Carel Verbrugge (14 October 1926 – 18 February 1985), known as Willy Alberti, was a Dutch singer, who sang in Dutch and Italian. He was also an actor and a radio and TV personality. Alberti was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

as the third of eight children to Jacobus Wilhelm Verbrugge and Sophia Jacoba van Musscher. He sang with family members at a very young age. He began recording professionally in the early 1940s. In 1944 he married Ria Kuiper, and his daughter

Willeke Alberti Willy Albertina Verbrugge (born 3 February 1945), known as Willeke Alberti, is a Dutch singer and actress, the daughter of entertainer and singer Willy Alberti (1926–1985) and Hendrika Geertruida Kuiper (1921–2011). Biography Alberti starte ...

, later to become a successful Dutch vocalist herself, was born in 1945. After the war Alberti established himself in the Netherlands with Italian songs; he became increasingly popular in the 1950s, when he had a string of hits beginning with '' Nel blu dipinto di blu'' in 1958. In the 1960s he began to act alongside his daughter Willeke; as a duo, they also scored hits on the Dutch charts. From 1965 father and daughter presented a popular monthly television show for the

AVRO Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...

. Alberti won two

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

s in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Alberti's fame began to decline, though he did score a few more hits. In 1984, Alberti was diagnosed with

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

, and he died in Amsterdam on 18 February of the following year, aged 58. He was cremated at the Westgaarde Crematorium in Amsterdam.

Dutch singles

;Pre-Top 40 *Ik zing dit lied voor jou alleen 1946 *Veel mooier dan het mooiste schilderij 1946 *Droomland 1950 with Ans Heidendaal *Ci-ciu-ci 1955 *Mijn sprookjesboek 1955 *Vivere 1955 * Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare) 1958 #4 * Come prima 1958 #2 * Piove 1959 #1 *Li per li 1959 *Una marcia infa 1959 #3 *

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

1959 #1 (US: Billboard: #42 Cash Box: #12)first week
and

*Romantica 1960 #14 *

Quando quando quando "Quando quando quando" (or "Quando, Quando, Quando", ; "When, When, When") is an Italian pop song from 1962, in the bossa nova style, with music written by Tony Renis and lyrics by Alberto Testa. The song, originally recorded in two different ...

1962 #11 *Sei rimasta sola 1963 #8 with Willeke Alberti *Sabato sera 1964 #44 with Willeke Alberti ;Top 40 *Dat afgezaagde zinnetje 1967 #2 with Willeke Alberti *Mooi Amsterdam 1968 with

Wim Sonneveld Willem "Wim" Sonneveld (; 28 June 1917 – 8 March 1974) was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is considered to be one of the 'Great Three' of Dutch cabaret. Sonneveld is generally viewed as a Dutch c ...

*De glimlach van een kind 1968 #26 * Ajax olé olé olé (je bent mijn glorie) 1969 *Chi-ri-bi-ri-bin pom pom pom 1969 with Willeke Alberti *Een reisje langs de Rijn 1969 with Willeke Alberti *

We gaan naar Londen "We gaan naar Londen" (; English: We're going to London) is a Levenslied song by Willy Alberti sung with the Supporters of the Dutch association football club AFC Ajax from Amsterdam which was released on CNR Music in 1971. The song is the A-side ...

1971 #17 *Juliana bedankt 1980 #18 *Niemand laat z'n eigen kind alleen 1983 #5 with Willeke Alberti *Liefde 1987 #38 *De glimlach van een kind (new version) 1995 #34 with Willeke Alberti *Jij bent het leven voor mij 1997 #32 with

André Hazes André Gerardus Hazes (30 June 1951 – 23 September 2004) was a Dutch singer and actor. As an accomplished levenslied singer, Hazes recorded 36 studio and live albums, and 55 singles prior to his death in 2004. His music is still well-known in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberti, Willy 1926 births 1985 deaths Dutch levenslied singers Dutch male television actors Male actors from Amsterdam Musicians from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch male actors 20th-century Dutch male singers Deaths from liver cancer in the Netherlands