Bonnie St. Claire
Bonnie St. Claire (born Bonje Cornelia Swart, 18 November 1949) is a Dutch singer and actress who has a recording history that began in the 1960s and went through to the 1990s. She was part of the trio Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy, and part of the duo Bonnie & José (nl) with José Hoebee.
Bonnie St. Claire | |
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St. Claire performing in Nationaal Songfestival 1982 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Bonje Cornelia Swart |
Also known as | Bonny St. Claire[1] |
Born | Rozenburg, Netherlands | 18 November 1949
Genres | Pop. rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
Years active | 1966-present |
Labels | Philips,[1] Columbia,[2] Mercury,[3] RCA[4] |
Associated acts | Unit Gloria (nl) Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy Bonnie & Gerard Bonnie & José |
Life and career
St. Claire was born as Bonje Cornelia Swart in Rozenburg on 18 November 1949. She was born on a boat and is the daughter of a barge skipper. Her career began in 1966 when at a Peter Koelewijn concert, she was invited to come up on stage and sing with him.[5]
In 1970 she had a hit with "I Won't Stand Between Them" which peaked at No. 6 in the Netherlands and spent eleven weeks in the charts.[6] In 1979, she was part of a trio called Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy who released a single called "Oh Boy" which was written and produced by Peter Koelewijn.[7] In addition to herself, the trio included Debbie aka Ria Schildmeyer, and Rosy Pereira.[8][9] She had a string of hits in the Netherlands, including Dokter Bernhard (1976), Pierrot (1980), Bonnie kom je buiten spelen (1980) and Vlieg nooit te hoog (1981). She also scored a hit with a translation of the Bette Midler song The Rose (song), translates as De Roos (1980) [10]. Later St. Claire would join José Hoebee as part of the duo Bonnie & José and would have a degree of success in the Netherlands. The two singers were under the same management and they soon became friends and started socializing with each other. In 1984 they enjoyed a top 40 hit with "Cassandra" which had previously been recorded by ABBA. They also recorded an album of Abba songs which was approved by Björn Ulvaeus.[11][12]
In 2010, St. Claire and Gerard Joling had a hit in the Netherlands with "Morgen Wordt Alles Anders" as Bonnie & Gerard. The song peaked at no. 2 and spent nine weeks in the charts.[13][14]
References
- "Bonny St. Claire – I Surrender / Come Home". Discogs. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- "Bonny St. Claire – Kai-Uwe Schmidt / Entweder - Oder". Discogs. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- "Bonnie St. Claire – Pierrot". Discogs. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- "Bonnie & José – Herinnering". Discogs. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- muziekweb Bonnie St. Claire, Biografie
- Dutch Charts I Won't Stand Between Them
- Swedishcharts.com Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy - Oh Boy (song)
- Muziek Encyclopedie Biografie Debbie
- NLDiscografie.nl Bonnie St. Claire
- "Bonnie St. Clair on Discogs". Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- Stars of 80s Dance Pop – The European Edition By James Arena
- NLDiscografie.nl Bonnie & José
- Dutch Charts Bonnie & Gerard - Morgen wordt alles anders
- Songteksten.net Gerard Joling Morgen Wordt Alles Anders