele se oči crne i zelene" (in Ekavian), "Južni ritam", "Kako da ti pomognem", "Javi se, oteraj tugu" (in Ekavian), "Prođi sa mnom ispod duge", as well as "Što me pitaš", "Mi se volimo" (with Mile Kitić), "Ne, ne", "Razbio si čašu", "Sanjam", and "Lažu te" (with Sejo Kalač).^[4] Her recent (2019) song with music video is "Akšam pade niz mahalu".^[4]

Personal life

Suljaković had a son at the age of 16 with her then-husband, a musician whom she later divorced.^[4] She later married another man, an accordionist from Šabac; the two divorced.^[4] Šemsa Suljaković lives today in Strängnäs, Sweden. ^[7]

Discography

Single & EPs

• Otišla je ljubav s našeg kućnog praga / Ja zbog ja zbog tebe sve (1978)
• Tri pupoljka / Priđi malo bliže (1980)
• Gledam sretne ljude / Šta je s tobom u posljednje vrijeme (1980)

Albums

• Verna u ljubavi (1982)
• Uzmi me majko u krilo tvoje (1983)
• Prevareni ne veruju više (1984)
• Srce ću ti dati (1985)
• Pristajem na sve (1986)
• Baš me briga (1987)
• Razbio si čašu (1988)
• Prođi sa mnom ispod duge (1989)
• Izdali me prijatelji (1990)
• 7000 suza (1991)
• Vjerovala sam (1993)
• Moje vrijeme došlo je (1998)
• Ne vjerujem nikom više (2000)
• Južni ritam (2002)
• Tako to žene rade (2005)
• Kada odem (2007)

References

1. "Šemsa Suljaković: Život bez Južnog vjetra bio je nezamisliv". Nezavisne Novine. 3 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
2. "Šemsa Suljaković danas slavi 73. rođendan: Čestitke stižu sa svih strana". Dnevni avaz. September 29, 2022.
3. "Šemsa Suljaković profile". Discogs. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
4. "Šemsa Suljaković". biografija.org. 11 March 2019.
5. Slobin, Mark (1996). Retuning Culture: Musical Changes in Central and Eastern Europe. Duke University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-82231-847-7.
6. "Šemsa Suljaković: Imam udvarača, ali se sigurno neću". Expressmag. Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
7. "Semsa Suljakovic". Mr Koll. Archived from the original on 2023-06-12.^{[better source needed]}

External links

• Šemsa Suljaković discography at Discogs