Johnny Rodrigues

Johnny Rodrigues (born João Rodrigues; 12 November 1951 – 2001) was a Capeverdean singer who became famous in The Netherlands. He made his number-one hit Hey mal yo which would the first single made by a Cape Verdean to reach the Dutch charts. His tracks were produced with the band Johnny & Orquestra Rodrigues, by Willem van Kooten.

Johnny Rodrigues
Born(1951-11-12)12 November 1951
Portuguese Cape Verde
Died2001(2001-00-00) (aged 49–50)
Cape Verde
Occupation(s)singer
Years active1974-2001

Biography

João Rodrigues was born in Cape Verde. In the beginning of the 1970s, when Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony, Angola fought a war of independence with Portugal. Rodrigues did not want to fight in Angola as Portuguese conscript, so he and his family emigrated to the United States. In 1974, he went on vacation to the Netherlands and adopted the English form of the first name and played as a DJ at the discothèque Ma Belle Amie in Scheveningen. Peter Tetteroo, owner of the disco discovered Rodrigues and chose to make a single. Not long after in 1975, he started producing songs including "Hey mal yo" which would be the first single made by a Cape Verdean to reach the Dutch chart and the Flemish charts of neighbouring Belgium, the single was the adaptation of the Portuguese folk dance O Malhão (pre-1990s spelling Ó Malhão). On the Dutch charts it remained for twelve weeks. When his "orchestra" appeared on stage, he stood along on stage. The second nickname is orquesta which is Spanish for orchestra, the Portuguese name is "orquestra". His two remaining singles were not as successful as his first, Hasbaba (1975) reached number 19 but number 24 in the national Hit Parade and "Uma casa portuguesa" (1977), a cover of a single by Amália Rodrigues reached number 31 and remained for just three weeks.

On december 27, 2019 journalist Leo Blokhuis announced on Dutch television that producer Willem van Kooten had admitted that the song Hey mal yo was plagiarised from the Brazilian singer Roberto Leal and it was actually his original recording.[1]

Musical legacy

In 2001, "Hey mal yo" was the 1,998th single in Radio 2's Top 2000 and the 883rd single in 2004.[2]

Discography

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions
NE
[3]		 BEL
(FL)
[4]
"Hey mal yo" 1975 11
"Hasbaba" 19—
"Uma casa portuguesa" 1977 31—

Radio 2 Top 2000 annual charts
Title 2001 2004
"Hey mal yo" 1,998 893
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References
  1. Willem van Kooten verzon verhaal achter nummer 1-hit Hey Mal Yo' nu.nl
  2. "Top 2000 singles" (in Dutch). Radio 2.
  3. "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. "Belgium Charts (Flemish)". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
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