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Toon Hermans
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Toon Hermans was born in 1916 in Sittard and grew into one of the most popular cabaret performers in the Netherlands. He began performing in the 1930s and broke through after the war. Together with Wim Sonneveld and Wim Kan he was regarded in the 1950s and 1960s as one of the three greats of Dutch cabaret. He also performed in Flanders, Germany and Austria and in 1968 made an attempt on Broadway.
Music and breakthrough
Hermans did something different from his colleagues. Sonneveld was more intricate and reflective, Kan became increasingly political, but Hermans chose accessible humour about ordinary life. In his one-man shows he told stories from his youth in a small town in Limburg, full of relatives, neighbours, friends and animals. Between the stories came simple, melodious songs about life, love and happiness. Many of those shows were released on record, starting with his one-man show from 1958. He also wrote poems.
Influence
His best-known song is Vierentwintig rozen, which returned in many shows. It consists of a long accumulation of separate images, different each time, that ends with the roses. His 1967 show is said to have been seen on television by six million people, half of the Netherlands. Critics of later decades found him too innocent, but the audience kept coming. After the death of his wife in 1990 he made a performance with songs only, in a blend of simple jazz and chanson. In the Nederpop chapter of School of Rock he belongs among the big names from the theatre, where the Dutch-language song long came from.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1996Ik zing van het leven
- 1997One man show 1997
- 2000Als de liefde
- 2000Voor u Eva (one man show 1955-1956)
- 2001CD 1 1947-1951 Theater Plezier Vroeg Werk
- ?CD 2 Ballot & Zaza - Vroeg werk (1951 - 1954)
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
- Kleinkunst Genre
Kleinkunst is the Dutch-language song from cabaret and theatre, with the lyrics at the centre and a small accompaniment; in the 1950s Wim Sonneveld, Toon Hermans and Jules de Corte were the big names.