Conny Vandenbos

Conny Vandenbos
Background information
Birth name	Jacoba Adriana Hollestelle
Born	(1937-01-16)16 January 1937 The Hague, Netherlands
Died	7 April 2002(2002-04-07) (aged 65) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Occupation	Singer
Website	www.connyvandenbos.com

Conny Vandenbos (16 January 1937 – 7 April 2002) was a popular Dutch singer. She had her first radio hit in 1966 and continued to make hit recordings through the 1970s. In her later career she released an entire album of Janis Ian songs in 1980.

Career

Conny Vandenbos was born Jacoba Adriana Hollestelle in The Hague, Netherlands. She made her solo debut in the KRO-Springboard radio show, a showcase for young talent, in which she performed French chansons. After her performance at the Belgian Knokkefestival of 1961, Conny signed a recording contract with Philips. In 1964 she made a television series Zeg Maar Conny (Call me Conny) for the Dutch public broadcaster NCRV.

In 1965 she represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in Naples, Italy, with the song 't Is genoeg (It's Enough); finishing eleventh. A year later Vandenbos finally achieved chart success with her first hit single, Ik Ben Gelukkig Zonder Jou (I am happy without you). In the early 1970s, Conny parted company from Philips and signed with Basart Records in January 1973. During her contract at Basart several albums were released and her singles charted frequently on the Dutch pop charts. During this period, most of her hits were Dutch translations of foreign songs such as Een Roosje Mijn Roosje ("A rose for my rose"), which was a translation of Jud Strunk's A Daisy a Day. She also released a German version of the song. In 1980, while back with Philips Records, Conny released an album of songs by Janis Ian titled Conny Vanderbos Zingt Janis Ian. A duet with Janis Ian Don't Leave Tonight reached number 17 in the Dutch charts in December 1980.

In 1976 she received an Edison Golden Harp for the album Zo Wil Ik Leven. In 1993 she was awarded a gold disc for her album 14 Grootste Hits Van Conny Vandenbos. In the 1990s her singing career was put on hold due to lack of record sales and to her other activities, such as hosting radio shows at various national and regional radio stations (Radio Noordzee and Radio West). In 2000 she was honoured with a tile in the Rotterdam Walk Of Fame.

Personal life

Conny Vandenbos first marriage was to Wim van den Bos; together they had a daughter Karin (it is not known why Conny used the spelling Vandenbos for her last name, which could be seen as the Flemish way of writing this name. In the Netherlands it is common to write surnames with interjections such as "van" or "van der" as separate words, in Flemish it is common to write them as one word.). Her second marriage was to the bass player from the Leedy Trio, Ger Faber; they had one son, Jeroen.

Conny Vandenbos died in Amsterdam on 7 April 2002, two weeks after it was announced that she was suffering from lung cancer.

External links

Media related to Conny Vandenbos at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website