[2] In his long career, he established himself as one of the most prolific and most popular songwriters of former Yugoslavia and Croatia.
Runjić was born on 26 October 1942 in the village of Garčin near Slavonski Brod.
The songs became classics and Runjić helped the careers of many notable Croatian musicians such as Oliver Dragojević, Doris Dragović and Meri Cetinić.
He wrote almost 700 songs which sold several million copies in both albums and singles.
On 27 October 2004, Runjić died in Krapinske Toplice from a stroke while recovering from a heart attack.