Frans de Kok (18 January 1924 – 4 May 2011) was a Dutch musician. He taught himself to play the piano, the accordion and the bass. In the 1940s and 1950s, he played and arranged music for the
Joe Andy Orchestra, which toured the Netherlands, West Germany and Switzerland with considerable success. From 1957 onwards, he worked in various capacities for Dutch television. In 1962, he was asked by TV host and singer
Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell (born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar; 19 December 1934 – 7 July 2006) was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters and Linda de Mol, he was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in ...
to accompany his shows with a big orchestra. In the years after, de Kok wrote the arrangements for Carrell's shows and many more TV programmes. Moreover, he worked with a couple of famous Dutch artists in the recording studio, amongst others
Boudewijn de Groot. In 1969, he stepped in for
Dolf van der Linden
David Gijsbert van der Linden (22 June 1915 – 30 January 1999), known as Dolf van der Linden, was a Dutch conductor of popular music with a reputation which extended beyond the borders of the Netherlands.
Biography
David Gijsbert van der Lind ...
who refused to travel to Francoist Spain (saying it would remind him too much of his experiences during World War II) to conduct the orchestra for the Dutch entry in the
Eurovision Song Contest. De Kok thus helped
Lenny Kuhr
Helena Hubertina Johanna "Lenny" Kuhr (born 22 February 1950) is a Dutch singer-songwriter.
Career
In 1967, she started a singing career in the Netherlands, performing songs in the French chanson tradition. In 1969, she represented the Neth ...
winning the contest with her song "De troubadour".
Around the same time, de Kok decided to withdraw from his broadcasting work. He set up a business of record stores in the Netherlands. Later he specialized in computer software. Frans de Kok died in Belgium on Wednesday 4 May 2011.
Online biography
at www.andtheconductoris.eu.
References
1924 births
2011 deaths
Dutch conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
Musicians from Tilburg
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