38 Facts About Bobbejaan Schoepen

Bobbejaan Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music.

Bobbejaan Schoepen 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.

Modest Bobbejaan Schoepen grew up in a smithy in Boom, Antwerp.

Bobbejaan Schoepen's 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.

Bobbejaan Schoepen had his first audition for radio, in 1944 in Brussels.

The name "Bobbejaan Schoepen" comes from the South-African song, "Bobbejaan Schoepen klim die berg".

Bobbejaan Schoepen took it as his artist name in 1945 or 1946.

Kluger asked Bobbejaan 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 Bobbejaan Schoepen to go on tour in Germany for several months.

In between these shows, Bobbejaan Schoepen gave occasional performances in his own country.

Bobbejaan Schoepen soon became the right man to work for the benefit of the Dutch.

Bobbejaan Schoepen was decorated for courage and self-sacrifice by the Dutch government because he 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", which is still an evergreen in Belgium today, Bobbejaan Schoepen quickly became one of the most popular artists in Flanders.

Bobbejaan Schoepen toured in at least twenty different countries, together with artists such as Josephine Baker, Caterina Valente, Gilbert Becaud, and Toots Thielemans.

Bobbejaan Schoepen is one of the first Europeans to have appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, one of the most important centers of country music in the United States.

When Jacques Brel performed the opening act in the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels in January 1955, Bobbejaan Schoepen already had the status of an international vedette in his own country.

Bobbejaan Schoepen recorded albums at RCA Records with the producer Steve Sholes.

Bobbejaan Schoepen decided no longer to pursue his success in the US.

Bobbejaan Schoepen was rushed by his manager Jacques Kluger from the US to Germany in order to take part in the event.

Bobbejaan Schoepen is rumoured not to have known which song he was to perform at the Contest until he arrived, only rehearsing his entry a few days before performance.

Bobbejaan Schoepen toured frequently in Germany and Austria with Caterina Valente and Dalida, among others.

In 1965 it earned Bobbejaan Schoepen, who wrote the music, an artistic 'Diploma of the Croix d'Honneur' in Paris.

In 1958, Bobbejaan Schoepen purchased a big circus tent to be able to tour more efficiently in his own country.

Bobbejaan Schoepen took over the two-master circus tent from the Tondeur family, who were finding it difficult to keep their performances profitable.

Bobbejaan Schoepen was handed the organizational reins and the circus again began to flourish.

Bobbejaan Schoepen used the horse for many years for stunts in his shows and as an attraction during his cavalcades, but the horse stepped on an exposed electricity cable and died.

Bobbejaan Schoepen focused his attention solely on the business aspect of the park, slowly pushing his musical career into the background.

Bobbejaan Schoepen's performances became a rarity but Bobbejaanland, which he operated with his family, developed into one of the top amusement parks in the Benelux region.

Bobbejaan Schoepen did continue singing, albeit with more streamlined shows, which inevitably gave way to the routine of the amusement park.

Bobbejaan Schoepen's life was not without its difficulties: he was thrown into prison twice during wartime, he lost his virtuoso whistling ability due to a surgical intervention, and in 1986 he underwent a serious heart operation.

The Bobbejaan Schoepen family chose the more certain path, which seemed evident to the founder.

Bobbejaan Schoepen was considered to be the artistic attraction of the park; his wife Josee was a leading figure and the commercial backbone; and her sister Louise was the solid foundation with respect to accounting and finances.

Bobbejaan Schoepen recovered from his illness and was again engaged in music.

That month, with the efforts of his son Tom Schoepen, Bobbejaan Records was brought back to life.

On 13 February 2007, with much media attention, Bobbejaan Schoepen received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels for his successful career as a singer, musician, and for his pioneering work in Belgian music history.

The idea for this project originated with music producer Firmin Michiels and the Dead Man Ray-tour in 1999, but the idea was shelved when Bobbejaan Schoepen was diagnosed with cancer.

The album was recorded with five Belgian musicians in Bobbejaan Schoepen's living room; he would have to deal with various health issues throughout the recording sessions.

Bobbejaan Schoepen died on 17 May 2010, the day after his 85th birthday, from cardiac arrest.