He first gained mainstream prominence for writing Rani Mraz's hit "Računajte na nas" (Count on Us), which was often described as an anthem of a generation.

[2] Balašević was a prolific singer and writer, he recorded 14 albums and wrote 8 books during his career and has been characterised by media and commentators as "musical legend" and author of many "evergreen hits".

[5] After Balašević joined the group, Žetva recorded a humorous tango-oriented hit single "U razdeljak te ljubim" (I Lay a Kiss on Your Parting),[6] which was sold in more than 180,000 copies.

During 1978, former Suncokret members Biljana Krstić and Bora Đorđević joined the band (forming the most famous Rani Mraz lineup), and together they recorded "Računajte na nas" (Count on Us), written by Balašević,[8] a song which celebrated the youth's adoption of the communist revolution.

Biljana Krstić and Balašević then recorded Rani Mraz's first album Mojoj mami umesto maturske slike u izlogu (To my Mom instead of Prom Photo in the Shop-Window) with the help of studio musicians.

[12] In 1980, Balašević served in the Yugoslav People's Army in Zagreb and Požarevac,[13] where he had a role in the TV show Vojnici (Soldiers),[13] but also found time to write song "Zbog tebe" (Because of You) for Zdravko Čolić[14] and lyrics for several songs recorded on Srebrna krila album Ja sam samo jedan od mnogih s gitarom (I'm only One of Many with a Guitar).

[15] By the end of 1980, Balašević and Krstić released their second and final album under the name Rani Mraz, with a symbolic title Odlazi cirkus (The Circus Is Leaving).

[18] Balašević started his solo career in 1982 with the album Pub (Jack)[19] which was well received, bringing hits "Boža zvani Pub" (Boža Known as the Jack), "Pesma o jednom petlu" (The Song about a Rooster), "Lepa protina kći" (Archpriest's Beautiful Daughter) and "Ratnik paorskog srca" (Warrior with a Peasant's Heart).

[24] At the time, he wrote the song "Hej, čarobnjaci, svi su vam đaci" (Hey, Magicians, Everyone Can Learn from You) for the football club Red Star Belgrade.

[25] In December 1983, Balašević released the album Celovečernji the Kid (Wholevening the Kid),[26] which featured hits "Svirajte mi 'Jesen stiže, dunjo moja'" (Play 'Autumn Is Coming, My Dear' to Me), "Neko to od gore vidi sve" (Someone from up above Watches it All), "Blues mutne vode" (Muddy Water Blues), "Lunjo" (Hey, Tramp) and "Don Francisco Long Play".

[27][20][28][29] The following album, 003, was released in 1985,[30] and brought hits "Slovenska" (The Slavic Song), "Al' se nekad dobro jelo" (Back Then Eating Was Good), "Badnje veče" (Christmas Eve) and "Olivera".

The album was recorded during 1986 and 1987 on his concerts in Zetra hall in Sarajevo, Ledena dvorana and Šalata in Zagreb, Sava Centar in Belgrade, and Studio M in Novi Sad.

[38] The album also featured previously unrecorded track "Samo da rata ne bude" (Just Let There be no War) which was recorded live with a large children's choir.

[39] On 19 July 1987, Balašević, alongside Parni Valjak, Leb i sol and Riblja Čorba, performed at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb on the 1987 Summer Universiade closing ceremony.

[41] The song "Requiem" was dedicated to late Josip Broz Tito, while satire "Soliter" (High-rise) caricatures Yugoslavia as a building in which only façade still holds while foundations slide.

[42] Blues sound was present in the songs "Neki se rode kraj vode" (Some Were Born By the Water) and "Nemam ništa s tim" (I Have Nothing to Do with It).

[44] The album featured radio hits "Kad odem" (When I'm Gone) "D-moll" (D minor), "Ćaletova pesma" (Dad's Song), "Saputnik" (Fellow Traveler), "O. Bože" (Oh God), and folk-oriented "Devojka sa čardaš nogama" (A Girl with Csárdás Legs).

Beside Balašević's old associates, the album featured Davor Rodik (pedal steel guitar), Nenad Jazunović (percussion), and Josip "Kiki" Kovač (violin).

[53] The songs such as "Krivi smo mi" (It's Our Fault) and "Čovek sa mesecom u očima" (The Man with the Moon in His Eyes) heavily criticized and denounced the ongoing war.

In 1997, the live album Da l' je sve bilo samo fol?, recorded on 6 December 1996 on a concert in Maribor, was released in Slovenia.

[64] The album, beside old associates, featured Zoran and Pera Alvirović (of Apsolutno Romantično), Andrej Maglovski (accordion), Stevan Mošo (prim), Beni Ćibri (double bass), Agota Vitkai Kučera (soprano), St. George Choir, and others.

(Harvest of '59), "Ljubav ne pobeđuje" (Love Doesn't Win) and "Osmeh se vratio u grad" (Smile Returned to Town).

[74] During the second half of the 1980s, Balašević began to criticize the authorities, and in the early 1990s, his songs and stage speeches showed disillusionment and sadness over the fact that bloodshed was possible in the Yugoslavia he had once admired.

[76][77] In 1996, he became the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador for his antiwar statements during the Yugoslav Wars and held the first post-war concert in Sarajevo as the first Serbian artist visiting the war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[93] In 2007, twenty-one bands from Balašević's native Novi Sad, including Zbogom Brus Li, Pero Defformero, Super s Karamelom and others, recorded a tribute album to Balašević entitled Neki noviji klinci i....[94] In 2012, singer-songwriter and former Azra leader Branimir "Johnny" Štulić released a cover of "U razdeljak te ljubim" on his official YouTube channel.