Rob Hoeke (9 January 1939 – 6 November 1999) was a Dutch singer, pianist, composer and songwriter most famous for his renditions in the field of

Boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

releasing over 20 albums. Besides that he played and recorded in a musical variety of styles ranging from

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, Soul, Rock and Rhythm & Blues.

Biography

Rob Hoeke's most successful period was in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with his Rob Hoeke Rhythm & Blues Group. He scored hits with "Margio" (number 12 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

in 1966), "Drinking on My Bed" (number 11 in 1966) and "Down South" which would become Hoeke's signature tune and biggest hit reaching number 6 in 1970. His sole charting album was ''Four Hands Up'', a collaboration with fellow Boogie-woogie artist Hein van der Gaag which charted at number 7 in 1971. In 1974, Rob Hoeke lost two fingers in a gardening accident and his career all but seemed to be over. After a few years, he started playing and performing for audiences again but his heyday was over. He recorded many more albums, one with Alan Price from the Animals. Hoeke made a solo performance at the first Amsterdam Blues Festival in 1983 where his solo performance received a standing ovation from the audience of 1,100. Subsequently, he made his first solo album ''Jumpin' on the "88"'' for the

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

label in 1983. Rob Hoeke died in 1999 after a short illness.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Boogie Hoogie'' –

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

, P12 930 L (1964) *''Save our Souls'' – Philips, XPY 855 039 (1967) *''Robby's Saloon'' – Philips, XPY 855 084 (1968) *''Celsius 232,8'' – Philips, XPY 855 087 (1969) *''Racing the Boogie'' – Philips, 861 822 LCY (1970) *''Full Speed'' – Philips, 6413 032 (1972) *''Rockin' the Boogie'' – Philips, 6401 053 (1973) *''Boogie Woogie Explosion'' – Polydor, 2925 086 (1979) *''Free and Easy'' – Universe, LS – 28 (1981) *'' Jumpin' on the "88"'' –

, OL 8005 (1984) *''& The Real Boogie Woogie'' – Down South Records, DS 92234 (1987) *''Boogie and Blues'' – Stiletto, RH 9187 (1987) *''& The Real Boogie Woogie'' – Down South Records, DS 92234 (1987) *''25 Years Rhythm & Blues And Boogie Woogie'' – CNR, 655.290–1 (1989)

Live albums

*''Boogie Woogie en Blues Live'' – CCS10-1 (1994) *''Boogie Woogie en Blues Live 2'' – RH9702 (1997)

Collaboration albums

*''Four Hands Up'' (with Hein van der Gaag) – Philips, 6413 013 (1971) *''Fingerprints'' (with Hein van der Gaag) – Philips, 6401 090 (1975) *''Two of a Kind'' (with Alan Price) –

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, 2925 064 (1977) *''Boogie on the Move'' (The Grand Piano Boogie Train: Jaap Dekker, Rob Hoeke and

Rob Agerbeek Robbert Arris Jules "Rob" Agerbeek (born 28 September 1937 in Batavia ( Jakarta)) is an Indo Dutch boogie-woogie and jazz pianist and winner of several jazz concourses in the Netherlands in the late 1950s. He is regarded as one of Europe's fines ...

) – Rodero Records, RDR 1295 (1997) *''Blues & Boogie Movin' On'' (The Grand Piano Boogie Train: Jaap Dekker, Rob Hoeke and

) – Rodero Records, RDR 1297 (1997)

References

External links

Official website Rob Hoeke

Rob Hoeke on Muziekweb

Rob Hoeke on AllMusic

Rob Hoeke on Rate Your Music

Rob Hoeke singles discography on NL Discografie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoeke, Rob 1939 births 1999 deaths Boogie-woogie pianists Boogie-woogie musicians Dutch composers Philips Records artists Polydor Records artists Harmonica blues musicians Harmonica players Oldie Blues artists People from Haarlem 20th-century Dutch pianists 20th-century composers