Dušan Jovanović - Dunje ranke (1927.)

Dunje ranke, kruške karamanke, a very well-known Serbian song, even to this day, although nowadays it is sung in a rushed and entirely uncouth manner. There seems to have been quite a number of Serbs who came to the USA from the village of Sânpetru Mare, or, as they call it, Veliki Sempetar. There were enough of them to form at least two tamburitza orchestras, namely Banat, lead by Zdravko Jezdimir, and Orao (Eagle), the leader (kapelnik) of which was Dušan Jovanović, although, perhaps, there were some musicians who were members of both orchestras. The renowned brothers Vasa and Mirko Bukvić also came from that village. As my friend Steven Kozobarich rightfully pointed out, there were many factors that set Dušan Jovanović apart from the other great musicians of his day. He was a true virtuoso on the prima, unafraid to take his playing in new directions, yet with an obvious respect for the old styles. His vocals were passionate and full of emotion. This was true "soul music"! He was extremely popular not only in the Serbian and Croatian communities, but also among Romanians and Hungarians. He even recorded a set of Romanian records on the Victor label under the name D. Joanovichu, and at least one disc for Columbia as Dan Joan Din Temisoara. He also made a number of Comedy records, some with his "Orao" orchestra, and some with other groups, such as that of Vasa Adamov. Unfortunately Dušan Jovanović never recorded after 1929. Tragically, he was killed in an auto-train collision, along with his entire "Orao" orchestra, on the way to a performance.