Michael de Jong

Michael de Jong infused Dutch rock with a fresh intensity by pairing his brooding, introspective words with Americana-tinged blues arrangements, securing his largest audience in that country. San Francisco Examiner critic Philip Elwood praised the vigor of his guitar work, stating, "[de Jong] is my favorite local guitarist, an unforgettable voice and such a powerful delivery." The son of a Dutch father who had fled to France during World War II and a French mother, de Jong passed much of his childhood in Holland before emigrating with his family to the United States in 1950, where he remained for the following fourteen years. Thereafter he has split his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Netherlands. He gained recognition for an unusually swift recording process in which nearly every track on his albums results from only one or two takes.