Johan Slager (born 8 June 1946,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

) is a Dutch musician best known as the original guitarist of rock band

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

. He co-founded the band along with

Ton Scherpenzeel Ton Scherpenzeel (born 6 August 1952) is a Dutch keyboardist, composer, lyricist, and founding member of progressive rock band Kayak, together with Pim Koopman and Max Werner whom he met whilst at the Hilversum Muziek Lyceum (Hilversum College o ...

Pim Koopman Wilhelmus Frederikus "Pim" Koopman (11 March 1953 – 23 November 2009) was a Dutch musician best known as the drummer and percussionist of rock band Kayak. Biography Born in Hilversum, Koopman co-founded Kayak in 1972, along with Ton Sche ...

, and

Max Werner Max Werner (born 29 December 1953 in Hilversum) is a Dutch vocalist, musician, and drummer. He was the lead singer, drummer, and percussionist of the progressive art rock band Kayak. In 1972, Werner co-founded the band along with keyboardist ...

in 1972. He left the band in 1982 after nine albums, and returned briefly for a couple of performances in the 1990s. When Kayak reunited in 1999, Johan was replaced by Rob Winter. During and after his time with Kayak, Slager played with many Dutch artists; he played on albums by Circus Custers,

Bolland & Bolland Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers and brothers, Rob Bolland (born 17 April 1955) and Ferdi Bolland (born on 5 August 1956). They were born in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Career They produced and wrote for such artists as F ...

and

Ekseption Ekseption was a Dutch rock band active from 1967 to 1989, playing mostly-instrumental progressive rock and classical rock. The central character in the changing roster, and the only band member present on every album, was conservatory-trained tru ...

, and formed his own band called Plus Doreen. His guitar sounds can also be heard on albums by his ex-Kayak mates

and

Edward Reekers Edward Reekers (born 24 May 1957, in Hengelo) is a Dutch singer and voice actor. Most notable is his work as lead singer for Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. Having been a fan of the band for years, Reekers joined Kayak in 1978. He replaced M ...

. In recent years, he has joined singer Michel van Dijk (

Alquin Alquin was a Dutch progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 19 ...

). Together with befriended musicians they play in Dutch pubs, doing mostly covers (

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, The Band, etc.).

References

1946 births Living people Dutch rock guitarists Dutch male guitarists Musicians from Amsterdam Earth and Fire members Kayak (band) members {{guitarist-stub