Gert Timmerman (1935-2017)
Dutch promotion card by CNR / Telefunken.
Yesterday, 28 October 2017, Dutch singer and musician Gert Timmerman (1935-2017) passed away. He was one of the well-known performers of the Dutch Schlager. Apart from many solo hits, he also scored 21 golden records with his wife as the duo Gert and Hermien. Timmerman was 82.
Gerrit (Gert) Timmerman was born in Oldenzaal, Netherlands, in 1935 and grew up in the district of Pathmos in Enschede. He visited the craft school for some time, but he had more interest in music. From age 12, he played clarinet. At the age of fifteen he attended the music academy in Zwolle two days a week and worked in a printing shop three days a week. Here he met Henk Elsink with whom he formed a duo, with Elsink on piano and himself on double bass. In 1963, Timmerman scored a Dutch number one hit with the Schlager Blume von Tahiti (Flowers from Tahiti). Not long after another hit followed, Ik heb eerbied voor jouw grijze haren (I respect your gray hair) with music and text by Bobbejaan Schoepen, which sold over 350,000 records. Timmerman received a golden and platinum disk for it. In 1963, Timmerman scored two more solo hits, including De Schommelstoel (The Rocking Chair), but then he chose for a career as a duo with Hermien van der Weide with whom he married in 1963. As the duo Gert and Hermien, they successfully made one record after another. In der mondhelle nacht (In the moonlit night) composed by Freddy Golden (Fred Gaasbeek) became a Golden Record for the duo. Also, as a soloist, Timmerman booked success. In 1966 and 1967, they were awarded at the MIDEM festival in Cannes as best-selling artist in the Netherlands. End of the 1960s, Timmerman's wife focused more on their three children, and Timmerman himself released some solo numbers. He also composed film music with Freddy Golden. They received a prize for the score for the Dutch film Body and soul (René Daalder, 1967). Around 1968, Timmerman discovered the little singer Wilma for whom he wrote Een klomp met een zeiltje (A wooden shoe with a little sail, 1969) and Grootpappa (Grandpa, 1969), along with writer Fred van Dam, songs that reached the hit list in 1969. In the same year 1969, Timmerman did a stunt by claiming that he could easily get a stadium full of fans. Together with Willem Duys, he organised the Gert and Hermien Show at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. More than 35,000 people came to the show, the stunt was successful and Gert and Hermien received from the same Duys their twelfth Golden Record. The total number of gold records of the duo is 21 pieces, including a platinum record. In 1970, Timmerman reached a hit with Brandend zand (Burning Sand). With Hermien he released Shalalie Shalala (All the pigeons on the Dam) in 1972. They were rewarded with an Edison award for the album Gert & Hermien. In 1974, Timmerman converted himself to Christianity. The first lp with religious repertory, Daarom ben ik blij (Therefore I'm happy), made a sale of over 100,000 copies and was rewarded with a Golden Record. The couple joined the Baptists and repeatedly performed at the Evangelical Broadcasting (EO) company. Their musical career stuck. After a stay in Israel in 1977, they returned to Overijssel.
In 1990 Gert and Hermien became more familiar with the Achterhoek band Normaal and in 1993 a comeback followed. Their faith had set them apart, and Timmerman even gave permission for a photo report of his daughters Sandra and Sheila in Playboy magazine. However, the duo could not repeat the successes of the past. In 1999 a divorce followed. Timmerman was accused of incest by his daughter Sandra. He formed a duo with his son Gert Jr. in the same year and remained active as a singer and multi-instrumentalist. In 2002 he married Barbara Stoevenbeld. His ex-wife Hermien died of a kidney disease a year later, in 2003. A cd was presented in 2004: Roses for you, a tribute to his parents. In 2005, Timmerman celebrated his 70th birthday. He was also 50 years in the job, received a Royal decoration by the mayor of Losser and released his (triple) jubilee CD in October that year, entitled: En dat vergeet ik nooit (And that I'll never forget), including previous hits in a new arrangement , supplemented with new materials. In 2006, he was a hotelier in the reality show Hotel Big Brother. In February 2006 he had major problems with his management and financiers, who retrieved the studio material and the sponsored car. The website was also closed. Timmerman and his wife went undercover for the media. In May 2009, Gert Timmerman appeared in the program of TV vicar David Maasbach. He told about his earlier conversion and how he later wandered from Christianity. In his opinion, he did not lose faith, but he had nothing to do with the church as an institute. Later he returned from this choice and fully focused on faith in God, even if without Hermien and their daughters. A couple of weeks after the interview with Maasbach he performed at the latter's Pentecostal Family Day. In the EO television program How is it with ... in March 2011, Timmerman said that he was virtually deaf and that the singing and composing had almost become impossible. In 2017 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and died on 28 October 2017 in Overdinkel, Netherlands, at the age of 82.
Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.
