Manke Nelis (born Cornelis Pieters; 1919-1993) was a Dutch singer in the levenslied genre.

Career

Manke Nelis was born in Groenlo on 16 December 1919 and began his musical career as a bass player, often accompanying his brother-in-law, accordionist

Johnny Meijer Johnny Meijer (born 'Jan Cornelis Meijer' 1 October 1912 in Amsterdam; died 8 January 1992 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch accordionist who played classical, folk, and swing (genre), swing. For a time he was known as a jazz accordionist and his 75th b ...

. In the 1950s he performed under the stage name Carlo Pietro and started singing the Amsterdam ''levenslied''. A motorcycle accident in France and a subsequent medical error cost him a leg; he reportedly spent the more than 100,000 guilders he received as compensation within a year. His biggest hit was "Kleine Jodeljongen" in 1987. In 1987 he narrowly survived a bus crash on an American tour with Dutch artists, near

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He died of cancer 8 October 1993, at age 73.

Legacy

A statue of Manke Nelis was placed on the Johnny Jordaan Square off the Elandsgracht, in the company of statues for Johnny Jordaan,

Tante Leen Tante Leen ( English: Auntie Leen, January 28, 1912 — August 5, 1992), real name Helena Kok-Polder, later Helena Jansen-Polder, was a Dutch folk singer from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Together with her friend and colleague Johnny Jordaan, the tw ...

, and Johnny Meijer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelis, Manke 1919 births 1993 deaths Dutch levenslied singers Dutch guitarists Dutch double-bassists Dutch folk singers Musicians from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch male singers