Boudewijn de Groot
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| Boudewijn de Groot | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Boudewijn de Groot |
| Born | May 20, 1944 |
| Origin | Jakarta, Java, Dutch East Indies |
| Genre(s) | Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Label(s) | Decca, Philips, Mercury, Universal |
| Associated acts | Tower, Session |
| Website | www.boudewijndegroot.nl |
Boudewijn de Groot (born 20 May 1944) is one of the most famous Dutch singer/songwriters. He is known for the songs "Welterusten Meneer de President" (1966), "Land van Maas en Waal" (1967), "Jimmy" (1973) and "Avond" (1996) among others. On 19 January 2007 he issued his latest album Lage Landen.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Youth
Boudewijn de Groot was born in Indonesia in 1944 in a Japanese concentration camp close to Batavia (today known as Jakarta) where his mother died in June 1945. In 1946, he and his family returned to the Netherlands. De Groot's father, however, was obliged to return to Indonesia, so de Groot went to stay with his aunt in Haarlem. In 1951, his father came back and in 1952, the family moved, with his new stepmother, to Heemstede. De Groot lived in Heemstede in the same street as his future lyricist, Lennaert Nijgh, who was a friend of de Groot's stepbrother.
[edit] Early years in music
In 1960, de Groot met Nijgh at the Coornhertlyceum in Haarlem. At that time, de Groot was already singing that sounded a lot like the work of Jaap Fischer and Jacques Brel. Lenneart Nijgh wrote his lyrics. After their high school-period they both decided to go to a film academy. In their last year, Nijgh made the short movie "Feestje Bouwen", for which de Groot wrote two songs. During one of the presentations of the movie, television journalist Ed Lautenslager became impressed with de Groot's talent, and subsequently helped him to get a contract with record label Philips. De Groot's first single, "Strand", appeared in 1964 and led to some media attention. He followed it up with "Elegie Prenatale" and "De Morgen", and his recurring appearances in the television show "Kaberet Kroniek" made de Groot a minor national celebrity. The single "Noordzee" in February 1964 was a much bigger hit, but the huge breakthrough came in 1966 with Lenneart Nijgh's adaptation of a song from Charles Aznavour's "Une Enfant De Seize Ans", retitled "Meisje van 16". This was de Groot's first song to appear in a music chart. He soon quit his job to become a full-time singer. After a while, his first album Boudewijn de Groot, recorded with the Frans de Kok orchestra, was released by record label Decca.
[edit] Years of fame
Much of Nijgh's lyrics included social criticism, so after the release of his first album in 1966 de Groot was labeled as a protest singer, an image confirmed for the mainstream audience by the success of his song "Welterusten Meneer de President". De Groot's second album Voor de Overlevenden was released later in 1966. The arranger and conductor for this album, Bert Paige, continued to work with de Groot until the 1970s. However, during carnival 1967, "Land van Maas en Waal" was released and became de Groot's third hit. Under the name "Baldwin", an English version of these songs appeared in the U.K. The next single, "Onder Ons", just made it into the charts. By this time, de Groot had already recorded songs like "Verdronken Vlinder", "Testament" and "Beneden Alle Peil", which would later become successful but would never enter hit charts. De Groot and Nijgh become influenced by the Flower Power movement during that time and created the album Picknick. The songs sounded a lot like a mix of George Harrison's work on The Beatles albums and their own work. The album was well received, and the single "Picknick" was a hit. The duet "Meester Prikkebeen" (together with Elly Nieman) entered the charts two months later. Two other songs, "Waterdrager" and "Als De Rook Om Je Hoofd Is Verdwenen" were minor hits in 1968.
[edit] Other Work
In 1968, de Groot decided he didn't want to perform live anymore and stopped his collaboration with Nijgh and his band, The Names and Faces. In 1969, de Groot worked with the guitarist of Cuby & The Blizzard and, under the name Tower, they recorded the single "In Your Life", which became a hit. After this, he started working with Lucien Duzee, and they created his fourth album Nacht en Ontij. The record didn't sound like De Groot's old work, and the single didn't make it in the charts. The new singles from Tower also failed, and de Groot gave up singing. He moved to a farm in Dwingeloo. After a year, de Groot returned as the producer of Rob de Nijs and Oscar Benton.
