Josipa Lisac

Josipa Lisac (; born 14 February 1950) is a Croatian singer whose work has spawned many different genres, from rock and pop to jazz and ethnic music. Known for her unique contralto, Lisac is widely considered one of the most notable female vocalists of the Croatian music scene and the former Yugoslav popular music scene.

Starting her professional career as the vocalist for the rock band O'Hara in 1967, Lisac immediately gained the attention of the Yugoslav audience and the media. In 1968, she moved to the band Zlatni Akordi, starting her solo career during the same year. During the initial phase of her solo career, she performed on Yugoslav pop festivals, gaining large attention of the public. After a series of 7-inch singles, she released her debut album Dnevnik jedne ljubavi in 1973, today widely considered one of the best albums in the history of Yugoslav popular music. The album featured songs composed by her husband Karlo Metikoš, who continued to play a pivotal role in her career in the following years.

After her second studio release, a jazz rock album recorded with B.P. Convention Big Band International, and her third studio album, Made in U.S.A., featuring songs written by a number of prominent American songwriters, Lisac turned to contemporary rock sound. Her following releases, despite bringing several hit songs, did not repeat the commercial and critical success of her debut. In the mid-1980s, she turned to performing on Yugoslav pop festivals, appearing in extravagant and flamboyant costumes, the new phase of her career reaching its highlight with the 1987 album Boginja. Following Meikoš's death in 1991, she organized tribute concerts in his honor, three of them released on live albums, and has released three more studio albums, the 2009 album Živim po svom being her latest studio release. During her career, Lisac has collaborated with a number of acts of the Croatian and Yugoslav music scenes and has received a number of awards for her work.

Biography Early life Josipa Lisac was born in Zagreb on 14 February 1950. She started her singing career in 1961, as a member of RTV Zagreb's children choir. With the arrival of Lisac, the band started to turn away from their trademark polyphonic singing and to emphasize Lisac's vocals. During this period, Lisac made one of her earliest TV appearances, performing with O'Hara in the popular TV Belgrade show Koncert za ludi mladi svet (Concert for the Crazy Young World), performing covers of the songs "One Day" and "I Can't See Nobody".

In 1968, Lisac and O'Hara organist and leader Frano Parać moved to the band Zlatni Akordi, O'Hara thus disbanding. During the same year, Lisac made her discographic debut, on Zlatni Akordi's second EP Halo taxi, the title track originally performed on the 1968 edition of the festival Vaš šlager sezone (Your Schlager of the Season). The song was polled the third best song by the festival audience. For her second single, released during the same year, she recorded the songs "Živim samo za tebe" ("I Live Only for You") and "Prijatelji" ("Friends"), Metikoš had already gained fame in Yugoslavia and France as a rock and roll singer. The album artwork was designed by Krajač,

In 1974, Lisac released her second album, Najveći uspjesi '68./ '73. (Greatest Hits '68 / '73), the compilation of hit songs from her 7-inch singles. and released on the album Gubec-beg. and was more mainstream-oriented than her previous releases. She also appeared on the 1987 MESAM festival, wearing a dress with a 100m2 gown. A criminal complaint was submitted against her by attorney Boško Županović for "performing and intoning the Croatian national anthem in a derogatory way" during the inauguration. In 2022, another four-piece box set was released, entitled Original Album Collection Live and featuring live albums Koncert u čast Karla Metikoša, Live, Koncert ljubavi u čast Karla Metikoša (originally released as a video album only) and ...tu u mojoj duši stanuješ....

Collaborations and guest appearances During her career, Lisac has collaborated with a number of prominent acts, making guest appearances on a number of records.

In 1971, she appeared as guest vocalist in the rock epic "1941." by progressive rock band Korni Grupa. "1941." was written on the lyrics of Branko Ćopić and originally recorded as a soundtrack for the Jedan čovek jedna pesma (One Man – One Song) television series, directed by Jovan Ristić and with mise-en-scène written by Momo Kapor. The composition was released in 1979 as Korni Grupa's studio album 1941. receiving the Porin Award for Best Female Vocalist for the album song "Po prvi put" ("For the First Time"). Her song "Sreća" was covered in 2015 by Croatian singer Antonela Doko for the album Zimzeleno a novo (Evergreen But New). In 2015, Dnevnik jedne ljubavi was polled as 11th on the list of 100 Greatest Yugoslav Albums published by the Croatian edition of Rolling Stone.

In 2000, the song "Magla" was polled No.59 on Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times list. In 2006, "O jednoj mladosti" was polled No.24 on the B92 Top 100 Yugoslav songs list.

Personal life Lisac was in a relationship with Croatian musician and songwriter Karlo Metikoš from 1971 until his death in December 1991.

1971

1973

1976

Boginja

Balade

1991 Split '91

2007 Živim po svome

2015 25

2020

2023

2025 3