Krunoslav "Kićo"

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How did Krunoslav get the nickname "Kićo"?


The famous singer and composer of folk music, Krunoslav "Kićo" Slabinac, was not always known as "Kićo". His first pseudonym was "Little Rocky". He took him because he was a hard rocker!

He got his most famous nickname "Kićo" from his sister. This nickname was "proven" by an anecdote.

Namely, in the post-war period, a film was shown on television that made fun of the bureaucracy. In it, the main character was a small bureaucrat who had stacks of papers, books, and accounts in his office from floor to ceiling and, while working, constantly whistled a song. He was very small and funny, just like Krunoslav. The bureaucrat's name was Kićo.
            
Little Krunoslav, he liked to imitate that bureaucrat walking strangely and whistling. When his sister saw it, she shouted: - Oh, look at him! The same Kid from the cartoon! - And that's how he became, but also remained all his life - Kićo.

It is less known that Kićo almost had a foreign career in Germany. He recorded singles for the publishing house "Phonogram Phillips", which was also not satisfied with the name and surname of the famous singer. There, they really made an effort when choosing a stage name!

The publishing house came up with an extraordinary German-Balkan combination. In Germany, Kićo was known as Štefan Andrić.

About the nickname "Kičo"

From a ballet dancer, to a tambourine player, to a bald rocker.

The first hobby of rocker and later folk singer Krunoslav "Kiće" Slabinac in his youth was no less than ballet. Mama Dragica wrote it on him. There, even as a small boy, he gained a sense of rhythm and music. But it was a long way from ballet dancer to rocker. Kićo's first contact with playing was in the tambourine orchestra of the elementary school where he played the tambourine.

Where did the still unpopular rock'n'roll in the 50s of the last century in Yugoslavia come from in this whole story? Neighbor Alfons Hruška was to blame for everything. According to Kica, he was one of the biggest discophiles in Yugoslavia. In his house, which was located right next to Kićina, he had a huge collection of records by world artists. He often listened to music through the open window of his room. That's when Kićo heard rock'n'roll for the first time in his life.
            
He begged his father for a long time to buy him a guitar. As soon as he got it, he threw away the tambourine and started playing around Osijek under the name "Little Rocky" because he didn't want to be called Kićo Slabinac. Later, Kićo used to say that they were the real vanguard. How could they not, when they were the first rock singers in this area. They played gaže at Osijek dance parties, which were very popular at that time. Each neighborhood had its own dance floor. In the breaks between dance hits, the organizers would let them play two or three rock'n'roll songs to their heart's content.
          
Having discovered Kića's incredible voice, all those close to him told him that he would be an opera singer. But Kićo had only one love in his youth, from which nothing could distract him. It didn't bother him that the rock genre was not acceptable to most people, especially older people, at that time. However, due to his subcultural affiliation, Kićo also experienced many inconveniences.
            
This charismatic singer, following the popular trend of long-haired and long-bearded rockers, decided to avoid a beard for a while. This did not please his conservative father who could not bear his son being hairy like a monkey. Ćale invited him to the hallway of the Varnai photo shop under the pretext that he needed to show him something. When he wasn't looking - zoom. The clipper went through his hair, and Vice looked like a Cherokee Indian. There was no more room for bun, he had to cut his hair immediately. Baldly. Having gone bald, he was no longer a monkey, now he was classified as typhus.

The most versatile Croatian singer

During the 70s of the last century, Kićo often went on tours in America where he would sing for the Croatian emigration. One day, walking through the streets of Astoria, Oregon, he saw a fatal black woman.

The scene was like from a movie. The girl was speeding in a red Cadillac, a white scarf wrapped around her neck fluttering in the wind. Kido fell in love at that moment! He knew that this was the woman of his life!

He followed her, and when she finally stopped, he immediately asked her name. There was no end to his amazement when she told him her name was Marijana.

He found out that he was originally from Herzegovina and explained it to himself as a sign of fate. He couldn't believe that he met an incredible Yugoslav woman in faraway America! They started seeing each other...

During each of his concerts, he would invite her to the front row. He would stand in front of her and sing his most beautiful verses just for her. After seeing each other for a long time, Kićo had big plans with his beautiful brunette. He even bought an apartment in Astoria looking forward to their future life together. Little did he know that he had a big decision ahead of him.

Namely, Kićo soon had to choose between a career in Yugoslavia and love, for which he should move to America forever...

He decided that he would still stay in Yugoslavia, and the love, unfortunately, ended. Two young people ended their romance with a big and stormy fight. That's when Kićo wrote his most famous song "Because of a wonderful black woman".

But the fatal Mirjana never forgot her Kića. Until the end of her life, she said that he was her greatest love, and she included his memory in her book.

In later years, Kićo and Marijana renewed contact. Kićo called her ten days before his operation, which would turn out to be fatal for him.

He asked Marijana if she would be as beautiful in heaven. She, believing that the musician will surely recover, nonchalantly told him how she will be even more beautiful! He then asked her to promise him that one day they would be together in heaven. As if he had some strange premonition….

With that promise, Kićo said goodbye to his great love forever. He told her he would call her as soon as he recovered from the operation. But the operation got complicated and Marijana never received another call...

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