Piet Souer

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Piet Souer
Bernadette met Martin Duiser (l) producer, en Piet Souer (r), Bestanddeelnr 932-5105.jpg
Martin Duiser, Bernadette and Piet Souer (1983)
Background information
Born (1948-03-29) 29 March 1948 (age 76)
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Origin Netherlands
Genres
Occupations
  • Songwriter
  • producer
  • arranger
Years active1969–present

Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Souer (born 29 March 1948) is a Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger. Through his collaborations with acts such as Luv', Mouth & MacNeal, Liesbeth List, Ramses Shaffy, American Gypsy, and Champagne, he has achieved twenty-two gold and platinum records, a Conamus Export Prize, and an 'Outstanding Song Award' for his composition "Too Young To Know", performed by Anita Meyer at World Popular Song Festival in Japan in 1981. [1]

Contents

Debut

Piet Souer (a guitar and keyboard player) started his career as a member of The Valiants, a rock band from Eindhoven. His breakthrough happened when he played guitar on "De troubadour", [2] a track performed by Lenny Kuhr, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. The next year, Kuhr, bassist Paul Reekers and Souer were the supporting act of Georges Brassens during his tour in France.

Producer, arranger, songwriter and conductor

In the early 1970s, he scored, as a songwriter and an arranger, moderate hits such as "I'm The Grand Pretender" and "Keep On Dancing" (performed by Cardinal Point) and "Angel Eyes" (performed by American Gypsy) as well as successful chart toppers in the Netherlands including "Te Veel Te Vaak" (by Liesbeth List) and "Samen" (by Liesbeth List & Ramses Shaffy).

In 1976, he recorded with the conductor Harry van Hoof the album Strings by Candlelight (certified gold in the Netherlands). Then, he produced hit records for popular Dutch acts such as Champagne (1977 Export Award), [3] Doris D. & The Pins, Vanessa, American Gypsy, Mouth & MacNeal, Anita Meyer, Maywood, Conquistador. He also collaborated with international artists including Vicky Leandros, Helen Shapiro, Katie Kissoon and Engelbert Humperdinck.

In 1982, Sylvie Vartan sang one of his composition ("La Sortie de Secours"), which was released as a single and was a French cover version of "I'm So Sorry" (originally performed by José Hoebee). The same year, British pop group Tight Fit covered "Fantasy Island" (one of his songs originally performed by The Millionaires) which became a UK Top 5 hit and a European Top 10 hit.

Luv'

In 1976, he teamed up with producer Hans van Hemert and manager Han Meijer (later replaced by Pim Ter Linde) to form a female pop trio: Luv'. Van Hemert and him wrote songs for the girl group (under the pseudonym Janschen & Janschens). In the late 1970s, Luv' had popular hit singles (such as "You're The Greatest Lover", "Trojan Horse" or "Casanova") in Benelux, German-speaking countries, Denmark, Spain, France, South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico. This international success made Luv' win a Conamus Export Prize in 1979. [4] [5] This formation sold seven million records (singles and albums). [6]

Eurovision Song Contest

Souer composed two songs for the Eurovision Song Contest: "Sing Me a Song" by Bernadette (in 1983) and "De eerste keer" by Maxine & Franklin Brown (in 1996). Both of them reached seventh position in the Contest.

TV jingles and film soundtracks

Souer has composed many film soundtracks and television jingles.

Scores for TV programs including:

He composed Bel canto themes for the NCRV show Una Voce Particolare [7] hosted by Ernst Daniel Smid. [8] His collaboration with Smid includes the Top 5 album Gevoel van Geluk.

Film soundtracks including:

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramses Shaffy</span> Dutch singer and actor

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann-Maria (song)</span> 1980 single by Luv

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<i>With Luv</i> 1978 studio album by Luv

With Luv' is the first album by the Dutch girl group Luv', released in August 1978 by Phonogram/Philips Records. It includes the hit singles "My Man", "U.O.Me" and the million-seller "You're the Greatest Lover. Some pressings of this album includes "Trojan Horse", a successful European chart topper. In 2006, this LP was reissued in digitally remastered form by Universal Music Netherlands as part of the Completely in Luv' box set.

<i>Lots of Luv</i> 1979 studio album by Luv

Lots of Luv' is the second album by Dutch girl group Luv', released in May 1979 by Philips Records/Phonogram. It features the hit singles Casanova and Eeny Meeny Miny Moe, which maintained Luv's position as the best Dutch export act of 1979. In 2006, this LP was reissued in digitally remastered form by Universal Music Netherlands as part of the Completely in Luv' box set and featured the popular chart topper "Trojan Horse".

<i>True Luv</i> 1979 studio album by Luv

True Luv' is the third album by Dutch girl group Luv', released in December 1979 by CNR/Carrere Records. It includes the hit singles "Ooh, Yes I Do" and "Ann-Maria" scored in the charts of European countries and also in a new territory: Mexico. In 1980, Luv's record company decided to re-issue the album by changing the track listing. The songs "Cloud nr.9" and "Let There Be Love" were replaced by "One More Little Kissie" and "I Win It". In 2006, this LP has been reissued in digitally remastered form by Universal Music Netherlands as part of the Completely in Luv' box set.

<i>Forever Yours</i> (Luv album) 1980 studio album by Luv

Forever Yours is the fourth album by Dutch girl group Luv', released in November 1980 by the labels CNR/Carrere Records. It includes the hit singles "One More Little Kissie", "My Number One" and "Tingalingaling". This opus features a new group's member Ria Thielsch who replaced Patty Brard. It was Luv''s last record to benefit from a real international release in more than thirty countries. In 2006, this LP has been reissued in digitally remastered form by Universal Music Netherlands as part of the Completely in Luv' box set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liesbeth List</span> Dutch singer (1941–2020)

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<i>Greatest Hits</i> (1990 Luv album) Album by Luv

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Dutch girl group Luv' released by Mercury Records/Phonogram Records. It is the CD version of their 1979 Greatest Hits album which came out ten years earlier, including a bonus track: "Luv' Hitpack". It features hit singles scored in the charts between 1977 and 1979: "My Man", "U.O.Me", "You're the Greatest Lover", "Trojan Horse", "Casanova" and "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe". These songs originate from their first and second studio albums, With Luv' (1978) and Lots of Luv' (1979). The Phonogram years were the group's most successful ones in terms of chart performance as Luv' reached the Top 10 in a dozen of countries in the late 1970s.

<i>Completely in Luv</i> 2006 box set by Luv

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<i>Youre the Greatest Lover</i> (album) 1998 greatest hits album by Luv

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<i>25 Jaar Na Waldolala</i> 2003 greatest hits album by Luv

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The Buma Export Award was a prize given to the Dutch artists who sold the most records abroad between 1972 and 2011. In 2013, this prize was replaced by the Buma ROCKS! Export Award that focused on rock artists and the Buma Award Internationaal. The latter award is presented yearly during the Buma Awards ceremony.

References

  1. "WPSF1981". Users.telenet.be. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  2. "Sanoma − Home". Troubadour.web-log.nl. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  3. "Buma Awards". Bumaharpengala.nl. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  4. "Buma Awards". Bumaharpengala.nl. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  5. Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Total record sales mentioned at page 10 of CD booklet of 25 Jaar Na Waldolala written by Skip Voogd
  7. Archived December 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Home | Ernst Daniël Smid, Bariton, Opera zanger, Unavoce en meer". Ernstdanielsmid.nl. 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2014-05-20.

Bibliography