On October 24th, Dutch pop singer Rob Janszen died at the Tilburg hospital as a result of a traffic collision earlier this month. The Police are still looking for witnesses who saw the accident happen on October 5th: https://t.ly/13dnL
May Rob rest in peace. Our condolences go to his family.
Born in Oss, North Brabant, in 1966, Rob was a talented ambassador of the Dutch-speaking repertoire. He founded the group "Pluche & Plastic" in 1982, with which he performed in theatres around the Netherlands for many years. In 1984, Pluche & Plastic won a "Zilveren Harp" (Silver Harp), a prestigious Dutch award given annually to promising musical talents by the "Buma Cultuur" foundation.
Rob Janszen in 1979
Front cover of "Het Debuut" album by Pluche & Plastic (1984)
In 1988, Rob went solo. In 1990, his single "Hoe is het mogelijk" peaked at #48 on the Nationale Top 100 in the Netherlands and stayed for seven weeks on this Dutch record chart.
In 1992, Rob participated in the National Song Contest, the Dutch preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Net Als Een Kind", which finished third.
In 1996, CNR Music released his album entitled "Wie Ben Jij?" produced by Will Hoebee, José's late husband, who passed away in 2012. This LP featured "Terschelling", the Dutch cover version of Bryan Adams' classic hit from 1995 "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?", which reached #33 on Holland's Top 40 and spent four weeks on this hit parade.
Wie Ben Jij? by Rob Janszen (1996)
José recorded background vocals on two tracks from "Wie Ben Jij?": "Hoe Meer Je 't Probeert", a Dutch cover of "The More We Try" by Kenny Loggins (1982) and "De Laatste Wals", the Dutch version of Leonard Cohen's Take This Waltz (1986).
José Hoebee congratulating Rob Janszen in 1995, backstage at one concert of his sold-out theater tour "Bent u goed verzekerd van uzelf?"
José recording backup vocals on Rob's record in late 1995
De Laatste Wals by Rob Janszen (featuring José Hoebee) - 1996
In 2015, José discussed "De Laatste Walz" in an interview conducted by Perry Krootjes. When asked how important music was in her private life, the former Luv' singer answered: "Music is essential to me. I like to search for nice songs on YouTube, and I share them on my Facebook page. Sometimes, it provokes funny reactions. Once, a fan shared a video on my Facebook page. It was the song "De laatste wals" (the last waltz) by Rob Janszen from 1995. I heard a female voice on this recording. It was me. At the time, I recorded it for Rob's CD "Wie Ben Jij?". Of course, I knew that I sang on that track. But after 1995, I forgot this song until I found it again on Facebook twenty years later. It was special to me".
Click here to read Perry Krootjes' interview with José Hoebee.
In recent years, Rob Janszen was busy as a singing marriage officiant.
On November 3rd, the radio program "Vrielinks Vrolijke Vrijdag" will pay tribute to Rob on the local station HTR (Heusdense Televisie & Radio) between 9.00 pm and Midnight. Listen to the show via https://www.twitch.tv/htrradio or http://stream.htrradio.nl:8010/HTRradio320.
Source: Marco Rens, Facebook (Boulevard of Music, Hans Vrielink, Ritchie Severijns, Vrielinks Vrolijke Vrijdag, HTR, Dennis Erhardt), AD, Klik Nieuws Regio Oss, Discogs, Muziek Encyclopedie (Beeld & Geluid)...