Goce Arnaudov

Goce Arnaudov was a Macedonian folk singer from Strumica, born there on 19 August 1954, and one of the most popular Macedonian folk singers of his time.

Music was a family matter. At ten he was already playing guitar and singing in his father's group. After secondary school he formed his own band, Krik, and toured with it all over the former Yugoslavia.

In 1993 he came back to Macedonia, and within a short time he won over both the audience and the critics; wherever he appeared, he took first place. In 1994, at Folk Fest Valandovo, he swept every award with "Dali čekaš stara majčice", composed by Mile Barbarovski to lyrics by Georgi Barbarovski. Twenty years on it was still among the favourite songs of Macedonian folk music.

Goce Arnaudov wrote more than 200 songs and sang at around a hundred festivals, winning first place at more than sixty of them. Folk Fest Valandovo alone brought him 22 awards, his songs often took the audience and television viewers' prizes, and at Goce Fest he won the "Nikola Badev" award for interpretation several times. He was also voted the most popular person in Macedonia. He also sang at many charity concerts in Europe, America and Australia.

In 2000 he filled the stadium in his home town of Strumica with 10,000 people, and the local authorities named him singer of the decade and an honorary citizen. He died on 6 December 2011, at the age of 57.