The daughter of a Gypsy accordionist and a Gadje mother of Croatian origin, Ljiljana Petrović sung the popular repertoire of the post-war years in hotels, including Yugoslav folklore, tangos, Hungarian romances, chanson française and Spanish boleros. She became known with her mother’s repertoire at an early age, to the point of replacing her at the last minute, when she was still a teenager, in a hotel in Bijelnjia. The young singer learned the classics of sevdah, a Bosnian blues strongly influenced by Ottoman culture. She also performed Édith Piaf, Sarita Montiel or Mahalia Jackson and became a professional musician and mother of her first child at the age of 16. L. Petrović joined Belgrade and the kafana night scene, the live cafés of the Skadarlija district. She recorded her first single in 1969. Her song “Duško” is typical of new Yugoslav Gypsy music influenced by Western music, jazz and song of which the most famous embodier was then singer Šaban Bajramović. In the 1970s and 1980s, considered as a Gypsy singer, L. Petrović recorded several albums in this style for companies in various Yugoslav states (RTV, RTS, Jugoton), while continuing to cover Frank Sinatra or traditional music on stage. In 1987, faced with the rise of nationalism in her country and the decline of the kafana scene, she abandoned her artistic career and left Yugoslavia with her children for Germany. Refusing to sing for Yugoslav communities that were then divided, she worked as a cleaner, waitress or maid. She married a German citizen and abandoned her maiden name to become L. Buttler. A young Bosnian producer, Dragi Sestic, persuaded her to return to the stage in 2002. Accompanied by a Bosnian group, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, she recorded three albums under her new name featuring her compositions in Romani as well as sevdah classics: “The Mother of Gypsy Soul” (2004); “The Legends of Life” (2007) and “Frozen Roses” (2009). Her particularly deep voice, her imposing size and her cheeky approach on stage earned her recognition and international tours until her death.
