Dragan Stojnić | Origin of Street Names

Dragan Stojnić (1937 - 2003) was one of the most popular Serbian and Yugoslav chanson singers, a distinguished gentleman of the music scene and an artist who ultimately dedicated his successful career to a completely ordinary life away from the public eye.

He was born in Belgrade, where he spent his childhood and most of his life. After completing primary and secondary education, he decided to study Romance languages in Skopje. Due to circumstances, he never finished his degree, but his connection with the French language remained strong and would shape his future career as a singer.

Dragan Stojnić became one of the first, and as it turned out, the most popular chanson singers in Yugoslavia in the 1960s. The beginning of his successful singing career is tied to a popular music festival in Kraljevo, where Stojnić translated and performed the hit chanson song Elle Était Si Jollie, making it famous in these regions under the title Bila je tako lijepa (She Was So Beautiful).

The harmonious romantic tones, exceptional elegance, and unique vocal timbre of Dragan Stojnić made him a true star in Yugoslavia and beyond. With his authenticity, he deservedly achieved great success and performed in front of the Parisian audience, the birthplace of this musical genre. Within local circles, he was considered the Yugoslav equivalent of Charles Aznavour.

During the 1960s and 1970s, he won numerous awards at domestic and international festivals, becoming famous and popular, recognized throughout the former country. His March 8th concerts became widely renowned. He released four albums and around ten singles, creating some timeless hits (Natalie, One Man and One Woman, Barbara, I Know That, and others) and then, in the early 1980s, he decided to completely withdraw from the music scene and public life.

This unusual move by a true music star surprised the entire music scene. Dragan Stojnić didn't even bother to explain his decision; he simply stopped singing and appearing at festivals. To make the curiosity even greater, in his 40s, he enrolled and completed higher tourism school and got a job at a travel agency, dedicating himself exclusively to his family from then on.

In his mature years, during the 1990s, he performed only occasionally and sporadically, mostly on International Women's Day, for which his concerts became synonymous, more as a tribute to the past than an attempt to revive his career.

Dragan Stojnić passed away at the age of 66 after a prolonged illness. He was buried in Belgrade, where a street symbolically bears the name of the greatest Yugoslav chanson singer today.