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Boudewijn de Groot
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Boudewijn de Groot was born on 20 May 1944 in Tjideng, a Japanese internment camp in Batavia, present-day Jakarta. His mother died in the same camp in 1945. After the war he grew up in Haarlem and Heemstede. There he met Lennaert Nijgh, who became his regular lyricist. Together they brought the Dutch-language song closer to pop in the 1960s.
Music and breakthrough
His first recordings from 1964 made no impact. The turning point came in 1966 with the producer Tony Vos. Welterusten mijnheer de president, with lyrics by Nijgh and music by De Groot, was released in April 1966 and reached number 9 in the Top 40. It is a protest song against the Vietnam War, addressed to the American president Lyndon Johnson. It is on his self-titled debut album from that year. Later in 1966 came Voor de overlevenden. It includes Het land van Maas en Waal, which reached number 1 as a single in 1967. Picknick (1968) showed the influence of Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles.
Influence
De Groot did not like to see himself as a protest singer, but the song kept circulating. De Heideroosjes and De Dijk made their own versions of it. Avond, a single from 1997, was at number 1 in the Top 2000 of NPO Radio 2 in 2005. His line of personal, singable songs in his own language runs on to Acda en de Munnik and, with the protest song, to Froukje.
Listening
Welterusten mijnheer de president · Boudewijn de Groot, 1966Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 1966Boudewijn de Groot
- 1966Voor de overlevenden
- 1968Picknick
- 1969Nacht en Ontij
- 1970Apocalyps
- 1973Hoe sterk is de eenzame fietser
- 1975Waar ik woon en wie ik ben
- 1980Van een afstand
- 1983Bo de Groot
- 1984Maalstroom
- 1996Een nieuwe herfst
- 2004Het eiland in de verte
- 2007Lage Landen
- 2015Achter glas
- 2018Even weg
- 2022Een wonderkind van vijftigplus (1996 – heden)
- 2022Soms als ik een vlinder zie
- 2022Windveren
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 11: NederpopNL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Folk revival Genre
Dylan's protest songs later inspired Boudewijn de Groot as well.
- Kleinkunst Genre
Around 1965 that tradition shifted towards pop, when Boudewijn de Groot sang songs to lyrics by Lennaert Nijgh, inspired by American folk and Bob Dylan.
- Welterusten mijnheer de president Song
In 1966 Boudewijn de Groot sang Welterusten mijnheer de president, a mocking lullaby addressed to the American president Johnson about the war in Vietnam.
- Het regent zonnestralen Song
Here the line continues that began with the kleinkunst tradition (Dutch cabaret song) and Boudewijn de Groot: singable songs, with a guitar, in their own language.
- Groter dan ik Song
Set it beside Welterusten mijnheer de president: Boudewijn de Groot sang about Vietnam in 1966, while Froukje sings about the future of the planet.