Koos Ras (Jacobus Adriaan Gerhardus) was born on 4 August 1928, on a farm named Paardekop in Northern

Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. As a young boy he often visited his father's neighbour (name unknown), who taught him how to play a " Konsertina". Ras was famously known as a comedian, singer, composer, writer and businessman. He recorded 14 LP records including ''Spoke'' ("Ghosts"), ''Lekker ou braaivleis aand'' ("Pleasant barbecue evening"). Although most of his music was in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, he also recorded a few songs in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. During the 1960s he recorded a classic

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, "Tiny Bubbles," as a duet with (name unknown), which hit #1 on the Springbok Hit Parade. In 1971, he opened his business "Kempton Orrel en Klavier Sentrum" (Kempton Organ and Piano Centre). Ras and his wife Bea supplied music instruments and music tuition books to schools, churches and private individuals. Koos died on 17 April 1997. The music centre closed in 2001.

References

* 20th-century South African male singers Afrikaner people South African male comedians Afrikaans-language singers 1928 births 1997 deaths 20th-century comedians African comedians {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub