Zdenka was born in 1942 and managed to win a children’s music competition at the tender age of six. She captured the hearts of the audience at the age of 15 when, in a duet with Ivo Robić, she sang the songs “Moja mala djevojčica” (remembered by many as “Daddy, Buy Me a Car”) and “Kućica u cveću” at the first Opatija Festival in 1958, experiencing a meteoric rise since then.
In 1963, she won at the Zagreb Festival with the song “Zagreb, Zagreb,” which later became the unofficial anthem of the city of Zagreb. It was a remarkable year for Zdenka Vučković as she also received an award at the Split Festival for her performance of the song “Veslaj, veslaj,” performed in a duet with Arsen Dedić.
During the 1960s, she achieved success on the then-popular entertainment scene and became a high-selling star for Jugoton.
From the 1980s, her performances became increasingly rare. She bid farewell to the festival scene at the 1989 Zagreb Festival when she performed a song of symbolic significance – “Odrasla je djevojčica mala” (The Little Girl Has Grown Up). And indeed, that was the case.
Zdenka Vučković passed away in Zagreb on March 7, 2020, at the age of 78.
