Korni Grupa (, trans. Korni Group) was a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1968. Launched and led by—as well as named after—the keyboardist Kornelije Kovač, the band was one of the first Yugoslav rock acts to achieve major mainstream popularity in the country, and often considered the very first Yugoslav supergroup. Since their dissolution, Korni Grupa gained significant retroactive acclaim as one of the most influential bands in the history of rock music in Yugoslavia. The band additionally used the Kornelyans name during a short-lived commercial foray outside of Yugoslavia in an attempt at breaking into the international market with an English-language album.
All throughout their run, Korni Grupa's activity took place on two parallel tracks: one focused around commercial pop rock in pursuit of mainstream popularity, and the other, an artistically influenced progressive rock sound crossed with influences of psychedelic, folk, jazz, and symphonic rock music. The keyboardist Kornelije Kovač formed the group with the bassist Bojan Hreljac, drummer Vladimir Furduj, and guitarist Velibor Kacl. After going through several vocalists—Miroslava Kojadinović, Dušan Prelević and Dalibor Brun—a period during which Korni Grupa released several singles, the band settled on Dado Topić who brought along his former bandmate as the replacement for Kacl. The lineup with Topić on vocals competed at music festivals, scored a popular film, This Crazy World of Ours, and created a rock epic as a soundtrack for an episode of the Jedan čovek jedna pesma television program that would be released years later on the posthumous studio album 1941. Upon Topić's departure, his substitute was Zdravko Čolić who only lasted six months. Zlatko Pejaković took over the vocals after Čolić left.
With Pejaković, the band recorded their eponymous debut album, which was the very first full-length album by a SR Serbia-based rock band and only the fourth one in Yugoslavia, as well as an English language followup album, Not an Ordinary Life, under the name Kornelyans. The band had also performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 placing in disappointing 12th place, which—along with the second album's poor reception—led to the band's decision to split up. They held two farewell concerts at Novi Sad's Studio M before disbanding on December 1, 1974. A portion of the recordings from the two shows would later be released on the compilation album Mrtvo more, the first double album in the history of Yugoslav rock music.
After the group's disbandment, Korni Grupa members pursued careers as solo acts, studio musicians, and producers, reuniting in 1987 with Topić on vocals for two performances, in Zagreb and Belgrade. In 2019, Kovač, Boček and Topić reunited to hold the farewell Korni Grupa concert in Belgrade; Hreljac's participation in the reunion was also announced, however, he died less than two months before the concert.
History Early years (1968–1969) Having left the Sarajevo-based Indexi in 1968, established keyboardist Kornelije "Bata" Kovač, a graduate of the University of Sarajevo's Music Academy, moved to Yugoslav capital Belgrade.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 Soon after arrival, he met the bassist Bojan Hreljac, former member of recently-disbanded Elipse, and the two decided to start a brand new band, inviting Hreljac's former Elipse bandmate, drummer Vladimir "Furda" Furduj, and guitarist Velibor "Borko" Kacl formerly of another recently-disbanded major Yugoslav band, Zlatni Dečaci.Žikić, 1999, p.121 Newly-established Korni Grupa then completed their lineup with the arrival of the female singer Miroslava "Seka" Kojadinović in September 1968, with the event receiving significant press coverage due to the members being well-known musicians owing to their previous work.Žikić, 1999, p.121 In fact, many observers considered the band to be the first supergroup in Yugoslavia.Žikić, 1999, p.121
Their debut live appearance took place at Belgrade's Dom Sindikata (Trade Union Hall) in late 1968 as part of the Yugoslav Athlete of the Year award ceremony.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 The band's set, performed alongside two go-go dancers, consisted of several original songs written during rehearsals/jam sessions at Hreljac's garage as well as a cover of "If You Go Away" during which they notably utilized pre-recorded sounds of the sea played from a tape recorder placed inside Kovač's piano.Žikić, 1999, p.121 The eye-catching performance was received favourably, opening a number of live performance opportunities for the band at numerous venues around town.Žikić, 1999, p.121 One such appearance took place at Belgrade's Dom Omladine (Youth Center), where they put on a conceptual multimedia performance, with painter Raša Trkulja painting live during the show.Žikić, 1999, p.121-122 It further featured ballerinas dancing behind multicoloured plastic cylinders blurring their silhouettes, and actors performing sketches such as dusting the piano or The Lady With the Dog sketch (named after a short story by Anton Chekov) in which a lady would walk a man on a leash in the first part of the performance and the man walking the lady in the second part.
