Sanja Ilic

Aleksandar "Sanja" Ilić (; 27 March 1951 – 7 March 2021) was a Serbian and Yugoslav musician and composer.

Ilić started composing as a teenager. In 1971 he formed the rock band San, which disbanded in 1975, after the band's vocalist Predrag Jovičić died in concert from an electric shock. After San split up, Ilić continued his career as a composer, authoring several hit songs for Yugoslav pop and rock artists. He collaborated with composer and keyboardist Sloba Marković on the electronic music album Delta Project and with actor and lyricist Irfan Mensur on the album Plava ptica. In 2000, Ilić formed the ethnic music ensemble Balkanika, with which he recorded five albums and had numerous performances across the world. During his career, Ilić wrote music for theatre, film, television shows and various performers. He died in 2021 in Belgrade. He was the brother of rock musician and composer Dragoljub Ilić and husband of actress Zlata Petković.

Life and career Early life and career Ilić was born on 27 March 1951 in Belgrade. Ilić's father, Miodrag "Beli" Ilić was a well-known composer. Sanja Ilić composed his first song when he was 12. At the age of 16, he composed the song "Baj baj baj" ("Bye, Bye, Bye"), which was later performed by Bisera Veletanlić at Jugovizija 1976 festival. In 1967, he joined the high school band Vragolani (The Imps). With San Ilić recorded five 7" singles.

Ilić continued his career as a composer. In 1982, he composed the song "Halo, Halo" ("Hello, Hello"), with which the group Aska represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982. In 2018, Ilić and Balkanika represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Nova deca" ("New Children"). Part of the album songs were in English language, with vocals provided by Mladen Lukić.

During his career Ilić wrote over 1000 compositions for theatre, films, TV shows and commercials. He was buried at the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in the Belgrade New Cemetery, next to his wife, Zlata Petković.

On 28 June (Serbian national holiday Vidovdan) 2021, Ilić was posthumously awarded the Golden Medal for Merits by the President of Serbia.

Family Ilić's brother Dragoljub Ilić is the leader of the hard rock band Generacija 5. The band was named after Sanja Ilić's suggestion; after reading a newspaper article about fifth generation computers, Sanja Ilić suggested the name Generacija 5 (Generation 5).

Ilić was married to Serbian actress and model Zlata Petković until her death in 2012. They had one son together, Andrej, who was born in 1984.

Awards and honors Association of Musicians of Belgrade Annual Award

Discography With San Singles "Tebe sam želeo" / "Helena" (1971) "Papirni brodovi" / "Hej, malena" (1973) "Legenda" / "Milena" (1974) "Jedan svet za sve" / "Srce na dlanu" (1974) "Anabela" / "Zvezda ljubavi" (1974)

Solo Studio albums Delta Project (with Sloba Marković, 1987) Plava ptica (1992)

With Balkanika Studio albums Balkan 2000 (2000) Balkan koncept (2004) Ceeepaj (2009) Stand Up (2020)

Video albums Live at Kalemegdan (2006)