Dragana Todorović ( , / ; born 2 October 1962), better known under the stage name Bebi Dol (; also spelled Baby Doll), is a Serbian and Yugoslav singer and songwriter. Born in Belgrade, she made her solo debut in 1981 with the single "Mustafa". Bebi Dol rose to further prominence and nationwide popularity with her debut album Ruže i krv. She represented SFR Yugoslavia at the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest with "Brazil". She has released four studio albums to date and had a number of hit songs in Serbia and former Yugoslavia.
Early life
Dragana Šarić was born on 2 October 1964 in Belgrade, FPR Yugoslavia, to mother Magdalena, who worked for Television Belgrade and father Milisav, a military jazz musician. Three months after she had been born, the family relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark, and later continued moving across Europe because of her father's job, who performed in American military bases. When Šarić turned seven, they eventually moved back to Belgrade so she can attend school there. She was a student at the Mokranjac Music School.
After graduating from the 14th Grammar School in Belgrade, Šarić started studying anthropology at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy.
Career
1980s and 1990s: Beginnings and nationwide popularity
In the late 1970s, Šarić made her first professional attempt as a singer alongside fellow-music school students as members of a band called Tarkus. Together they won a competition organized by Radio Belgrade and received an offer to make studio recordings. In 1979, Šarić served as a backing vocalist on the album Samo napred... by the progressive/hard rock band YU Grupa, which was her debut appearance on a record, and in 1980 appeared as a guest vocalist on the 1980 album Vrt svetlosti by the progressive/psychedelic rock band Igra Staklenih Perli.
The following year, she formed short-lived band Annoda Rouge with her boyfriend, guitarist Goran Vejvoda and drummer Ivan Vdović. In 1981, Šarić also made her solo debut with the single "Mustafa", released under PGP-RTB. The 7-inch single, which had been recorded two years prior in collaboration with Saša Habić, included the Oriental music-inspired title track and "Na planeti uzdaha" ("On the Planet of Sighs"). The song "Mustafa" featured a recording of the voice of Slobodan Konjović from the band Kozmetika, who also co-produced the single. Šarić released it under the stage name Bebi Dol, which was given to her by the members of the band Idoli. By the end of the year, Yugoslav music magazine Džuboks declared "Mustafa" the record of the year. After the release of the single, Bebi Dol started working on her debut album, Ruže i krv (Roses and Blood). The songs for the album were composed by herself, with the exception of the traditional song "Sinu Sunca i bratu Meseca" ("To the Son of the Sun and Brother of the Moon"), dating from the 17th century. The mentioned track featured recordings of dialogues by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman from the film Casablanca. The album was produced by Saša Habić, who also played bass guitar and keyboards on the recording, and featured appearances by Goran Vejvoda (on guitar), Du Du A members Dejan Kostić (on guitar and bass guitar) and Zoran Zagorčić (on synthesizer), Beograd member Dejan Stanisavljević (on keyboards), Bebi Dol's father Milisav Šarić (on saxophone), Slobodan Marković (on keyboards), Zoran Konjović (on guitar) and Radio Television Belgrade String Ensemble.
In March 1983, Bebi Dol and Lepa Brena were chosen by Radio Television Belgrade to compete at the Jugovizija music festival in Novi Sad in order to represent Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 in Munich, West Germany. Her entry "Rudi", which referred to Rudolph Valentino, eventually placed sixth. The song was later that year released on a 12-inch single along with the cover of "Baby Love" by The Supremes. Her first solo concert was held on 13 June 1983 at Atelje 212 theater in Belgrade. Subsequently, Bebi Dol joined Zdravko Čolić on his national tour and then moved to Egypt, where she spent several years performing at the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo. During her time in Egypt, her debut album Ruže i krv was eventually released in late 1983 through PGP-RTB to critical acclaim.