The keyboardist Kornelije Kovač formed the group with the bassist Bojan Hreljac, drummer Vladimir Furduj, and guitarist Velibor Kacl.

After going through several vocalists—Miroslava Kojadinović, Dušan Prelević and Dalibor Brun—a period during which Korni Grupa released several singles, the band settled on Dado Topić who brought along his former bandmate Josip Boček as the replacement for Kacl.

The lineup with Topić on vocals participated at music festivals, scored a popular film, This Crazy World of Ours, and created a rock epic as a soundtrack for an episode of the Jedan čovek jedna pesma television program that would be released years later on the posthumous studio album 1941.

After the disbandment, Korni Grupa members pursued careers as solo acts, studio musicians and producers, reuniting in 1987 with Topić on vocals for two performances, in Zagreb and Belgrade.

Having left the Sarajevo-based Indexi in 1968, established keyboardist Kornelije "Bata" Kovač, a graduate of the Sarajevo Music Academy, moved to Yugoslav capital Belgrade.

[2] Newly-established Korni Grupa then completed their lineup with the arrival of the female singer Miroslava "Seka" Kojadinović in September 1968, with the event receiving significant press coverage due to the members being well-known musicians owing to their previous work.

[4] Their debut live appearance took place at Belgrade's Dom Sindikata (Trade Union Hall), performing alongside two go-go dancers during the Athlete of the Year award ceremony.

[5] The band performed several original songs written during rehearsals/jam sessions at Hreljac's garage as well as a cover of "If You Go Away" in which they used the sounds of the sea played on a tape recorder placed inside the piano.

[11] Dušan "Prele" Prelević, well-known around Belgrade at the time for his distinctive rhythm and blues and soul vocal style and excessive lifestyle, became the new Korni Grupa vocalist.

[18] The song, released as a single during 1969 by PGP-RTB, with "Ako budeš sama" ("If You Were Alone") as the B-side, featured Balkan folk instruments šargija, tarabuka and frula.

[20] Having left Korni Grupa, Brun returned to Rijeka and joined the band Bohemi (The Bohemians), eventually starting a successful career as a pop singer.

[21] After Brun's departure, owing to the mutual friendship with dancer Lokica Stefanović, the new Korni Grupa vocalist became Dado Topić, a former member of the Osijek band Dinamiti.

[29] The new lineup started working on their own vision of progressive music, making recordings of the songs "Jedna žena" ("A Woman"), "Prvo svetlo u kući broj 4" ("The First Light in the House Number 4"), co-written by Topić and Kovač, classical music-inspired "Etida" ("Étude") and "Žena je luka a čovek brod" ("Woman is a Harbor and Man is a Ship").

[33] The band also released the highly successful "Trla baba lan" ("Granny Scutched the Flax"), "Slika" ("Image"), co-written with the at the time little known Ljuba Ninković (later of S Vremena Na Vreme fame), continuing their double musical career.

[38] The material was recorded as a soundtrack for the Jedan čovek jedna pesma (One Man – One Song) television series, for which Momo Kapor did the mise-en-scène, directed by Jovan Ristić.

[48] During Čolić's short stay, Korni Grupa shot a television special directed by Jovan Ristić, featuring songs from the band's commercial repertoire.

[53] In the meantime, the band recorded the first Yugoslav television show in color, Put za istok, edited by Jovan Ristić and directed by Dejan Karaklajić.

[66] However, disappointed with little success of Not an Ordinary Life and the 12th place won at the Eurovision Song Contest, Kovač decided to disband Korni Grupa.

[71] The various artists live album Randevu s muzikom (A Rendevouz with Music), released in 1977, featured the Korni Grupa songs "I ne tako obićan život" ("Not an Ordinary Life at All") and "Jedna žena" recorded at Novi Sad farewell concerts, which were previously unreleased.

[75] In May 1987, Korni Grupa—with its established former core of Kovač, Furduj, Hreljac, and Boček, as well as Dado Topić on vocals—reunited to perform, alongside Indexi, Time, YU Grupa, Drago Mlinarec, and R.M.

[79] In 1996, the compilation album Prvo svetlo neobičnog života (The First Light of an Unordinary Life) was released, featuring a selection of tracks from Korni Grupa's progressive repertoire.

[80] During the same year, Kovač released the compilation album Moja generacija (My Generation), consisting of recordings of his songs used in the television show Zvučna viljuška (Tuning Fork), including cover versions of the Korni Grupa songs "Moja generacija" by Filip Žmaher, "Sonata" by Zoran Šandorov, "Oj, dodole" ("Hey, Dodola") by Del Arno Band and "Jagode i maline" ("Strawberries and Raspberries") by Van Gogh.

Eventually, Topić did appear, but only on a handful of songs, while the rest of the set featured guest vocalists: Dejan Cukić, Goran Šepa, Zoran Šandrov, and Dušan Svilar.

[101] The Yugoslav jazz/funk group Ansambl Saše Subote covered the song "Ivo Lola" on their 1976 extended play Mikado, released for the Soviet market.

[104] The Serbian rock band Električni Orgazam recorded a cover version of "Magična ruka", released on their 1996 unplugged album Živo i akustično (Live and Acoustic).

[105] The soundtrack for the Radio Television of Serbia television show Zlatna viljuška (The Golden Fork) featured cover versions of Korni Grupa songs "Moja generacija" by Filip Žmaher, "Sonata" by Zoran Šandorov, "Oj, dodole" by Del Arno Band and "Jagode i maline" by Van Gogh, all featured on the Kornelije Kovač compilation album Moja generacija.