“As long as he doesn’t become a footballer,” Boudewijn de Groot sang in 1973 about his son Jimmy. He took the advice to heart and became a singer himself. “My father is usually not very enthusiastic.”
Interesting question: is a famous surname an advantage or a disadvantage? Ask Jordi Cruijff, who played football for FC Barcelona and Manchester United and yet always stood in the shadow of his father Johan. Or take Chris Jagger, in his youth a lot more musical than Mick, who was four years older, but ‘brother of’ for eternity.
“I saw Julian Lennon live in De Melkweg a long time ago, and I was always looking for comparisons between him and his father,” says Jim de Groot (51). “While I always said: I am my own person, I am very autonomous and you don’t always have to talk about my father. So yes… I think it is logical that the older audience in particular looks for parallels. It is inevitable.”
Especially if you are going to play Boudewijn de Groot’s repertoire.
“I have always liked those songs and that is why I have always sung them.”
And vice versa? What does your father think about that?
“I won’t ask about that anymore. He’s usually not very enthusiastic about these kinds of things. But I think it is true that he thinks: if anyone has to sing those songs, let it be Jim. This way he also receives some income from Buma Stemra, so that is a bonus.”
Together with singer Josee Koning you go on tour with a tribute to Lennaert Nijgh, your father’s regular lyricist.
“Yes, this is already our third program. Appropriate, because Lennaert also liked to make triptychs.”
How does it differ from the previous two?
“We’re only playing the big hits this time. Look, it’s been about fifteen years since Josee, an ex of Lennaert, suggested making a program about him. For various reasons, it took a while to get there. And it was very cool, but it lacked something of intimacy, of the small, homely feeling. We compensated for that in the second show, but then of course we kept getting questions like ‘why don’t you play that hit?’ and ‘why didn’t you do that song?’ That’s why we’ll end it with this. The title is not without reason Feast of Recognition. ”
You were still a child when Lennaert Nijgh came to visit you. What kind of man was he?
“Very withdrawn. A kind of hermit who moved among people, I sometimes thought. He seemed very unattainable, especially for a child. I always thought he hated children, but that turned out not to be so bad.”
He never adapted to civilian life.
“Lennaert had a boat on which he was the captain and all the sailors, because he usually had no one with him. Sometimes a few friends, but even then he always wanted to sail himself. I can see him in my mind, with his hands covered in oil and wearing those work clothes. It really didn’t look like much. And then you read his lyrics and you think: how is it possible that such small, sweet, fragile songs came out of such a man? That combination has always fascinated me.”
What do you think of him as a lyricist?
“The highest achievable in the Netherlands. I also say in the performance, and people continue to find it funny, that I only sing my own lyrics if they can compare with the worst things Lennaert has ever written. “That’s why you’ve never heard of me, because everything I write I immediately throw in the trash.” I never think it’s good enough.”
That seems like quite an obstacle to me.
“In our home, Lennaert was simply the standard, as if it were perfectly normal to write such texts. Only when I started working on it myself did I discover that this is far from normal. By the way, I don’t want to complain about it, but I am a lot less likely to make something public.”
Then you prefer to fall back on existing work.
“In 2008 I made a program with the Matangi Quartet about old Dutch music. I just love those texts, which nowadays are quickly dismissed as cabaret. But it was just the pop music of the time. I find it funny to see that the topics have hardly changed. The girls are sexy, the roads are too full of cars and I work so hard, but I don’t earn enough. Oh yes, and I want to leave my wife, but I love her so much.”
Exactly the same topics as now.
“But often better expressed. I once started writing for the radio. Every time I heard something that made me think ‘this can’t be possible’, I wrote it down. At a certain point it was impossible to keep up. So sometimes it is difficult not to be wronged. On the other hand, it is a waste of energy to begrudge someone else’s success.”
Back to the oeuvre of Lennaert Nijgh. Is there a text that stands out for you?
,, The Spaarne. ”
That came out very quickly.
“It has been at the top for me for years. Especially that closing sentence: The Spaarne flows, but not past the locks, it ends nameless in a side canal. So then you have composed an entire song about a river that is so important to you, that you love so much, and then you put it all into perspective with one understated sentence. It ends nameless in a side channel. Like, in fact, all of us.”
Performances
Jim de Groot (vocals, guitar) and Josee Koning (vocals) to play Feast of Recognition, Lennaert Nijgh’s greatest hits with Hans Vroomans or Marcus Olgers (keyboards) and Ed Verhoeff (guitar). Playlist: 13/3 Ogterop, Meppel; 23/3 Theater Sneek, Sneek; 3/3 DNK, Assen; 14/4 De Koornbeurs, Franeker.
Career
Jim de Groot (1972) was best known for his theater work. His first role in 1997 as John Lennon in the musical Nilsson was immediately loudly applauded. This was followed by, among other things: Hair, Fame, Rent, The Wiz, The Blues Brothers and, at Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Carmen. He appeared in various TV series and in 2015 the role of Jesus The Passion. He also made music with his band Babyface Armstrong. De Groot also produced several of his own theater productions, including The Little Man and Musical Master Classes. Jim de Groot is the younger half-brother of musician Marcel de Groot and actress Caya de Groot.