Marina Tucaković
Marina Tucaković (Serbian Cyrillic: Марина Туцаковић; 4 November 1953 – 19 September 2021) was a Serbian lyricist and songwriter. Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, Tucaković had a degree from the Economic Faculty at the University of Belgrade. She first started writing songs at the age of 19. After the success of "Dodirni mi kolena" by the Yugoslav rock group Zana and vocalist Zana Nimani, Tucaković continued working with numerous artists in then Yugoslavia.
Marina Tucaković | |
|---|---|
Марина Туцаковић | |
| Born | 4 November 1953 |
| Died | 19 September 2021 (aged 67)[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Belgrade |
| Occupation(s) | Lyricist, Economist |
| Years active | 1970s–2021 |
| Spouse | Aleksandar Futa Radulović |
| Children | 2 |
Before she oriented towards folk music, she collaborated with Yugoslav pop, rock and new wave artists such as Oliver Mandić, Zana, Slađana Milošević and Oliver Dragojević. In the 2000s and 2010s, in addition to writing for many folk artists from Serbia, Tucaković went on to collaborate with numerous folk and pop music artists from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, such as Džej Ramadanovski, Toše Proeski, Lepa Brena, Dino Merlin and Zdravko Čolić.
Many songs Tucaković wrote are considered to be the greatest hits of all-time on the Balkans. She was also widely considered one of the most influential and admired Serbian lyricist. By the end of her almost 50-year long career, Tucaković served as the main author of more than 4,000 songs.[2]
Life
Tucaković was born on 4 November 1953 in Belgrade. She went to the 6th Belgrade gymnasium. She went on to study economics at the Economic Faculty of the University of Belgrade. Early on, she also had the idea of working as a tourist guide. Additionally, Tucaković's dream jobs also included a hairdresser and a teacher.[2] Around the time she was still a university student, Tucaković's interest into music and writing songs started to develop and intensify, although she was not aware she had "a gift" for it. After she finished her university, she joined as a secretary in a jazz union.[3] Tucaković started writing songs at the age of 19 for the acoustic trio Dag.[4]
Writing career
During the 1970s, Tucaković collaborated with Smak, YU Grupa, Bisera Veletanlić, Miki Jevremović, Maja Odžaklijevska and Miša Marković. The first major successful single she wrote was the song "Au, au" by Slađana Milošević released in 1977.[3] Some other songs she wrote early on in her career also include "Ti samo budi dovoljno daleko" (1979) by Generacija 5, "Ljuljaj me nežno" (1981) by Oliver Mandić, "Što to bješe ljubav" (1988) by Oliver Dragojević, "Idi dok si mlad" (1995) by Ceca and "Smijehom Strah Pokrijem" (1999) by Dino Merlin.
In 1979, she wrote the lyrics to all songs of the soundtrack to the movie Nacionalna klasa (1979) whose main composer was Zoran Simjanović. Some of the most notable songs from that movie included "Flojd" by Dado Topić and "Zašto" by Oliver Dragojević. She also worked with Simjanović on music from the movie Sok od šljiva, which marked her first venture into folk music, and on the movie Balkan Ekspres.[2] Another immensely successful song Tucaković wrote was "Dodirni mi kolena" by rock band Zana and vocalist Zana Nimani released in 1982.[5] During the 1980s, she wrote several hit singles including "Ruška" by Zdravko Colic, "Stranac u noći" by Massimo Savić, "Što to bješe ljubav" (1988) by Oliver Dragojević, "Svi pjevaju, ja ne čujem" by Mišo Kovač and "Ti si želja mog života" by Magazin.[2]
Despite initially starting off in the pop and pop rock genre, she continued working in the folk genre during the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s as well. Some of her major collaborators in that period included Mišo Kovač, Zdravko Čolić, Dragana Mirković, Lepa Brena, Selma Bajrami, Severina, Ceca and Jelena Karleuša, among others. She composed the lyrics of the Serbian entries for Eurovision Song Contest 2010 ("Ovo je Balkan"),[6] 2012 ("Nije ljubav stvar") and 2013 ("Ljubav je svuda").
