Dražen Žanko

Dražen Žanko is a Croatian singer, songwriter and lyricist of popular music, born on 4 December 1951 in Sinj. He is best known for the many songs he has sung at the Split festival since 1980, most of which he wrote himself.

Most of his songs are about love, and about love of his home region. A native of Sinj, he has sung above all about the Cetina valley, Mediterranean life and the people of Dalmatia and its hinterland. His best-known songs include "Cetina", "Oj, joj, vlaju moj", "Zagora me rodila", "Kad se čovik ovdi rodi" and "S kolina na kolino".

His first singles came out on PGP RTB in 1977, among them "Kraj mora" and "Serenada", and his debut album, Kao na reklami, followed in 1982. Kamen i more (1989), with "Cetina", "Oj, joj, vlaju moj" and "Alkarska pisma", is the album gathered in the playlist here. Later albums include Na šentadi pokraj mora (1992), Na svom putu (2006), two Christmas albums and Moja lička zima (2022), and Croatia Records released his Zlatna kolekcija in 2008.

Besides the Split festival he is closely linked with the Festival of Dalmatian chanson in Šibenik, where songs such as "A bukara kruži", "Sva nam je ljubav bila uzalud", "Maslina", "Suze", "Piz o ljubavi", "Ne bojin se neverina" and "Ma ne soli more" were heard. His most popular duets are with Vinko Coce, Zorica Kondža and Vesna Ivić.

He is also a composer and has written songs for other singers, among them Tereza Kesovija and Đorđi Peruzović. For the 300th anniversary of the Sinjska alka he created the musical Mirakul, writing the libretto and lyrics with Ivica Krajač. He lives in Zagreb, where he opened his own recording studio.