Zona B
Encyclopedia
History
Former Idoli bassist Zdenko KolarZdenko Kolar
Zdenko Kolar is a Serbian bass guitarist, most notable as the member of Idoli and Zona B.-Biography:Kolar was born in Zemun in 1956 where he lived until 1963 when he moved to inner town in Belgrade. He moved to a building where two of his future bandmates lived, Vlada Divljan and Boža Jovanović...
and drummer Dušan Ristić "Rista" officially formed Zona B on November 29, 1986. After several personnel changes, the band got a default lineup featuring Jovan "Lole" Savić (vocals), Dušan "Duda" Bezuha (a former Suncokret
Suncokret
Suncokret was a former Yugoslav acoustic rock band from Belgrade.-Band history:The band was formed in 1975 by former Zajedno member Bora Đorđević , a former U Cvetu Mladosti member Nenad Božić and female singers Snežana Jandrlić and Vesna Rakočević...
member, guitar), Tomislav "Toma" Rakijaš (guitar) and Vladimir "Buca" Filipović (keyboards). The band performed cover versions of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
classics by B.B. King, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, J.J. Cale
J.J. Cale
JJ Cale , born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has...
, and became one of the most notable club bands in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
In 1991 the band released their debut album called Bestseller featuring cover versions of blues classics and produced by Bezuha. The album featured covers of Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
's "Spoonful
Spoonful
"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton , itself related to "All I Want Is A Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan...
", Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
's "Oh Well", J.J. Cale
J.J. Cale
JJ Cale , born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has...
's "Cocaine)
Cocaine (song)
"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded by JJ Cale in 1976 and most widely known in a cover version recorded by Eric Clapton. Allmusic calls the latter "among [Clapton's] most enduringly popular hits" and notes that "even for an artist like Clapton with a huge body of high-quality work, 'Cocaine'...
", The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens are a British pop band formed in Weybridge, Surrey in Summer 1962.-History:Arthur Sharp began his career in music as the manager of Aerco Records in Woking, Surrey...
' "Tobacco Road
Tobacco Road (song)
"Tobacco Road" is a song written and first recorded by John D. Loudermilk in 1960 that was a hit for The Nashville Teens in 1964 and has since become a standard across several musical genres....
", among others. The album was released through PGP RTB. Guest appearances on the album featured Bebi Dol on vocals and Petar "Pera Joe" Miladinović on harmonica.
The next release was Juke-Box which, beside cover versions, featured two Zona B songs written by Bezuha and Savić, "My Woman" and "Don't Put Me Down". The album was produced by Bezuha and was released by PGP-RTB
PGP-RTB
PGP-RTB was a major record label and chain record store in the former SFR Yugoslavia based in Belgrade, Socialist Republic of Serbia. PGP-RTB was established in 1958...
. As guests on the album appeared Saša Lokner (Hammond organ), Svetozar "Zoran" Božinović (guitar, vocals), Petar "Pera Joe" Miladinović (harmonica), Miroslav "Cvele" Cvetković (bass, vocals), Ivan Božinović "DJ. Ike" (vocals)
After the album release, Savić, Rakijaš and Filipović left the band. Their replacements were Petar "Pera" Zarija (vocals), Svetozar "Zoran" Božinović (a former Pop Mašina
Pop Mašina
Pop Mašina was a former Yugoslav progressive rock band from Belgrade. Pop Mašina was formed in 1972, and released two studio albums and one live album before disbanding in 1978...
and Rok Mašina
Rok Mašina
Rok Mašina was a short-lasting former Yugoslav hard rock band from Belgrade. Rok Mašina was formed in 1980 by former members of the progressive/hard rock band Pop Mašina, and it is often considered a continuation of Pop Mašina.-1980 - 1982:The band was formed in 1980 by former Pop Mašina members...
member, guitar, vocals) and Ljuba Đordević (harmonica).
The new lineup performed Božinović's song "Negde daleko" which was originally recorded by Pop Mašina. The cover appeared on the Blues Summit Coupe Vol. 1 various artists compilation. The new lineup also recorded a new album, Pirat, released in 1999 by Round Records. Guest appearances featured Vlada Divljan
Vlada Divljan
Vladimir "Vlada" Divljan , is a Serbian singer and songwriter. He is known as the frontman for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Idoli, as well as for his solo works.-Early activity:...
(guitar), Ognjan "Ogi" Radivojević (Hammond organ), Petar "Pera" Radmilović (drums), Miroslav "Cvele" Cvetković (vocals), Ivana Ćosić (vocals). After the album release, Đordević left the band and guitarist Dragan "Dadi" Stojanović joined the band. In 2000 the first two LPs were rereleased on CD on the Two on One compilation.
In 2005 after a five-year discography pause, the band released the album Original with fifteen Zona B songs written by Slobodan "Boca" Samardžić, Miomir "Muki" Mušicki and Dragan "Dadi" Stojanović. The album was released through One Records
One Records (Serbia)
One Records is a record label based in Belgrade, Serbia.Formed in 1999, its catalogue covers a fairly wide musical spectrum - from younger hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Alogia, Cactus Jack, Dargoron, Stratus, and others, to young Irish folk/Celtic rock bands Tir na n'Og and Irish Stew of...
and produced by Duda Bezuha, like all the previous releases. Guest appearances featured the band's first vocalist, Jovan "Lole" Savić and Petar "Pera Joe" Miladinović on harmonica.
The band's latest studio album, Devil Blues, was released in 2007. However, Božinović in the meantime died, and the band became a five-piece. The album was released by One Records
One Records (Serbia)
One Records is a record label based in Belgrade, Serbia.Formed in 1999, its catalogue covers a fairly wide musical spectrum - from younger hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Alogia, Cactus Jack, Dargoron, Stratus, and others, to young Irish folk/Celtic rock bands Tir na n'Og and Irish Stew of...
and produced by Bezuha. In 2007 appeared the band's live release which is actually an official bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
of the bands 2006 appearance in Aleksinac
Aleksinac
Aleksinac is a town which is a center of Aleksinac Municipality, located in the Nišava District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a population of 16,420 inhabitants, while the municipality has 51,462.-Name:...
.
In 2010, the band recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Serbian tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player Novak Đoković. In 2011, the band celebrated 25 years of existence with a concert with the blues band Point Blank, held in Gun club in Belgrade, and announced the release of the new studio album during the spring.
Studio albums
- Bestseller (1991)
- Juke-Box (1993)
- Pirat (1999)
- Original (2005)
- Devil Blues (2007)
Various artists compilations
- Belgrade The Blues Today Vol. 1 (1994)
- Blues Summit Coupe Vol. 1 (2000)
- Blues Summit Coupe Vol. 2 (2000)