Bonnie St. Claire (born Bonje Cornelia Swart, 18 November 1949) is a Dutch singer and actress who has a recording history that began in the 1960s and went through to the 1990s. She was part of the trio Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy, and part of the duo with

José Hoebee Josina van de Wijdeven (born 29 March 1954), known as José Hoebee, is a Dutch pop singer. She was a member of Luv', a famous Dutch girl group in the late 1970s and early 1980s that scored hits in more than 15 countries. In late 1981, she we ...

Life and career

St. Claire was born as Bonje Cornelia Swart in

Rozenburg Rozenburg () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 13,173 in 2004, and covers an area of 6.50 km² (of which 1.99 km² water). It was the ...

on 18 November 1949. She was born on a boat and is the daughter of a barge skipper. Her career began in 1966 when at a

Peter Koelewijn Peter Koelewijn (born 29 December 1940 in Eindhoven) is a founding father of Dutch-language rock and roll. Koelewijn is also a successful producer and songwriter for other Dutch artists. His most famous song is "Kom van dat dak af". Biography Pe ...

concert, she was invited to come up on stage and sing with him. In 1970 she had a hit with "I Won't Stand Between Them" which peaked at No. 6 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and spent eleven weeks in the charts. In 1979, she was part of a trio called Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy who released a single called "Oh Boy" which was written and produced by

. In addition to herself, the trio included

Debbie Debbie (or Debby or Deb) is a feminine given name, commonly but not always short for Deborah (or Debra and related variants). Notable people * Debbie Allen, American actress, choreographer and film director * Debbie Armstrong, American athlete * ...

aka Ria Schildmeyer, and

Rosy Pereira Rosy Pereira (born 1951, in Jakarta) is an Indonesian-Dutch pop singer. She is the daughter of steel guitarist Coy Pereira. She released singles in the 1960s under her name as well as Babe Pereira. In the mid to late 1970s she was the other hal ...

. She had a string of hits in the Netherlands, including Dokter Bernhard (1976), Pierrot (1980), Bonnie kom je buiten spelen (1980) and Vlieg nooit te hoog (1981). She also scored a hit with a translation of the Bette Midler song

The Rose (song) "The Rose" is a pop song written by Amanda McBroom. Bette Midler made the song famous when she recorded it for her 1979 film '' The Rose'', in which it plays during the closing credits. It has been recorded multiple times, including by Conw ...

, translates as De Roos (1980). Later St. Claire would join

as part of the duo Bonnie & José and would have a degree of success in the Netherlands. The two singers were under the same management and they soon became friends and started socializing with each other. In 1984 they enjoyed a top 40 hit with "

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be belie ...

" which had previously been recorded by

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

. They also recorded an album of Abba songs which was approved by

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals '' Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

. In 2010, St. Claire and Gerard Joling had a hit in the Netherlands with "Morgen Wordt Alles Anders" as Bonnie & Gerard. The song peaked at no. 2 and spent nine weeks in the charts.Songteksten.ne
Gerard Joling Morgen Wordt Alles Anders
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References

External links

*
Bonnie St. Claire discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Claire, Bonnie 1949 births Living people Dutch actresses People from Rozenburg 20th-century Dutch women singers 20th-century Dutch actresses Nationaal Songfestival contestants 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch singers