Today is José Hoebee's birthday! In Dutch, we say "Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd met je Verjaardag!" We want to highlight her top five duets to celebrate her amazing life. José had a successful career with Luv' and as a solo artist but also collaborated with other singers in occasional duos.
Photo edited by Marco Rens
#5 - I Will Follow Him (with Peggy March - April 2012)
Patty March & José Hoebee
15-year-old singer Little Peggy March released "I Will Follow Him" on January 22nd, 1963 and made it a world sensation when it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1963 in the USA.
In 1982, José Hoebee covered this pop classic and reached the number-one spot in the Netherlands and Belgium. José's version of "I Will Follow Him" sold 100.000 copies in the Low Countries. The former Luv' singer could prove she could be successful on her own one year after the group's first break-up.
On February 7th, 2011, José appeared on MAX/Nederland 2's morning talk show "KoffieMAX" to announce a unique project: re-recording "I Will Follow Him" with Peggy March.
José (still involved in Luv' at the time) was approached by fellow artist Casper Janssen, who was in touch with Peggy's producer Søren Jensen, who could arrange the contact between the ladies. The recording session took place in Piet Souer's studio in Blaricum, the Netherlands. Luv' colleague Marga Scheide was present there to support José.
On March 16th, 2011, Peggy & José discussed their collaboration on "KoffieMAX" and SBS6's entertainment news program "Shownieuws".
A music video for "I Will Follow Him" was shot and posted on Vimeo but was rapidly deleted. It looked like a stillborn project.
Fortunately, one year later, in April 2012, Peggy and José's duet appeared as a bonus track on the German edition of Peggy's album "Always and Forever" released by Night Dance Records/DA Music.
The music video for "I Will Follow Him" by Peggy & José reappeared on YouTube in the Spring of 2012:
#4 Be My Baby (by Anny & José - June 2009)
Anny Schilder & José Hoebee
On December 15th, 2008, José sang with other artists (including Bonnie St. Claire and former BZN singer Anny Schilder) at a private gala in Benidorm, Spain. On that occasion, José and Anny got in touch and rapidly clicked. Anny asked José if she wanted to form a duo with her and to record a song together. Luv's lead singer accepted this offer.
Anny & José decided to cover a Phil Spector pop classic, "Be My Baby", originally performed by American girl group The Ronettes in 1963.
In early 2009, Anny & José secretly recorded two versions of the track (in Dutch and English) at the Swamp Studio in Raamsdonk, the Netherlands. Piet Souer (who co-wrote Luv's biggest hits with Hans van Hemert during their glory years) and José's husband, Will Hoebee, produced the song.
In April 2009, José posted a message on her official fan site (at the time hosted on Clubs.nl) to say that she would soon announce "good news".
On May 12th, 2009, the songstress finally revealed her secret project on "Shownieuws".
On May 17th, 2009, Anny & José appeared on RTL 4's talk show "Life & Cooking" to present their single. The "Be My Baby" music video premiered on this TV program.
On May 18th, 2009, Dutch record label Marista officially released "Be My Baby" as a CD single. The Dutch press (including newspapers De Telegraaf and Leeuwarder Courant as well as celebrity gossip magazines Story, Privé and Weekend) published articles about the duo.
Anny & José promoted their single on other TV shows (including TROS Muziekfeest, Mooi! Weer de Leeuw! and Hart van Muziek) and on the radio. They also gave live shows in the Netherlands and Belgium until late 2010.
Chart position:
🇳🇱 #92 on the Single Top 100 (Netherlands)
Debut date: June 20th, 2009 - Weeks on chart: 1
#3 Zoals Vrienden Doen by Bonnie & José (released by RCA Records in June 1985)
Bonnie St. Claire & José Hoebee's signature song.
The ladies decided to continue their professional relationship after Cassandra's respectable success on the Dutch charts. In late 1984 and early 1985, they were involved in the ABBAcadra project, a TV musical based on ABBA songs in Dutch with an All-Stars cast including Marga Scheide, Benny Neyman and Ron Brandsteder.
In the summer of 1985, RCA Records put out "Zoals Vrienden Doen" (the cover of ABBA's "The Way Old Friends Do") performed by Bonnie & José. Will Hoebee supervised the recording. Benny Neyman (a famous artist from Will's roster) wrote the text of this track in Dutch. During the promotion of the record, José had to slow down as she was pregnant. However, this duet single became quite successful. Even though it was initially an ABBA song, "Zoals Vrienden Doen" became a classic of Dutch-speaking pop music. Several artists covered Bonnie & José's version over the years: Dutch trumpeter Marty in 1985, Flemish chanteuse Dana Winner in 1986, Flemish duo Eric Flanders & Margriet Hermans in 2001, Dutch duo Annie Schilder and Anja Steur in 2007, Janneke de Roo and sister Anita with the pirate choir De Stormvogels in 2009, Soprano singer Amira Willighagen (winner of Holland's Got Talent 2013) in 2018 and the duo Roy van der Veen & Akkelien Edes in 2023.