Gert Timmerman (1935-2017)
Dutch promotion card by CNR / Telefunken.
Yesterday, 28 October 2017, Dutch singer and musician Gert Timmerman (1935-2017) passed away. He was one of the well-known performers of the Dutch Schlager. Apart from many solo hits, he also scored 21 golden records with his wife as the duo Gert and Hermien. Timmerman was 82.
Gerrit (Gert) Timmerman was born in Oldenzaal, Netherlands, in 1935 and grew up in the district of Pathmos in Enschede. He visited the craft school for some time, but he had more interest in music. From age 12, he played clarinet. At the age of fifteen he attended the music academy in Zwolle two days a week and worked in a printing shop three days a week. Here he met Henk Elsink with whom he formed a duo, with Elsink on piano and himself on double bass. In 1963, Timmerman scored a Dutch number one hit with the Schlager Blume von Tahiti (Flowers from Tahiti). Not long after another hit followed, Ik heb eerbied voor jouw grijze haren (I respect your gray hair) with music and text by Bobbejaan Schoepen, which sold over 350,000 records. Timmerman received a golden and platinum disk for it. In 1963, Timmerman scored two more solo hits, including De Schommelstoel (The Rocking Chair), but then he chose for a career as a duo with Hermien van der Weide with whom he married in 1963. As the duo Gert and Hermien, they successfully made one record after another. In der mondhelle nacht (In the moonlit night) composed by Freddy Golden (Fred Gaasbeek) became a Golden Record for the duo. Also, as a soloist, Timmerman booked success. In 1966 and 1967, they were awarded at the MIDEM festival in Cannes as best-selling artist in the Netherlands. End of the 1960s, Timmerman's wife focused more on their three children, and Timmerman himself released some solo numbers. He also composed film music with Freddy Golden. They received a prize for the score for the Dutch film Body and soul (René Daalder, 1967). Around 1968, Timmerman discovered the little singer Wilma for whom he wrote Een klomp met een zeiltje (A wooden shoe with a little sail, 1969) and Grootpappa (Grandpa, 1969), along with writer Fred van Dam, songs that reached the hit list in 1969. In the same year 1969, Timmerman did a stunt by claiming that he could easily get a stadium full of fans. Together with Willem Duys, he organised the Gert and Hermien Show at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. More than 35,000 people came to the show, the stunt was successful and Gert and Hermien received from the same Duys their twelfth Golden Record. The total number of gold records of the duo is 21 pieces, including a platinum record. In 1970, Timmerman reached a hit with Brandend zand (Burning Sand). With Hermien he released Shalalie Shalala (All the pigeons on the Dam) in 1972. They were rewarded with an Edison award for the album Gert & Hermien. In 1974, Timmerman converted himself to Christianity. The first lp with religious repertory, Daarom ben ik blij (Therefore I'm happy), made a sale of over 100,000 copies and was rewarded with a Golden Record. The couple joined the Baptists and repeatedly performed at the Evangelical Broadcasting (EO) company. Their musical career stuck. After a stay in Israel in 1977, they returned to Overijssel.
In 1990 Gert and Hermien became more familiar with the Achterhoek band Normaal and in 1993 a comeback followed. Their faith had set them apart, and Timmerman even gave permission for a photo report of his daughters Sandra and Sheila in Playboy magazine. However, the duo could not repeat the successes of the past. In 1999 a divorce followed. Timmerman was accused of incest by his daughter Sandra. He formed a duo with his son Gert Jr. in the same year and remained active as a singer and multi-instrumentalist. In 2002 he married Barbara Stoevenbeld. His ex-wife Hermien died of a kidney disease a year later, in 2003. A cd was presented in 2004: Roses for you, a tribute to his parents. In 2005, Timmerman celebrated his 70th birthday. He was also 50 years in the job, received a Royal decoration by the mayor of Losser and released his (triple) jubilee CD in October that year, entitled: En dat vergeet ik nooit (And that I'll never forget), including previous hits in a new arrangement , supplemented with new materials. In 2006, he was a hotelier in the reality show Hotel Big Brother. In February 2006 he had major problems with his management and financiers, who retrieved the studio material and the sponsored car. The website was also closed. Timmerman and his wife went undercover for the media. In May 2009, Gert Timmerman appeared in the program of TV vicar David Maasbach. He told about his earlier conversion and how he later wandered from Christianity. In his opinion, he did not lose faith, but he had nothing to do with the church as an institute. Later he returned from this choice and fully focused on faith in God, even if without Hermien and their daughters. A couple of weeks after the interview with Maasbach he performed at the latter's Pentecostal Family Day. In the EO television program How is it with ... in March 2011, Timmerman said that he was virtually deaf and that the singing and composing had almost become impossible. In 2017 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and died on 28 October 2017 in Overdinkel, Netherlands, at the age of 82.
Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.