Getty Kaspers

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Getty Kaspers is a Dutch singer, born on 5 March 1948 in Graz in Austria, the daughter of a Dutch mother and an Austrian father. She grew up in a foster family in Austria and later came to the Netherlands. In Enschede she came into contact with the band Teach-In through the bass guitarist Johnny Gaasbeek, and in the early 1970s she became its singer. In 1974 the group had three hits in the Dutch top fifteen, including In The Summernight, which reached number three in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Music and breakthrough

The big moment came in 1975. Teach-In won the Dutch heat for the Eurovision Song Contest with Ding-a-dong, and Kaspers opened the final in Stockholm. The group won the contest with 152 points. Ding-a-dong then reached number three in the Dutch Top 40 and number thirteen in Great Britain, and another big hit followed with Goodbye Love. When the album Get On Board and the single Rose Valley disappointed, Teach-In broke up in 1978. Kaspers carried on solo under the name Getty, recorded the Getty Album and briefly sang in the trio Balloon.

Influence

The group made a fresh start without her, but in 2009 she performed with the original line-up at the opening of the Song Contest in Moscow. Her story shows how in the 1970s the Song Contest was a springboard for European pop music, with simple, cheerful songs that everyone could sing along to.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1982Album

Mentioned in other articles

• Ding-a-dong SongOn 22 March 1975 Teach-In from Enschede won the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm with Ding-a-dong, sung by Getty Kaspers.