[edit] Newfound fame
In 1971, his record label released a compilation album called Vijf Jaar Hits. It sold over 100,000 copies and, subsequently, de Groot frequently reappeared on the radio. Much of his old work was re-appreciated, and "Als De Rook Om Je Hoofd Is Verdwenen" became a hit again. Another compilation album called Dubbel Twee was also released. De Groot began working with Nijgh again, and they released the album Hoe Sterk Is De Eenzame Fietser in 1973. The song "Jimmy" became his greatest hit in 5 years, constituting a definite comeback. Boudewijn received an Edison and a Gouden Harp (Dutch music awards). Meanwhile, De Groot had a huge success with a cover from Rob de Nijs' hit "Malle Babbe". In 1975, Boudewijn wrote the album Waar Ik Woon En Wie Ik Ben with his old classmate René Daalder. The single "Ik ben Ik" became a hit. De Groot moved to California a few months later for inspiration, and did not return until 1977. He made no new records in this period, but toured in Belgium and Holland. One of the songs he wrote in California, "Annabel", became a hit for Hans de Booy. In April 1980, his new album Van Een Afstand was released. It contained the single and the title song for the movie "Tip van de Sluier". The single and movie were not successes, but the album won an Edison. De Groot quit in 1984 after the release of his 8th album, Maalstroom.
[edit] Retirement from music
After his retirement in music, De Groot wants to translate, compose film music and perform when he is asked. He composes the music for the TV series "De Familie Wijntak" (1986) and for the movies "Lost in Amsterdam" (1989), "Let the Music Dance" (1990) and an adaption of the hit musical "Nonses" (1987). He acts in the musical "Tjechov", where he plays the part of Anton Chekhov and in "Het Dagboek van Anne Frank" where he plays the role of Otto Frank. De Groot also translates all the works of Stephen King.
[edit] Another comeback
In 1996, Boudewijn de Groot released Een Nieuwe Herfst. His new record label Mercury also releases an album with old work and new released work. De Groot starts going on tours again and he reappears in TV-shows sometimes again. He starts writing non-commercial albums along with Nijgh and releasing Een Eiland in de Verte in 2003. Nijgh died in 2002. On January 19, 2007 he issues his new album Lage Landen. In its entirety, the album is nearly written by himself. Texts of Lennaert Nijgh and Freek de Jonge have also been used. The album was recorded in Nashville. On February 3, 2007 his album reaches the top rankings on hit lists in the Netherlands.
[edit] Personal life
Boudewijn de Groot is married to Anja Bak. He has three children; Marcel, Caya and Jim.
[edit] Trivia
- Nijgh and de Groot wrote many hits for other (mostly Dutch) musicians, such as Rob de Nijs, Liesbeth List and Adèle Bloemendaal.
- In 2004, he played a minor role in the Flemish television series Flikken as Robert W. Nieuwman, a Dutch profiler, who assists the team in her search for a serial killer.
- He reaches the eighty-second place in the election for De Grootste Nederlander (The Greatest Dutchman).
- A year later, in 2005, the Dutch chose his song "Avond" (from De Groot's 1996 album "Een Nieuwe Herfst") as the best song ever in the Radio 2 Top 2000 music chart. In all the preceding editions of the list, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody occupied that rank. In 2006 Queen takes the number 1 position back again. As a result of the sudden popularity of de Groot, the last albums Eiland In De Verte and the single Avond were republished under the nameDe Avonden.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Boudewijn de Groot (1966)
- Voor De Overlevenden (1966)
- Picknick (1967)
- Nacht en Ontij (1969)
- Hoe Sterk Is De Eenzame Fietser (1973)
- Waar Ik Woon En Wie Ik Ben (1975)
- Van Een Afstand (1980)
- Maalstroom (1984)
- Een Nieuwe Herfst (1996)
- Een Eiland In De Verte (2003)
- Lage Landen (2007)
[edit] Live albums
- Concert (1980)
- Een Hele Tour (1997)
- Andere tour (2002)
- Een Avond in Brussel (2005)
- Lage Landen tour 2007 (2007)
[edit] DVDs
- Tour (2001)
- Eeuwige Jeugd (2005)
- Een Avond in Brussel (2005)
- Lage Landen tour 2007 (2007)