Tucaković frequently collaborated with Serbian songwriter Ljiljana Jorgovanović, who has created the biggest hits alongside her for more than 30 years and during the final years of her career with her son Milan Laća Radulović.[7][2] During an interview Tucaković described her songwriting process, "To me the person I write for is key, but also her majesty, the melody - when it pulls me, then I am king and when it does not, there can also be a bit of routine and tension and that can really tire an artist".[2][transl. 1] She also added that she has never been ashamed of the lyrics she wrote although she regretted having written songs for collaborating with "bad singers".[2][transl. 2] During an interview in 2018, Tucaković revealed that the number of songs she wrote registered with her agency was around 4000 although she estimated that the actual number of songs written by her included between 4500 and 5000.[8]
Other ventures
In 2003, Tucaković served as the art and music director of the festival Beovizija together with Vlada Graić. In 2008, she served as one of the judges in the reality show Operacija trijumf which featured contestants from Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia.[5] In 2014, she became a member of the jury in the show Pinkove zvezde organized by Pink.[5]
Personal life
In the 1980s, Tucaković was in a relationship with Oliver Mandić for four years. Tucaković was married to producer and composer Aleksandar Futa Radulović. The pair had two sons, Milan "Laća" and Miloš. On 1 December 2008, Tucaković found Miloš dead in his room at the age of 24.[4] Following her son's death, she took a hiatus from the media and from writing songs for several months. Despite autopsy results being done to investigate the cause of death, Tucaković refused to look at them.[9] The song "Mišo moj" by Ana Nikolić, released in 2010, was dedicated to her deceased son.[5] Laća, who was a lyricist like his mother, was last seen alive on 12 December 2022. He was found dead on 13 December on the street in Israel and his identity confirmed on 20 December.[10]
In 2018, Tucaković was diagnosed with breast cancer for which she also soon underwent a surgery and received chemotherapy. On 14 September 2021, her son Milan Laća Radulović shared with the public that the disease became more advanced and metastasized to the liver, lungs, brain and bones and asked for urgent help due to his mother's worsening health. Tucaković was then transferred to the Dragiša Mišović hospital where she needed assistance for her breathing problems and COVID-19.[11] She died on 19 September 2021, at the age of 67.[12] After her death, many music artists and media outlets expressed their grief at the loss.[2]
Artistry and legacy
Tucaković was also known for writing more provocative lyrics which included sexual innuendos. Her lyrics have covered a wide variety of topics for which she revealed that they had some connection to her life.[8] Tucaković has cited Arsen Dedić, Džemaludin Latić, Dino Merlin, Gibonni, Bora Čorba, Bajaga, Đorđe Balašević, Vjekoslava Huljić, Buba Corelli, Jala Brat and Rasta as her favorite lyricists and songwriters.[3]
In 1987, Dutch singer Piet Veerman (former member of the popular Dutch band the Cats) had a number one hit in the Netherlands with the single "Sailin' Home", which was a translation of one of Tucaković's songs, "Zora je" performed by Neda Ukraden.[13] It became the singer's biggest hit and the best selling single of the year in the Netherlands.[14]
Many of the songs Tucaković wrote are considered to be some of the greatest songs of all times on the Balkans.[15] She was considered to have the biggest merit in establishing the career of Džej Ramadanovski and Ceca.[2] Music critics were divided on the quality of the lyrics written by Tucaković; while some considered them to be very representative of the time she was living, others dismissed them as "sweet" and "often on the verge of trash".[2][transl. 3]
Selected discography
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References
- ^ "Umrla je Marina Tucaković" [Marina Tucaković Died]. Index.hr (in Croatian). 19 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Preminula Marina Tucaković - autorka najpopularnijih pesama pop i folk muzike" [Marina Tucaković passed away - the author of the most popular pop and folk music songs]. BBC News na srpskom (in Serbian). 19 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ a b c K1 Sta sam tebi & ko sam sebi - Marina Tucakovic (in Serbian). K1 Televizija. YouTube. 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ a b Pavlović, Tajana (20 September 2021). "Životni put jedne od najvećih: posljednje godine Života Marina Tucaković provela je noseći se s ogromnom tugom" [The life road of one of the greatest: Marin Tucaković spent the last years of her life coping with enormous sadness] (in Croatian). Gloria. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d M., I. (19 September 2021). "Biografija Marine Tucaković Od 19. godine je počela da piše pesme, napravila nekoliko hiljada hitova, a smrt sina nikad nije prebolela" [Biography of Marina Tucaković - She started writing songs from her 19th, she created about a thousand hits and she never got over the death of her son] (in Serbian). Blic. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest: Serbia 2010: Milan Stanković, "Ovo Je Balkan"". ESC History. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
- ^ K., J. (21 September 2021). ""Laća is self-possessed and Futa is withdrawn!" Marine Tucaković's friend spoke about how the family is coping with the loss" ["Laća je priseban, a Futa se povukao u sebe!" prijateljica Marine Tucaković Ispričala kako se porodica nosi sa gubitkom] (in Serbian). Puls Online. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ a b Ексклузивно гостување на Марина Туцаковиќ во 1ТВ - за семејната трагедија и борбата со ракот [Exclusive appearance of Marina Tucaković in 1TV - about her family tragedy and the battle with cancer] (in Macedonian). 1TV MK. YouTube. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Marina Tucaković našla sina mrtvog i ne želi, ni poslije 11 godina, da zna rezultate obdukcije" [Marina Tucaković found her son dead and does not want, even after 11 years, to learn the results of the obduction] (in Serbian). Ekspanzija. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "Iznenada preminuo sin Marine Tucaković" [Marina Tucaković's son suddenly passed away]. Radio Sarajevo (in Bosnian). 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ K, N (14 September 2021). "Sin autorice nekih najvećih domaćih hitova u očaju objavio zabrinjavajuću poruku: "Pomoć! Može biti kasno"" [The son of the author of some of the biggest regional hits shared a worrying message in despair: "Help! It may be late"] (in Croatian). Dnevnik. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ S., M. (19 September 2021). "Marina Tucaković preminula u 68. godini: Autorica nekih od najvećih domaćih hitova izgubila je bitku s teškom bolesti" [Marina Tucaković dies at 68: The author of some of the biggest regional hits lost her battle with a serious illness] (in Croatian). Dnevnik. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Dit zijn de veertig inzendingen voor het Eurovisie Songfestival" [These are the forty submissions for the Eurovision Songfestival] (in Dutch). NU.nl. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Sailin' Home - Piet Veerman" (in Dutch). NPO Radio 2. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ URANAK1 Marina Tucaković preminula je sinoć - Marijana Petrović, Aleksandar Milić Mili, Žika "Zana" [URANAK1 Marina Tucaković passed away yesterday - Marijana Petrović, Aleksandar Milić Mili, Žika "Zana"] (in Serbian). K1 Televizija. YouTube. 20 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
Translated quotations
Some quotes used in this article were originally in Serbian, and have been user-translated.