Mariska Veres

Mariska Veres was born as Maria Elisabeth Ender on October 1, 1947, in The Hague, Netherlands. She became one of the most remarkable Dutch singers in pop music history. With her dark appearance, long black hair, powerful voice, and mysterious stage presence, she became the face of the legendary band Shocking Blue during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Mariska came from a musical family. Her father was a Hungarian violinist with Romani roots, while her mother had German, French, and Russian ancestry. Music played an important role in her life from an early age. During the 1960s, she sang with several bands from The Hague, including Les Mystères, The Bumble Bees, and The Motowns. Her talent quickly gained attention within the Dutch music scene.

In 1968, she received her big breakthrough when she was invited to join Shocking Blue as the new lead singer. The band’s original singer, Fred de Wilde, had to fulfill his military service, and Mariska took his place. With her arrival, both the sound and image of the band changed dramatically. A year later, Shocking Blue achieved worldwide fame with the song “Venus.” In 1970, the track reached number one on the American Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the biggest international hits ever produced by a Dutch band.

Besides “Venus,” Shocking Blue released several other successful songs, including “Send Me a Postcard,” “Never Marry a Railroad Man,” and “Love Buzz.” The latter gained renewed fame years later when the American band Nirvana recorded it as one of their earliest singles.

Although Mariska achieved worldwide fame, she remained a rather private person. After Shocking Blue disbanded in 1974, she pursued a solo career. She released several singles and later experimented with jazz music in her project The Shocking Jazz Quintet. However, she never matched the enormous success she had achieved with Shocking Blue.

Mariska Veres passed away on December 2, 2006, in The Hague after suffering from gallbladder cancer. She was only 59 years old. Her death marked the end of an era for many music fans. To this day, she is remembered as an icon of Dutch pop music and one of the most recognizable voices of the Nederbeat movement.

The song that you can hear this week is :
Lovin’ You