Rob De Nijs

Rob de Nijs ranks among the foremost Dutch vocalists to emerge in the decades following World War II. His debut chart entry arrived in 1963 through the group Rob de Nijs & the Lords, after which he maintained solo placements well into the following century and consistently ranked among the Dutch performers receiving the heaviest airplay on domestic stations. The Radio 2 Zendtijd Award recognized his enduring contributions to national music in 2001. DJ Frits Spits once described de Nijs as "the embodiment of the history of Dutch pop music."

Robert de Nijs entered the world in Amsterdam on December 26, 1942, amid the Second World War. An asthmatic youngster, he took up the accordion at eight. Acting academy appealed to him, yet his age disqualified him, so he enrolled instead at an HBS high school. Before turning twenty, he entered a talent competition with his band Rob de Nijs & the Lords. Victory brought a recording contract as the prize. The first two singles drew scant attention, but the third, 1963's "Ritme van de Regen," sold more than 100,000 copies and became a major hit. That same year, de Nijs represented the Netherlands at the Songfestival.

His solo debut, Dit Is Rob de Nijs, appeared in 1964, and Rob de Nijs & the Lords disbanded the next year. After several years performing alone, he withdrew from the spotlight to work in a circus and became co-owner of several clubs. Late in 1969 he resurfaced, this time as an actor. He first appeared in the series Oebele, then portrayed Bertram Bierenbroodspot from 1971 to 1976 in the popular program Kunt U Mij de Weg Naar Hamelen Vertellen, Mijnheer? During those television years, renewed visibility prompted de Nijs to co-write an album with lyricist Lennaert Nijgh and producer Boudewijn de Groot. The initial collaboration, "Jan Klaassen de Trompetter," reached the charts in May 1973. Further singles included "Zuster Ursula," "Miralle," "Hé Speelman," and "Malle Babbe." NIPO named de Nijs the most popular Dutch singer in 1976, crowning the two albums created with Nijgh and de Groot.

The close of the 1970s brought both critical and commercial peak years for de Nijs. He married Belinda Meulendijk in 1980, and she became his chief lyricist. Through the 1980s and 1990s he maintained a steady pace, releasing an album nearly every year. At Christmas 1985, de Nijs and Meulendijk achieved their greatest success with the year-end peace song "Laat Alles Wat Ademt," which reached number two. More than a decade later, in 1996, he secured his first number one with "Banger Hart" after thirty-five years as a recording artist. Throughout the 1990s and into the new century, he toured theaters and larger venues without pause while shifting his style toward rock territory. Knighthood followed in 2000, and an Edison Award for his entire body of work arrived in 2002.

De Nijs and Meulendijk announced their divorce in 2006, leaving him without his regular lyric collaborator. He recorded a cover of the Stevie Wonder classic "For Once in My Life" for the soundtrack of the heist film Dennis P, and his next album consisted entirely of covers. The collection Chansons, featuring translated French songs, entered the Dutch album chart at number six in 2008. His popularity persisted into the 2010s with several additional Top Ten releases, among them Eindelijk Vrij, Nieuwe Ruimte, and Niet Voor het Laatst. Issued in 2017, the last of these restored his writing partnership with Meulendijk.