Prior to the release of the album, Bijelo Dugme had large success with their 7" singles. The band's record label, Jugoton, intended to release Bijelo Dugme's first album during the spring of 1975, but the group's manager, Vladimir Mihaljek, managed to persuade the label's executives to release the record during the autumn of 1974. The recording sessions started on 2 October 1974 in Akademik Studio in Ljubljana. The album was produced by the band themselves, with the help of Akademik Studio's producer Dečo Žgur. The album featured a new version of the title track, which the band had originally released as a 7" single in 1973 while still performing under the name Jutro.
Album cover
The album cover was designed by designer Dragan S. Stefanović who would go on to design covers for the band's future releases as well. Four decades after the album release, it was revealed that the name of the model was Ljiljana Božanić. Rock critic Dražen Vrdoljak stated in 1981 that Kad bi bio bijelo dugme album cover "represented a shift in conceiving the covers of domestic rock albums, identical to the shift Bregović's music made on our rock scene".
Track listing
All the songs were written by Goran Bregović, except where noted.
Vlado Pravdić - organ, synthesizer, electric piano, piano
Additional personnel
Miro Bevc - engineer
Dragan S. Stefanović - design, cover photo
Boris Dučić - photography
Reception
The album was well received by audience and critics alike. In a Džuboks review, Maksa Ćatović wrote: The intro to the album's opening track was referred to as "pastirski" by rock critic Dražen Vrdoljak in his review published on 30 November 1974 in Studio. Few weeks later, a write-up about the album in Tina used the term "pastirski rok". The term was soon picked up by a wider section of the Yugoslav public and used frequently, often pejoratively, to describe Bijelo Dugme's Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock sound mixed in with the Balkansfolk music elements. The album's biggest hits were the title track, rock and roll-influenced hit "Ne spavaj, mala moja, muzika dok svira", and the ballad "Selma". Immediately upon its release, the album broke the record held by YU Grupa's debut album, which sold in more than 30,000 copies. In February 1975, the band was awarded a gold record at the Opatija Festival, as they sold their debut album in more than 40,000 copies. The final number of copies sold was about 141,000.
Legacy
The album was polled in 1998 as the 16th on the list of 100 greatest Yugoslav rock and pop albums in the book . The title track was polled in 2000 as the 97th on the Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times list.
Covers
Yugoslav pop trio Aska recorded a Bijelo Dugme songs medley on their 1982 album Disco Rock, featuring, among other Bijelo Dugme songs, "Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme" and "Patim, evo, deset dana".
Yugoslav and Bosnianfolk rock band Nervozni Poštar recorded a cover of "Ne spavaj, mala moja, muzika dok svira" on their 1987 album Ništa više nije kao prije.
Slovenian and Yugoslav rock band Sokoli recorded a cover of "Ne spavaj, mala moja, muzika dok svira", featuring guest appearance by Serbian and Yugoslav musician Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" on vocals, on their 1992 album Satan je blazn zmatran.
Croatian pop singer Severina Vučković recorded a cover of "Ne spavaj, mala moja, muzika dok svira" on her 1993 album Dalmatinka.
Serbian pop rock band Cony recorded a cover of "Kad bi' bio bijelo dugme" on their 1993 album Šta bih dao da sam na tvom mjestu, the title of the album alluding to the title of Bijelo Dugme's second album, Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu.
Yugoslav singer-songwriter and former Azra leader Branimir "Džoni" Štulić released covers of "Selma" and "Kad bi bio bijelo dugme" on his official YouTube channel in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
