Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Souer (born 29 March 1948,

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and arranger. His collaboration with acts (such as

Luv' Luv' were a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe (Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Finland) as well as Israel, South Africa, Rhodesia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada ...

Mouth & MacNeal Mouth and MacNeal was a Dutch pop duo that enjoyed some commercial success in the 1970s. They are best known for their million selling recording of " How Do You Do" in 1972, which topped the Dutch chart and became a US top ten hit, also reaching ...

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Ramses Shaffy Ramses Shaffy (29 August 1933 – 1 December 2009) was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder", "We zullen doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Samm ...

, American Gypsy, and Champagne) made him gain twenty two gold and platinum records', one Conamus Export Prize and one 'Outstanding Song Award', thanks to his composition "Too Young To Know", performed by

Anita Meyer Anita Meyer (''Annita Meijer''), born in Rotterdam 29 October 1954, is a Dutch singer. One of her most notable songs is "Why Tell Me Why" that charted for 14 weeks and topped the Dutch singles list for six weeks in 1981. Discography Albums ...

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989. The first ed ...

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in 1981.

Debut

Piet Souer (a guitar and keyboard player) started his career as a member of The Valiants, a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from Eindhoven. His breakthrough happened when he played guitar on "

De troubadour "De troubadour" ("The troubadour"), sung in Dutch by Lenny Kuhr representing the , was – together with "Boom Bang-a-Bang", "Un jour, un enfant", and "Vivo cantando" from, respectively, the , , and – one of the four winners of the Eurovision ...

", a track performed by

Lenny Kuhr Helena Hubertina Johanna "Lenny" Kuhr (born 22 February 1950) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Career In 1967, she started a singing career in the Netherlands, performing songs in the French chanson tradition. In 1969, she represented the Neth ...

, winner of the

Eurovision Song Contest 1969 The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Madrid, Spain, following the country's victory at the with the song "La, la, la" by Massiel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

. The next year, Kuhr, bassist Paul Reekers and Souer were the supporting act of

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

during his tour in France.

Producer, arranger, songwriter and conductor

In the early 1970s, he scored, as a songwriter and an arranger, moderate hits such as "I'm The Grand Pretender" and "Keep On Dancing" (performed by Cardinal Point) and "Angel Eyes" (performed by American Gypsy) as well as successful chart toppers in the Netherlands including "Te Veel Te Vaak" (by

) and "Samen" (by

). In 1976, he recorded with the conductor Harry van Hoof the album ''Strings by Candlelight'' (certified gold in the Netherlands). Then, he produced hit records for popular Dutch acts such as Champagne (1977 Export Award), Doris D. & The Pins, Vanessa, American Gypsy,

, Maywood, Conquistador. He also collaborated with international artists including

Vicky Leandros Vasiliki Papathanasiou ( el, Βασιλική Παπαθανασίου; born 23 August 1949), generally known as Vicky Leandros ( el, Βίκυ Λέανδρος, links=no), is a Greek singer living in Germany. She is the daughter of singer, music ...

, Helen Shapiro,

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). Ea ...

and Engelbert Humperdinck. In 1982,

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; hy, Սիլվի Ժորժ Վարդանյան. on 15 August 1944) is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. ...

sang one of his composition ("La Sortie de Secours"), which was released as a single and was a French

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "I'm So Sorry" (originally performed by

José Hoebee Josina van de Wijdeven (born 29 March 1954), known as José Hoebee, is a Dutch pop singer. She was a member of Luv', a famous Dutch girl group in the late 1970s and early 1980s that scored hits in more than 15 countries. In late 1981, she went ...

). The same year, British pop group

Tight Fit Tight Fit is an English pop group which had several hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 for three weeks with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982. History In 1981, record producer Ken Gold came up with the idea ...

covered "Fantasy Island" (one of his songs originally performed by The Millionaires) which became a UK Top 5 hit and a European Top 10 hit.

Luv'

In 1976, he teamed up with producer

Hans van Hemert Hans van Hemert (born 7 April 1945 in Voorburg, Netherlands) is a Dutch ASCAP award-winning record producer and songwriter. Mouth & MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He also composed three songs for the Eurovision Song Contest ...

and manager Han Meijer (later replaced by Pim Ter Linde) to form a female pop trio:

. Van Hemert and him wrote songs for the girl group (under the pseudonym Janschen & Janschens). In the late 1970s, Luv' had popular hit singles (such as "

You're The Greatest Lover "You're the Greatest Lover" is a single by the Dutch girl group Luv'. It was first released in July 1978 by Philips/Phonogram Records. It appears on the 1978 debut album With Luv' and on compilations ( Luv' Gold, 25 Jaar Na Waldolala, Complete ...

", "

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

" or "

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

") in

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-speaking countries,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. This international success made Luv' win a Conamus Export Prize in 1979. This formation sold seven million records (singles and albums).

Eurovision Song Contest

Souer composed two songs for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

: " Sing Me a Song" by Bernadette (in 1983) and "

De eerste keer The Netherlands was represented by duo Maxine and Franklin Brown, with the song "De eerste keer", at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Oslo on 18 May. Before Eurovision Nationaal Songfestival 1996 Five acts participated i ...

" by Maxine & Franklin Brown (in 1996). Both of them reached seventh position in the Contest.

TV jingles and film soundtracks

Souer has composed many film soundtracks and television jingles. Scores for TV programs including: * ''

Suske en Wiske Suske (English: Willy, Luke, Bob, Spike) is one of the main characters in the popular Belgian comic strip ''Suske en Wiske'' by Willy Vandersteen. He is the boy of the duo. History When Willy Vandersteen created his first adventure story with t ...

'' * ''Ted Show'' * ''Spoorloos'' * the Dutch version of the game show ''

Boggle ''Boggle'' is a word game invented by Allan Turoff and originally distributed by Parker Brothers. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players look for words in sequences of adjacent letters. Rules One player begi ...

'' * the Dutch, American, Swedish and Polish versions of ''

Lingo Lingo, a contraction of language, often refers to jargon, but in a less formal or technical sense. Lingo may also refer to: Technology * Lingo (programming language), one of several unrelated programming languages * Lingo (VoIP Service operator ...

'' He composed

Bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

themes for the

NCRV NCRV (Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging) (English: Dutch Christian Radio Association) was a public radio and television broadcaster in the Netherlands, mostly transmitting on NPO 1 and NPO 2. On 1 January 2014, NCRV merged with KRO to for ...

show ''Una Voce Particolare'' hosted by Ernst Daniel Smid. His collaboration with Smid includes the Top 5 album ''Gevoel van Geluk''. Film soundtracks including: * 2005 movie about

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

* '' Black Book'', directed by

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

. * ''Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch Masters)'' (for the year of Rembrandt in 2006).

References

Bibliography

*''500 Nr.1 Hits uit de Top 40'', by Johan van Slooten, Gottmer Becht Publishing, 1997 *''Top 40 Hitdossier 1956-2005'' (9e editie), by Johan van Slooten, Gottmer Bech Publishing, 2006 *''50 jaar nummer-1-hits 1956-2006'', by Johan van Slooten, Gottmer Uitgevers Groep, 2006 *''Albumdossier 1969-2002'', by Johan van Slooten, Becht's Uitgevers, 2002

External links

Official website

* ttp://www.dutchcharts.nl/showperson.asp?name=Piet+Souer Souer chart performances in the Netherlands on the DutchCharts.nl portal {{DEFAULTSORT:Souer, Piet 1948 births Living people Dutch music managers Dutch record producers Dutch male songwriters Dutch songwriters Eurovision Song Contest conductors People from Eindhoven 21st-century conductors (music)