Bobbejaan Schoepen
Bobbejaan Schoepen was born in Boom, Flemish Region, Belgium on May 16th, 1925 and is the World Music Singer. At the age of 85, Bobbejaan Schoepen biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Bobbejaan Schoepen (a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen; 16 May 1925 – 17 May 2010) was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music.
Schoepen was a versatile entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, guitarist, comedian, actor, and professional whistler, as well as the founder and former director of the amusement park Bobbejaanland.
His musical career flourished from 1948 until the first half of the 1970s.
He sold more than five million copies from his repertoire of 482 songs, which extended from Twang, cabaret, instrumental film music, chansons, country, to folk and vocal music.
Born in Boom, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, he worked his way up from a working-class environment to become one of the 200 richest people in Belgium.Schoepen married Dutch former opera singer and photographer's model Josephina (Josée) Jongen on 18 May 1961.
They have five children: Robert ("Bob Jr.", 1962), Myriam (1963), Jacky (1964), Peggy (1968), and Tom (1970).
His son Tom became his manager in Belgium.
Early musical period
Modest Schoepen grew up in a smithy in Boom, Antwerp. His career started in the late 1930s when he and his sister Liesje performed vaudeville shows in the surrounding villages, going around with the hat collecting money afterwards. He had his first audition for radio, in 1944 in Brussels. In 1943 he undertook classical guitar instruction with guitarist Frans De Groodt (1892–1990).
That same year he had a memorable debut performance in the Ancienne Belgique of Brussels. In front of a full house he sang the South-African song, "Mama, ek wil 'n man hé". Nee mamma, née, 'n Duitseman, die wil ek nie. Want Schweinefleisch dit lus ek nie" ("Mommy, I want a husband. No mommy no, I don't want a German 'cause I don't like pig meat.") The song was perceived as being anti-German, provoking a few Nazis who were present at the show to take him away. The South African song is making reference to a 'German man'. The Ancienne Belgique was closed for three weeks. Shortly thereafter he was forced to go work in Germany. As an alternative he chose to sing for the Flemish workers doing compulsory labor. For this he was locked up for three months in the Dossin barracks in Mechelen from October 1944, without a hearing or a trial.
In 1945 he formed a duo with Kees Brug, a young man from his own village, with the name of "Two Boys and Two Guitars". They performed impersonations, poetry, South-African songs, and country music from Calais to Amsterdam, all with plenty of room for improvisation and adventure. The name "Bobbejaan" comes from the South-African song, "Bobbejaan klim die berg" ("Baboon Climbs the Mountain"). Schoepen took it as his artist name in 1945 or 1946.
In 1947 he came into contact with Jacques Kluger. Kluger asked Schoepen to entertain the American and Canadian troops during the Nuremberg Trials, and in Frankfurt and Berlin. Kluger was pleased to receive an unexpected, flattering letter from Major Mearker, and contracted Schoepen to go on tour in Germany for several months. In Berlin, which was still partly in ruins, his floor shows were also attended by the American general and military governor Lucius D. Clay, who asked him for two additional performances. These tours would further stimulate his country music tendencies.
In between these shows, Schoepen also gave occasional performances in his own country. While he initially did not wish to sing in Dutch, Kluger convinced him to record 'a Flemish record'. Schoepen's first recordings followed, and in 1948 "De Jodelende Fluiter" ("The Yodeling Whistler") became Schoepen's first hit. His breakthrough in the Netherlands also happened that year. Among his many performances, he was frequently asked to guest-star in the Netherlands.
Bobbejaan soon became the right man to work for the benefit of the Dutch. In 1949 he went on tour for the Dutch troops in Indonesia, performing 127 shows over the course of three months. He was decorated for courage and self-sacrifice by the Dutch government because he also performed for troops near the front line. Five days after returning home he began a 220-day tour through Belgium, playing nostalgic songs, such as the tried and true "De lichtjes van de Schelde" ("The Lights of the Scheldt") (1952), which is still an evergreen in Belgium today, Bobbejaan Schoepen quickly became one of the most popular artists in Flanders.
Awards and nominations Bobbejaan Schoepen
- 1949: Decorated "For courage and self-sacrifice" for his musical support of Dutch soldiers on the front lines in Indonesia, presented by General Baay, commander of Dutch troops in East Java, 1949.
- 1955: Chosen as best Flemish singer, won the "Grand Prize for Flemish Gramophone Recording" (BRT) in cooperation with Studio Gent. (15 March 1955)
- 1965: Education Artistique, diplôme de Croix d'Honneur de Chevalier. Presented by the Académie Nationale Artistique Littéraire et Scientifique in Paris (No 5177). (30 June 1965)
- 1978: Platinum record for 30 years of Flemish Hits, Telstar Holland, 1978.
- 1986: Companion of the Order of the Crown, presented by the Ministry of the Flemish Community. (9 April 1986)
- 1992: Bobbejaanland receives the "Brass Ring Award" (1st prize for best advertising brochure) from the IAAPA in Dallas (US).
- 1993: Sabam Prize-medal – Belgian Artistical Promotion. (19 January 1993)
- 1995: Sabam Prize-medal – Belgian Artistical Promotion. (26 September 1995)
- 1995: Knight of the Order of Leopold II, presented by the Ministry of the Flemish Community. (26 September 1995)
- 2000: Place of honour in the Radio 2 & Sabam Hall of Fame. (November 2000)
- 2000: "Ik heb eerbied voor jouw grijze haren" (nomination for the Radio2 Hall of Fame, 2000)
- 2005: "De lichtjes van de Schelde" (nomination for the Radio2 Hall of Fame, November 2005)
- 2006: "De lichtjes van de Schelde" (Radio 2 & Sabam Hall of Fame Award, November 2006)
- 2007: "Lifetime Achievement Award", ZAMU 2006. (13 February 2007)
- 2008: "Inducted into the US Whistlers Hall of Fame" presented by the International Whistlers Convention in Tokyo. (21 July 2008)
- 2009: Officer in the Order of the Crown, presented by the Ministry of the Flemish Community. (6 July 2009)
- 2009: First honorary citizen of Boom, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of this municipality. (2 October 2009)
- Overall: 25 Golden Records.