Rob Hoeke (9 January 1939 – 6 November 1999) was a Dutch singer, pianist, composer and songwriter most famous for his renditions in the field of

Boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

releasing over 20 albums. Besides that he played and recorded in a musical variety of styles ranging from

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, Soul, Rock and

Rhythm & Blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

Biography

Rob Hoeke's most successful period was in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with his Rob Hoeke Rhythm & Blues Group. He scored hits with "Margio" (number 12 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

in 1966), "Drinking on My Bed" (number 11 in 1966) and "Down South" which would become Hoeke's signature tune and biggest hit reaching number 6 in 1970. His sole charting album was ''Four Hands Up'', a collaboration with fellow Boogie-woogie artist Hein van der Gaag which charted at number 7 in 1971. In 1974, Rob Hoeke lost two fingers in a gardening accident and his career all but seemed to be over. After a few years, he started playing and performing for audiences again but his heyday was over. He recorded many more albums, one with

Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician who first found prominence as the original keyboardist of the English rock band the Animals. He left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set; his hit singles with and without the group ...

from the Animals. Hoeke made a solo performance at the first Amsterdam Blues Festival in 1983 where his solo performance received a standing ovation from the audience of 1,100. Subsequently, he made his first solo album ''Jumpin' on the "88"'' for the

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

label in 1983. Rob Hoeke died in 1999 after a short illness.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Boogie Hoogie'' –

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, P12 930 L (1964) *''Save our Souls'' – Philips, XPY 855 039 (1967) *''Robby's Saloon'' – Philips, XPY 855 084 (1968) *''Celsius 232,8'' – Philips, XPY 855 087 (1969) *''Racing the Boogie'' – Philips, 861 822 LCY (1970) *''Full Speed'' – Philips, 6413 032 (1972) *''Rockin' the Boogie'' – Philips, 6401 053 (1973) *''Boogie Woogie Explosion'' – Polydor, 2925 086 (1979) *''Free and Easy'' – Universe, LS – 28 (1981) *'' Jumpin' on the "88"'' –

, OL 8005 (1984) *''& The Real Boogie Woogie'' – Down South Records, DS 92234 (1987) *''Boogie and Blues'' – Stiletto, RH 9187 (1987) *''& The Real Boogie Woogie'' – Down South Records, DS 92234 (1987) *''25 Years Rhythm & Blues And Boogie Woogie'' – CNR, 655.290–1 (1989)

Live albums

*''Boogie Woogie en Blues Live'' – CCS10-1 (1994) *''Boogie Woogie en Blues Live 2'' – RH9702 (1997)

Collaboration albums

*''Four Hands Up'' (with Hein van der Gaag) – Philips, 6413 013 (1971) *''Fingerprints'' (with Hein van der Gaag) – Philips, 6401 090 (1975) *''Two of a Kind'' (with

) –

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, 2925 064 (1977) *''Boogie on the Move'' (The Grand Piano Boogie Train: Jaap Dekker, Rob Hoeke and

Rob Agerbeek Robbert Arris Jules Agerbeek (28 September 1937 – 5 July 2023) was an Indo Dutch boogie-woogie and jazz pianist and winner of several jazz concourses in the Netherlands in the late 1950s. He was regarded as one of Europe's finest jazz pianist ...

) – Rodero Records, RDR 1295 (1997) *''Blues & Boogie Movin' On'' (The Grand Piano Boogie Train: Jaap Dekker, Rob Hoeke and

) – Rodero Records, RDR 1297 (1997)

References

External links

Official website Rob Hoeke

Rob Hoeke on Muziekweb

Rob Hoeke on AllMusic

Rob Hoeke on Rate Your Music

Rob Hoeke singles discography on NL Discografie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoeke, Rob 1939 births 1999 deaths Boogie-woogie pianists Boogie-woogie musicians Dutch male composers Dutch harmonica players Dutch blues musicians Philips Records artists Polydor Records artists Harmonica blues musicians Oldie Blues artists Musicians from Haarlem 20th-century Dutch pianists 20th-century Dutch composers