Rob de Nijs

Rob de Nijs (26 December 1942 – 16 March 2025) was a Dutch singer and actor.

Life and career

De Nijs, supported by The Lords, won a talent contest in 1962 and in the same year released his first single, "Ritme van de Regen", which was a great success. The Lords signed in 1965 with another label, prompting De Nijs to part ways with them and embark on a joint circus tour with Johnny Lion. By 1967, De Nijs was a free agent; he performed at small venues and worked as a bartender for a living. His attempts to keep up with the zeitgeist, including "Bye Bye Mrs. Turple", failed; he only made the headlines by marrying his girlfriend Elly. De Nijs competed in 1969 the Dutch heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, and through musicals like Sajjuns Fiksjen he secured a role in the children's TV series Oebele and Hamelen in the latter of which he played Bertram Bierenbroodspot. Singer Boudewijn de Groot and songwriter Lennaert Nijgh helped him relaunch his singing career, and in 1973 he was back in the charts with "Jan Klaassen de Trompetter".

The hits continued through 1975 and 1976, notably "Malle Babbe" and "Zet een Kaars voor Je Raam" (a Dutch translation by Lennaert Nijgh of David McWilliams's "Can I Get There by Candlelight?"). In 1977 De Nijs released Tussen Zomer en Winter, a concept album chronicling the change from a hot summer's day to a cold winter's night, which starts with the hit song "Het Werd Zomer", a translation from the Peter Maffay song "Und Es War Sommer", and ending with "In De Winter", a translation of the Janis Ian song "In The Winter". The album also features translations of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" and The Beach Boys' "Disney Girls (1957)".