Lola Novaković

Zorana "Lola" Novaković (born 25 April 1935) was a Serbian singer. She was popular during the 1960s and the 1970s. She was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Lola Novaković at the Eurovision Song Contest 1962

Early life

Zorana Novaković was born on April 25 1935 in Belgrade, Serbia. Her father, Lukas, was a manufacturer for the Smith & Wesson gun company, and had served in World War One for Serbia as a corporal. Her mother, Henrietta, was a seamstress. The family earned little income and relied heavily on Lukas' manufacturing job. They moved to Banja Luka in June 1939, when Lola was 4 years old.

When Germany invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, Lukas was again conscripted by the army, again as a corporal. However, the Yugoslavian army was quickly defeated by the Germans, and Banja Luka was taken by the Nazis. The Novaković household did not have Jewish ancestry, and was not subject to the anti-Semitic laws of Nazi Germany and its puppetsas a result. However, Banja Luka was terribly damaged in the war, and the Novaković family returned to their empty residence in Belgrade, which was significantly less damaged than Banja Luka.

Lola had quickly developed musical talents during the war period. Often, she would sing Yugoslav folk songs, to the delight of her parents. Her voice was described as:

Like a beautiful stream of silk.. [ sic ] she hit every note exactly how it was with her melodic voice. I knew from the start she would have a musical career.

— Lola's father

After the war had ended and Yugoslav was placed under Soviet control, Lola was signed up on a record label after a good performance at a talent show in October 1945, finishing first. This was where her musical career began.

Career

She was known for having represented FPR Yugoslavia at Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 where she finished fourth.

In 1962, she starred in Šeki snima, pazi se, a full-length comedy movie.

Death

She died a few weeks before her 81st birthday on 3 April 2016.

Other websites

• Lola Novaković on IMDb