Carola Sier-Smit (born 1 September 1963) is a Dutch singer and was a member of Dutch pop band BZN from 1984 until 2007 when the band disbanded.
Smit was born Volendam, and began her musical career in 1980 (at age 17), when she joined the band Double Trouble. When she was with that band, she released her first single Never Loved This Way Before. In 1982, she released her second single Tell Me. In 1983 the band was renamed Friends. At the same time, she was asked to join BZN to replace previous member Anny Schilder. This change was, however, kept secret. [ citation needed ] They recorded the song If I say the words and the album Reflections in secret, but the news of Schilder leaving BZN was leaked, and Schilder appeared on TV explaining her reasons for leaving the band. On 22 March 1984 BZN appeared for the first time on TV with Carola Smit in a TV special where Schilder presented Smit to the audience as her successor. The first performance of Smit with BZN on TV was on 2 April 1984 during the Ted Show. Smit remained the co-lead singer, with Jan Keizer (singer) of BZN until 2007 when the band announced they were to stop recording and performing.
On 20 April 1987, at age 23, Smit suffered a stroke, which left her paralyzed down her right side. It was big news on TV and in newspapers. Initially it looked like this would be the end of her singing career, but she quickly showed some signs of improvement, and she was able to leave the hospital after three weeks. She did several months of intensive rehabilitation, and on August 18 of the same year, Smit appeared on television with BZN, and was back on stage from October 17. Before her illness, Smit had performed gymnastics at a high amateur level for a long time, but her illness forced her to stop. [ citation needed ]
When it was announced that BZN would disband, it was clear that Keizer was the driving force behind this, while Smit has tried to convince him to continue. This was reported in De Telegraaf.
Initially Smit indicated she would continue singing, and would form a band with BZN-keyboard player Dick Plat and guitarist Jan Stroek as Carola Smit & Friends. On 4 April 2008 Smit released her first solo-single titled With you (I'm in Heaven). The song entered the Download Top 10 of Radio Station 538 at number 1. She released an album on 24 April 2008 titled Carola Smit, which initially did well in the charts, but plummeted quickly.
In December 2008 she performed several Christmas concerts together with Danny Malando.
In 2009 she reposted via her website that she was ending her solo career with Carola Smit & Friends. She also announced she would only continue singing in an amateur band called Get Back Live.
In October 2012 Smit took part in the 15-jaar jubileumsconcerten for Jan Smit (singer) in Rotterdam Ahoy. Jan Smit started his career by singing a duet for BZN with Carola Smit in 1996 called Mama, which they performed together during these concerts.
In Spring 2014 Smit started performing again with Dick Plat in theaters. They presented a nostalgic song program, which is accompanied by historic images pertaining to world news from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
In 2018 Smit performed six concerts in theaters in the Dutch province Drenthe together with Dick Plat and René Karst. The concert is titled Letter voor Letter, and it focuses on learning how to read and write. In 2019/2020 they continued this show, this time in the Dutch province Overijssel.
Patsy Cline was an American singer from the state of Virginia. She is considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and was one of the first country music artists to cross over into pop music. Cline had several major hits during her eight-year recording career, including two number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides chart.
Edam-Volendam is a municipality in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, primarily consisting of the towns of Edam and Volendam. It is situated on the western shore of the Markermeer, just north of Waterland. In 2021, it had a population of 36,268.
Carola Maria Häggkvist, commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish pop singer. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music. Her debut album, Främling (1983), sold around one million copies and remains the biggest-selling album in Swedish music history. She has also worked as a songwriter. During her career, she has recorded many top-selling albums and singles and is referred to as Sweden's most prominent female singer. Some of her biggest hits are "Främling", "Tommy tycker om mig", "Fångad av en stormvind", "All the Reasons to Live", "I Believe in Love", "Genom allt", and "Evighet". She has released records in various languages: Swedish, Dutch, German, English, Norwegian and Japanese.
Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project was originally called Agua de Annique, but now goes by her own name.
Volendam is a tourist town in the municipality of Edam-Volendam, province of North Holland, Netherlands, known for its streets, old fishing boats and the traditional clothing worn by some residents. The women's costume of Volendam, with its high, pointed bonnet, is one of the most recognizable of the Dutch traditional costumes, and is often featured on tourist postcards and posters. As of 1 January 2021, it has a population of 22,715. It is twinned with Coventry, England.
Jacqueline Govaert is a Dutch singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is best known as the leader of Dutch band Krezip. After Krezip disbanded in 2009, Govaert started a solo music career. She released her debut album Good Life in August 2010.
BZN was a Dutch pop group that had a string of hits from 1966 to 2007 on. BZN recorded mostly in English and French, but also had success with material in Dutch and German.
Kaliopi Bukle, known professionally as Kaliopi, is a Macedonian singer-songwriter. In her career, Kaliopi has progressed from singing lead vocal with her eponymous band in 1980s Yugoslavia to being an established vocalist and composer working in North Macedonia and across former Yugoslavia. She represented Macedonia twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, first in 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan with "Crno i belo" and a second time in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden with the song "Dona".
Jan Smit is a Dutch singer, television host, and actor. Smit mostly sings songs in the Dutch language, in a genre known as palingsound. In addition to his solo career, in 2015 Smit joined the schlager trio KLUBBB3, and in 2017 The Toppers. As a TV presenter, he has worked on programs like the Beste Zangers and Sterren Muziekfeest op het Plein Since 1999, Smit has been serving as an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages.
The Cats were a Dutch rock band formed in Volendam in 1964.
Edsilia Francisca Rombley is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show Soundmixshow, later winning the European Soundmix Show as well the following year.
Jan Keizer is a Dutch singer and composer, best known as one of the singers of the popband BZN.
Simon Nicolaas (Simon) Keizer is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Together with Nick Schilder, he formed a duo called Nick & Simon.
Beste Zangers, formerly De beste zangers van Nederland, is a Dutch reality television show by public broadcaster AVROTROS. The first series was aired between 5 July and 30 August 2009 and was hosted by Edsilia Rombley. She was first replaced by singer and actor Victor Reinier before Jan Smit became the permanent host from 2012 to 2019.
Toni Willé is a Dutch country pop artist who was lead vocalist of the band, Pussycat.
Piet Veerman is a Dutch pop musician. From 1964 to 1985 he was a guitarist and singer for The Cats, and since 1968 the lead singer for all the singles of this band. He released a first solo album in 1975 but started his solo career definitely in 1987 after The Cats broke up for the last time. During his career, Veerman received more than thirty gold records.
Anny Schilder is a Dutch pop singer, and was the lead singer of BZN from 1976 to 1984.
"Mon Amour" is a 1976 French-language song by Dutch pop group BZN. Released in September, as Negram - Netherlands - NG 2141, it was the band's breakthrough and first #1 chart hit, the second being "Pearly Dumm" in 1980. The song was written by Th. Tol and J. Keizer, produced by Roy Beltman, arranged by Gerard Stellaard. The B-side was a Th. Tol and J. Tuyp composition, "Memories". The song held at #1 hit parade ranking for five weeks. A video for the song showed Anny Schilder and drummer-turned-vocalist Jan Keizer singing the song to holidaymakers on a beach.
Petra Berger, born Petronella Burger, is a Dutch classical crossover singer, composer, and musical actress.
Paulette McWilliams is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career singing with the bands The American Breed and Rufus, and has appeared as a backing vocalist on recordings and on tour for numerous artists. She worked with Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, The Jacksons, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and as a member of Bette Midler's backing group the Harlettes, among many others.