Liljana Butler, born Liljana Petrović on December 14, 1944, was a Yugoslav Roma folk singer often called the “mother of Gypsy soul” and compared with Nina Simone. Born in Belgrade, she grew up around music through her Roma accordionist father and Croatian singer mother. She began performing as a teenager and later became associated with Belgrade’s bohemian Skadarlija district. Butler recorded her first albums in the early 1980s and gained popularity throughout Yugoslavia. During the Yugoslav Wars, she moved to Düsseldorf, Germany, where she worked various jobs while raising her children. In 2002, musician Dragi Šestić helped bring her back to recording, resulting in The Mother of Gypsy Soul with Mostar Sevdah Reunion and renewed international recognition. Her final album, Frozen Roses, appeared in 2009. She died on April 26, 2010.
