Valerija Raukar (September 5, 1924,

Ruma Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621. History Traces of organized human life ...

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

– March 6, 2011,

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

), most commonly known by her stage name Rajka Vali, was a Croatian pop music singer who enjoyed success through the 1940s and 1950s. Raukar was born to an ethnic Croat family in the east

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

n town of

(today located in

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

). She began singing in the school choir in high school in

. Her professional singer career began accidentally in 1943. One of members of Trio Delinski was ill and there was an urgent need for replacement. Valerija Raukar was literally dragged by her friends into the studio of Krugovalna postaja Zagreb. She sang with Trio Delinski until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Afterwards she continued as a vocal soloist, sometimes making records with dance orchestras. She studied architecture in Zagreb and graduated in 1955. She was married twice. Her first marriage was with known pre-World War II Croatian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician

Bojan Hohnjec Bojan (Serbian Cyrillic and Macedonian: Бојан; Ukrainian, Russian and Bulgarian Cyrillic: Боян, transcribed ''Boyan'') is a Slavic given name, derived from the Slavic noun ''boj'' "battle." The ending ''-an'' is a suffix frequently found ...

, who influenced her early singing style. Her second husband was known Croatian jazz musician, drummer Marjan Moša Marjanović. In 1960 Rajka Vali moved with her husband to Germany, where she continued her singer career. She also had concerts in France, Spain and Germany. She ended her singing career due to her career as architect. In Germany she specialized medical technique and projecting, so she designed several clinics and hospitals. In the 1980s she returned to Zagreb, Croatia, where she died in 2011.

Discography

Rajka Vali recorded 26 singles for

Jugoton Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, SR Croatia. History Jugoton was formed in 1947. It replaced Elektroton, which had been founded in 1937, nationalized in 1945, and liquidated ...

in the period of 1951 to 1957. Only 19 of those records are saved. ''Incomplete list of singles'' * Ti si radost mi sva (''You belong to my heart'') * Ti si biće mog sna * Mambo, mambo, 1954 * Dal' znaš?, 1954 * Često se pitam * Svatko za nečim čezne (''To each his own'') * Srček dela tika taka – Rajka Vali i Ivo Robić * Plavi dim, 1955 * Ti i ja * Kad bi me volio * Je li ljubav to (''So this is love'') * San je želja (''Dream is a wish'') * U iščekivanju (''I'm thrilled'') * Tampico * Baš je divan sunčan dan – Rajka Vali i Ivo Robic * Tvoj (Yours) – Rajka Vali i Ivo Robić * Sastanak (Danas opet) * Kapljice kiše In 2001

Croatia Records Croatia Records is a record label in Croatia owned by AUTOR d.o.o., based in Zagreb. Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a sound engineer. It releases mostly (but ...

(ex-Jugoton) made a tribute to forgotten Croatian stars. *Prozor u pedesete: Zaboravljene zvijezde, Forgotten Stars — trostruki luksuzni album: Zvonimir Krkljuš, Rajka Vali, Bruno Petrali pjevaju vam svoje uspjehe, Croatia Records, Perfekt Music, 2001

Sources

* Rajka Vali interview * Barikada – World of Music – Rajka Vali * Vijenac Nada Vrkljan-Križić: Ispravljena nepravda, December 27, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vali, Rajka 1924 births 2011 deaths People from Ruma 20th-century Croatian women singers Croats of Vojvodina Syrmia Croatian women architects Serbian women architects Yugoslav women singers