Pieter Goemans (1925-2000) was a Dutch composer, probably best known for having written the classic song "

Aan de Amsterdamse grachten "Aan de Amsterdamse grachten" (; "At the Amsterdam canals") is a Dutch song by Pieter Goemans. It was written in 1949 but not recorded until 1956, and many times more since then. It is one of the standard songs celebrating the city of Amsterdam, a ...

Biography

Goemans was born on 6 June 1925 in Amsterdam. The son of a diplomat, his father forced him to write under a pseudonym to avoid any association between the family and the popular entertainment industry. Under the name Peter Shott he wrote, in 1949, the song "

"; Goemans was inspired to write the song in 1949 while walking across the bridge where the

Prinsengracht The Prinsengracht is a -long canal that runs parallel to the Keizersgracht in the center of Amsterdam. The canal, named after the Prince of Orange, is the fourth of the four main canals belonging to the canal belt. History Construction started ...

and the

Leidsegracht The Leidsegracht () is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is a cross-canal in Amsterdam-Center that connects Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht and Lijnbaansgracht and flows into the Singelgracht at Marnixstraat. History The Leids ...

intersect. It wasn't supplied with sheet music and recorded until 1956, when an arrangement was written by pianist Dick Schallies (then a member of the

Metropole Orkest The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...

) since (Schallies explained) Goemans couldn't write music. Henk Visscher, singer as well as guitar and bass player with Johnny Kraaijkamp, was the first to sing and record the song, In the 1960s Goemans was one of the regular lyricists for

Corry Brokken Cornelia Maria "Corry" Brokken (3 December 1932 – 31 May 2016) was a Dutch singer, television presenter and jurist. In 1957, she won the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Net als toen", representing the Netherlands. ...

, translating foreign material. One of his tunes, "Bach bijvoorbeeld", was sung by Shirley Zwerus and produced by

Willem Duys Willem Duys (17 August 1928 – 2 June 2011) was a Dutch radio and television presenter, commentator, tennis player and music producer. Duys was born in Bussum. He first started a career as a tennis player. Having made the final NK Older Youth ...

used as the opening tune for his weekly radio program. In 1970, Hearts of Soul won the

Nationaal Songfestival (; ) was an annual music competition, which was originally organised by the Dutch public broadcaster (NTS), and later by the (NOS) and (TROS). It was staged almost every year between 1956 and 2012 to determine the country's entry for the Eu ...

with the Goemans song " Waterman"; the song finished seventh at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1970 The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the ...

. Goemans died on 8 July 2000. The bridge on which "Aan de Amsterdamse grachten" came to him was marked with a plaque and later named for him; his ashes were spread over the Prinsengracht.

References

External links

Pieter Goemans
at muziekencyclopedie.nl {{DEFAULTSORT:Goemans, Pieter 1925 births 2000 deaths Dutch composers Dutch songwriters Musicians from Amsterdam