Piet Veerman (born 1 March 1943) is a Dutch pop musician. From 1964 to 1985 he was a guitarist and singer for
The Cats
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, and since 1968 the lead singer for all the singles of this band. He released a first solo album in 1975 but started his solo career definitely in 1987 after The Cats broke up for the last time. During his career, Veerman received more than thirty
gold records.
Biography
Veerman was born in the fishing village of
Volendam
Volendam () is a fishing town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands. As of 1 January 2021, it has a population of 22,715. It is twinned with Coventry, England.
History
Originally, Volendam was the location o ...
. His father played many instruments, like
recorder,
harmonica,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
,
banjo and
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
, and taught his son to play music. His mother was a painter and taught her son to paint. At an age of twelve the young Piet obtained his first guitar. At that time he didn't know if he wanted to choose art or music.
[Michel Veerman en Johan Tol, ''One way wind: de geschiedenis van de palingsound'', 1999, , pages 74-81 ]
Together with his cousin Jaap Schilder, they performed as the Everly Kosters. This name was formed by ''De Koster'', the nickname of their family, with a reference to
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...
who were immensely popular during their youth.
However, the greatest influence for them came from
The Hi-Lo's
The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall, Gene Puerling and Cla ...
.
A dance teacher and promoter of local music groups at that time was Jan Buijs, nickname ''Spruit'', not to be confused with the later artist manager of
The Cats
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
with the same name, nicknamed ''Tuf''. Due to ''Spruit'' the duo was introduced to Arnold Mühren and
Cees Veerman, who were members of his band Electric Johnny & The Skyriders.
The Cats
Shortly afterwards they formed The Mystic Four, which was renamed to The Blue Cats and subsequently to The Cats.
From the release of the single ''Times Were When'' (1968) Piet Veerman became the lead singer for basically all the singles of The Cats. Up to 1974 it was the most popular Dutch band in the country. They became popular in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
Suriname as well. In 1974 the band broke up for the first time.
In 1975, The Cats reunited but record company
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
gave them the opportunity to record their own solo albums. Piet Veerman recorded an album and a single, both called ''Rollin' On A River''. The single landed on number 9 of the
Dutch Top 40.
[Dutch Pop Institute, Music Encyclopedia]
Piet Veerman - biography
The Cats were also successful again, although not as big as several years earlier. Piet Veerman continued to be their lead singer until the band broke up for the second time in 1980. He again released a solo album, called ''Back To You'', and the single ''Living To Love You''.
In 1981 he wrote the guitar intro of a song called ''Mooi Volendam'' of the band Canyon, which became a classic song in the course of years.
In 1983 The Cats reunited for the third time, until they split definitely in 1985.
Solo career
Veerman took up a solo career and in 1987 he released his single "
Sailin' Home". The single became a major success, charting number 1 in the Netherlands and Belgium and number 4 in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. In the Netherlands it was the biggest selling single of the year of 1987.
The same year he achieved a number 7 hit with "Walking Together" and in the following years ten more singles reached the Dutch charts. He continued releasing singles until 1993. More than ten albums reached the charts and several received a
gold status.
Further on in his career he experimented with
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
music, including some covers of
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created ori ...
such as his single ''Heaven Stood Still''. His successes weren't as great as at the beginning of his solo career though. Later he recorded singles and albums that were partly in Spanish and that were influenced by
Latin pop and
Tex Mex.
He also co-operated with other musicians from Volendam. In 1993 he recorded a duet with
Anny Schilder
Anny Schilder (14.02.1959) is a Dutch pop music, pop singer, and was the lead singer of BZN from 1976 to 1984.Louis Peter Grijp, Ignace Bossuyt Een muziekgeschiedenis der Nederlanden - 2001 - Page 742
Biography BZN-Singer
Jack Veerman, the dru ...
, the former vocalist of
BZN. Together with
Jan Smit and
George Baker in 2002 he recorded an album in German, called ''Die Goldenen Stimmen'' (''The Golden Voices''). He also played as a guest musician on albums, such as in 2006 on ''A Wink At The Moon'' of guitarist and singer-songwriter Specs Hildebrand.
In 2014 he recorded the single ''Lovin' Arms'' with vocalist Mell (full name; Mellanie Jonk), granddaughter and contestant on
Voice of Holland.
[Groot Waterland]
Mell & Piet Veerman “Lovin’ Arms”
29 August 2014
He continued to support Mell who has since become the front lady of Mell & Vintage Future; for health reasons he has limited performing to special occasions.
Awards
In his career, Veerman received more than thirty
gold records. He is an honorary citizen of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(1974),
Aruba (2004) and
Edam-Volendam
Edam-Volendam () is a municipality in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, primarily consisting of the towns of Edam and Volendam. It is situated on the western shore of the Markermeer, just north of Waterland. In 2019, ...
(2004). In 2006 he and the other former members of The Cats were decorated members of the
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands.
The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veerman, Piet
1943 births
Dutch composers
Dutch guitarists
Dutch male guitarists
People from Volendam
Living people
20th-century Dutch male singers
21st-century Dutch male singers
21st-century Dutch singers