Bobbejaan Schoepen
| Bobbejaan Schoepen | |
|---|---|
ca. 1943
|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Modest Schoepen |
| Born | 16 May 1925 |
| Origin | Boom, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium |
| Died | 17 May 2010 (aged 85) |
| Genres |
Twang Folk Pop Country Cabaret Film music |
| Instruments |
Vocals Guitar Art whistling Ukulele Harmonica Yodeling |
| Years active | 1935–2010 |
| Labels | Decca Records, World Music Company, Sony BMG, EMI, PIAS, Bobbejaan Records |
| Website | Bobbejaan Schoepen website |
Bobbejaan Schoepen (a pseudonym of Modest Schoepen; 16 May 1925 – 17 May 2010) was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music. Schoepen was a versatile entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, guitarist, comedian, actor, and professional whistler, as well as the founder and former director of the amusement park, Bobbejaanland. His musical career flourished from 1948 until the first half of the 1970s. He sold more than five million copies from his repertoire of 482 songs, which extended from Twang, cabaret, instrumental film music, chansons, country, to folk and vocal music. Born in Boom, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, he worked his way up from a working-class environment to become one of the 200 richest people in Belgium.
Schoepen married Dutch former opera singer and photographer's model Josephina (Josée) Jongen on 18 May 1961. They have five children: Robert ("Bob Jr.", 1962), Myriam (1963), Jacky (1964), Peggy (1968), and Tom (1970). His son Tom became his manager in Belgium.
Modest Schoepen grew up in a smithy in Boom, Antwerp. His career started in the late 1930s when he and his sister Liesje performed vaudeville shows in the surrounding villages, going around with the hat collecting money afterwards. He had his first audition for radio, in 1944 in Brussels. In 1943 he undertook classical guitar instruction with guitarist Frans De Groodt (1892–1990).
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