In 2015, José Hoebee's matinee with Dutch Show Company (fronted by Anton van Stekelenborg) took place at Musis Sacrum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The songstress and the party band performed several tracks from her back catalogue, including "Zoals Vrienden Doen".
Charts positions:
🇳🇱 #36 on the Dutch Top 40 (Netherlands)
Debut Date: August 3rd, 1985 - Weeks on chart: 4
🇳🇱 #18 on the Nationale Hitparade (Netherlands)
Debut date: July 6th, 1985 - Weeks on chart: 9
#2 Cassandra by Bonnie & José (released by Philips Records in June 1984)
Bonnie St. Claire & José' Hoebee's first duet. The two singers had known each other since 1978 because they were under the same management (Interlinde, a company owned by Pim ter Linde). They rapidly became friends.
In 1983, Bonnie had the opportunity to cover "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" in Dutch. Former ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog initially performed this song. Bonnie's version entitled "Sla Je Arm Om Me Heen" (produced by Will Hoebee) was a hit in the Netherlands.
In 1984, long before the revival of interest in ABBA's music (ABBAesque by Erasure, ABBA Gold, Mamma Mia! musical...), Bonnie and José decided to form a duo to record songs of the Swedish Fab Four in Dutch. Their first collaboration was "Cassandra" (originally the B-side of ABBA's hit "The Day Before You Came" in late 1982). Will Hoebee produced the single. Benny Neyman's Dutch lyrics dealt with the movement of Argentinian mothers (Las Madres de La Plaza de Mayo) who marched in 1977 in Buenos Aires to protest against the disappearance of their children. Although "Cassandra" was Bonnie & José's most successful Dutch Top 40 hit, it became less iconic than the follow-up single "Zoals Vrienden Doen".
Charts positions:
🇳🇱 #24 on the Dutch Top 40 (Netherlands)
Debut date: July 7th, 1984 - Weeks on chart: 5
🇳🇱 #19 on the Nationale Hitparade (Netherlands)
Debut date: June 30th, 1984 - Weeks on chart: 8
#1 So Long, Marianne by José & Ron Brandsteder (released by CNR in December 1983)
After her solo hits, José experienced a new phase of her career by releasing her first duet. The songstress decided to collaborate with Dutch TV personality Ron Brandsteder. In 1979 and 1980, Ron was briefly married to Patty Brard. This good-looking and charismatic quizmaster hosted the high-rated game show "Showbizzquiz" on TROS between 1978 and 1986. Luv' and José sang several times on Ron's TV program.
In late 1983, José and Ron recorded a cover version of Leonard Cohen's classic hit "So Long, Marianne", produced by Will Hoebee with arrangements by Harry van Hoof. This song was initially composed and performed by the great Canadian Folk Maestro Leonard Cohen in 1967. Ron & José's version was included on Brandsteder's album "Niet Alleen" and later appeared on José's 2005 compilation "Alle Hits & Unieke Bonustracks". The duo promoted their single on major Dutch TV shows (Showbizzquiz, Nederland Muziekland, Sportgala and AVRO's TopPop). This strategy paid off as their record was popular on the Flemish and Dutch hit parades.
Charts positions:
🇳🇱 #11 on the Dutch Top 40 (Netherlands)
Debut date: February 18th, 1984 - Weeks on chart: 7
🇳🇱 #6 on the Nationale Hitparade (Netherlands)
Debut date: February 18th, 1984 - Weeks on chart: 8
🇧🇪 #20 on the BRT Top 30 (Belgium)
Debut date: March 24th, 1984 - Weeks on chart: 3
🇧🇪 #30 on the Ultratop Flanders (Belgium)
Debut date: March 17th, 1984 - Weeks on chart: 3
SOURCE OF RECORD CHARTS:
🇳🇱 Nationale Hitparade (currently Single Top 100): https://dutchcharts.nl/
🇳🇱 Dutch Top 40 (Netherlands): https://www.top40.nl/
🇧🇪 BRT Top 30: http://www.muziekbank.be/top30/index.html
🇧🇪 Ultratop Flanders (Belgium): https://www.ultratop.be/nl/
Source: Luvgirlgroup archives, YouTube