The band was soon invited to perform on the Radio Belgrade show Studio VI vam pruža šansu (Studio VI is Offering You a Chance), however, Kojadinović refused to sing, so Kovač had to jump in on short notice to provide the lead vocals.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 The reason for her refusal was the selection of the songs for the performance, including the song "Marijan", the first song the Kovač had written with the band, which Kojadinović, heavily influenced by the 1960s underground music, especially Julie Driscoll (whose version of "Season of the Witch" the band used to perform at the time), considered overly commercial.Žikić, 1999, p.121 Since the rest of the band took Kovač's side, Kojadinović was excluded from the band, after which she started a solo career that would turn out to be short lived, releasing one EP and two 7-inch singles before retiring from music and, after graduating from the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Law, becoming a lawyer.Janjatović, 2024, p.153
Dušan "Prele" Prelević, well-known locally in Belgrade at the time for his distinctive rhythm and blues and soul vocal style and excessive lifestyle, became the new Korni Grupa vocalist.Žikić, 1999, p.123-124 In early 1969, the band was invited to compete at the 1969 Jugovizija festival, the selection for the Yugoslav representative at the Eurovision song contest, which entailed coming up with an original number.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 For the band's entry, despite being heavily influenced by the emerging progressive rock genre, Kovač opted to write a pop-oriented song, "Cigu-ligu" ("Tweedle-dum, Tweedle-dee"), due to picking up on what he felt to be a hostility that a sizeable section of the Yugoslav audience and media exhibited towards the progressive sound. Appearing at the competition in February 1969, held that year in Zagreb, as one of the three acts representing RTV Belgrade (the other two being Lola Jovanović and ), Korni Grupa's singer Prelević showed up drunk for the performance. Despite the band finishing third among seventeen competing acts, Prelević's behaviour led to an argument with bandleader Kovač that resulted in a mutual decision for Prelević to leave the band.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 Nevertheless, later in 1969, the band released "Cigu-ligu" as their debut single, with "Čovek i pas" ("A Man and a Dog") as the B-side, all three numbers recorded with Prelević on vocals, the latter of which Prelević would re-record decades later on his 1996 solo album Ja, Prele (I, Prele). After leaving Korni Grupa, Prelević appeared in the cult 1969 Yugoslav staging of the Hair musical in Atelje 212 theatre, recorded a studio album with progressive rock band Opus, a single with keyboardist Oliver Mandić, as well as several solo albums and devoted to a literary and journalism career.Žikić, 1999, p.124-125
The new Korni Grupa singer became Dalibor Brun from Rijeka, a former member of the band Uragani (recording the single "Deborah" with them). It was with Brun that Korni Grupa recorded their first hits "Magična ruka" ("The Magic Hand"), "Sonata" and "Dzum-ram".Janjatović, 2024, p.153 With Brun—himself fostering a typical festival singer image but a rock vocal style—the band succeeded in maintaining a double track career: alternating between being a festival band performing commercial pop rock songs on one hand and a progressive rock band following the current global rock musical trends on the other.Žikić, 1999, p.125 With the folk-influenced song "Pastir i cvet" ("A Shepperd and a Flower"), the band appeared at the Singing Europe festival in Scheveningen, Netherlands winning the Golden Pier award for the most original act, despite being in competition with acts such as the Wallace Collection and Olivia Newton-John.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 The song, released as a single during 1969 by PGP-RTB, with "Ako budeš sama" ("If You Were Alone") as the B-side, featured Balkan folk instruments šargija, tarabuka and frula.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 This was however, the last recording with Brun as he, becoming less enthusiastic about the band's work, decided to leave the band conventionally.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 Having left Korni Grupa, Brun returned to Rijeka and joined the band Bohemi (The Bohemians), eventually starting a successful career as a pop singer.Janjatović, 2024, p.153
Dado Topić years (1969–1971) After Brun's departure, owing to the mutual friendship with dancer Lokica Stefanović, the new Korni Grupa vocalist became Dado Topić, formerly of the Osijek-based Dinamiti.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 With Topić, the band appeared at the Opatija festival, performing the song "Devojčice mala" ("Little Girl"), which would be released as a split single with the quartet 4M's song "Priča se" ("Rumour Has It").Janjatović, 2024, p.153 With Topić, the band held their first solo concert in Belgrade, on 6 November 1969 in Belgrade Youth Center.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 The concert was entitled "Uz malu pomoć naših frendova" ("With a Little Help from Our Friends").Janjatović, 2024, p.153 As the audience entered the Center's hall, they were greeted by the Yugoslav People's Army Guard military band performing marches and instrumental covers of Korni Grupa songs, and prior to the band's performance, on stage appeared judo fighters, ladies walking dogs and gallows with a hanged friar.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 During the concert the band performed only their progressive rock repertoire.Janjatović, 2024, p.153
Soon after, Kacl left the band and decided to retire from the music business.Janjatović, 2024, p.153 He was replaced by , Topić's former Dinamiti bandmate who at the time fronted his own band Boček i Tri (Boček and Three).Janjatović, 2024, p.153 The new lineup started working on their own vision of progressive music, making recordings of the songs "Jedna žena" ("A Woman"), "Prvo svetlo u kući broj 4" ("The First Light in the House Number 4"), co-written by Topić and Kovač, classical music-inspired "Etida" ("Étude") and "Žena je luka a čovek brod" ("Woman is a Harbor and Man is a Ship").Janjatović, 2024, p.153