Ibrica Jusić at 82 Reveals
Legendary chansonnier opens up in a candid interview about a 62-year career, love, his granddaughter, and why energy matters more than the venue.
Legendary chansonnier opens up in a candid interview about a 62-year career, love, his granddaughter, and why energy matters more than the venue.
When a man of 82, with more than six decades on stage, sits down to talk, every sentence carries the weight of a life fully lived. Ibrica Jusić, a singer whose chansons have marked generations, didn't hold back on humor, emotion, and anecdotes in a conversation with journalist Hrvoje Krol for Dubrovnik Portal, revealing why audiences still adore him.
Jusić emphasizes that what matters for a performance isn't the grandeur of the stage but genuine emotion. "The venue doesn't matter. You can't put me on a fig tree or an olive tree; I'll sing just as well as I would at Carnegie Hall or the Sydney Opera House, where I've performed," he stressed. This down-to-earth attitude follows him offstage, as confirmed by a recent visit to a tire shop in Zagreb.
"The other day in Zagreb, I was changing tires on my car, and a man comes up to me, and we chat about this and that. He says, 'Ibrica, can I take a photo of you to send to my mom?' He sends it to his mom, and she replies, 'Say hello to Mr. Jusić, and ask him if he remembers teaching me to dance the cha-cha in 1974,'" Jusić recounted, adding that in the discos of the seventies, he'd often bring two or three spare shirts because the music would completely carry him away.
The musician is particularly proud of the path he built on his own. "Find me a world-class artist who has managed his career for 62 years without a manager, without push, without corruption, and without cliques," he declared. He also recalled his beginnings, quoting the lyrics of the song with which he won the Zagreb Festival in 1968: "I still don't know some important things."
Life's hardships, including detentions in Paris and Germany, haven't broken him. "I've always held onto that saying: 'What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.' Once you go through that, you come out only stronger," Jusić said.
When the stage lights go out, his loyal pets keep him company. "This is my fifth dog in a row, but I'm afraid he'll be the one to emotionally wreck me the most. He has such a strong personality," he revealed. He particularly described the difference between the love of pets: "I like to say that a dog's love is one category, but when you win a cat's love, that's love beyond category."
Still, his greatest tenderness is reserved for his eight-year-old granddaughter. "When I saw her drawings from when she was three and showed them to Dimitrije Popović, the man couldn't believe it," Jusić recounted. He's convinced she has exceptional talent: "This is a talent born once in a hundred years. It needs to be supported, not forced, but nurtured and followed. I'm very proud."
Although his years have brought much experience, Jusić now speaks about love with a touch of humor. Through a joke about an 88-year-old lover and his mistress, he vividly illustrated his stance: "Today, they attack me more than ever. I say, 'Where were you 50 years ago? Why are you attacking me now? There's nothing left.'"
But he quickly returns to a more serious tone: "You have to come to terms with the times we live in, be aware of your age and your capabilities. Without love, there would be no world."
