Ivo Robić was one of the first acclaimed popular music artists in Yugoslav Croatia. He emerged in the late 1940s and later launched a very successful international career as well, closely cooperating with the famous composer and Polydor producer Bert Kaempfert, whom he convinced to produce the then upcoming act The Beatles after seeing them performing in the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. Robić is the author of the famous schlager that was later popularized by Frank Sinatra as Strangers in the Night.
The Croatian rock music began in the 1950s, and one of the first classic rocknroll performers was Karlo Metikoš from Zagreb. He moved to Paris, France where he started a successful international career under the pseudonym Matt Collins. He recorded for Philips Records and had an opportunity to meet legends such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Anka.
1960s and 1970s
During the 1960s many prominent groups emerged such as Grupa 220, Crveni koralji and Roboti. The latter featured Ivica Percl, who, after leaving Roboti in September 1966 because "they were too loud," became a protest singer-songwriter influenced by the acoustic sound of Bob Dylan, Donovan and Joan Baez. In the same year, the internationally acclaimed Croatian chanson-influenced singer Tereza Kesovija represented Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966. Another notable female vocalist who emerged in this period was Josipa Lisac (later Karlo Metikoš's wife) who still enjoys huge popularity in Croatia.
The 1970s saw the emergence of artists who espoused hard rock, progressive rock and other styles. Notable artists of that decade included Dado Topić's Time, Atomsko sklonište and many others. Other important group formed in this period is Parni valjak led by Aki Rahimovski. The late 1970s were marked by the punk rock explosion. The group Paraf from Rijeka was one of the first punk bands in Croatia and the former Yugoslavia in general, and later they moved on to post-punk.
1980s
From punk rock emerged the new wave, and Croatia developed a successful scene of its own called Novi val (meaning New wave).
The scene included some the most notable Croatian artists such as Prljavo Kazalište, Azra, Haustor, Film and Aerodrom. This period of the Croatian rock is covered in the rockumentarySretno dijete released in 2003. Following the decline of the Novi val scene, many new artists emerged during the 1980s: the art rock and New Romantic bands such as Boa and Dorian Gray, the latter led by Massimo Savić, and also the synthpop duo Denis & Denis which featured Marina Perazić, originally from Rijeka, who later became a solo pop artist. Furthermore, from the 1980s to the early 1990s was a great generation which brought out Tomislav Ivčić whose famous song "Večeras je naša fešta" (meaning "Tonight is our night/party") was considered to be one of the best generational songs to have been written, and is also considered to be one of the most chosen karaoke songs to sing. Through this composer, Dalmatia (the Adriatic coast line region) has changed forever due to his great influence, musically and politically.
In another city on the Adriatic coast, in Split, a notable heavy metal group was Osmi putnik, formed in 1985, which featured the now popular solo pop singer Gibonni. Another popular act from this city was the pop group Magazin, while one of the most popular mainstream pop acts in the country was Novi fosili, initially with Đurđica Barlović on vocals, later replaced by Sanja Doležal.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was held in the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, where again, Yugoslavia was represented by a Croatian artist – Tajči.[1] An important person behind most of these successful Croatian Eurovision acts was the prominent popular music producer and composer Zrinko Tutić.
With the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence many Croatian musicians gathered to record humanitarian or tribute albums for the Croatian forces. Such projects included Hrvatski Band Aid and Rock za Hrvatsku. The latter included the famous song "E, moj druže Beogradski" (Hey my Belgrade comrade) by Jura Stublić, the frontman of the group Film. Following the proclamation of Croatia as an independent state, many new Croatian artists emerged. One of the most notable hits in this period was Tek je 12 sati by the dance-pop group ET (Electro-team). Croatia's national music awards, Porins, were established in 1994..
Croatian independence also introduced a new generation of performers such as Daleka Obala, Thompson and pop act Baruni.
Croatia has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent country since 1993. As of 2013, its best placing so far was 4th in 1996 and 1999.
