Wim De Craene

Wim De Craene 30 July 1950 Melle Belgium - 14 September 1990 Ghent Belgium Was A Belgian Singer And Composer Often Seen As Part Of The Theatre Arts Though He Also Experimented With Pop Music And Other Styles. His Most Famous Songs Are Rozane And Tim. Wim De Craene Was Born In A Catholic Family With Seven Children. At The Age Of Sixteen He Began To Travel. He Studied Nursing And Drama But Broke Off His Studies Prematurely. With The Income He Earned As A Sweep And A Barman De Craene Bought His First Guitar. In Late 60s He Was A Member Of The Flemish Folkgroup Ja And Was Discovered By Miel Cools. At Eighteen He Went To Amsterdam To Get To Live Closer To His Mentor Ramses Shaffy. Shaffy Let Him Perform In The Café-Chantant 'T Cloppertjen. As A Way Of Saying Thank You And Expressing His Admiration De Craene Named His Son Ramses. The Year 1975 Was His Most Successful Year As An Artist. Tim From His Album Alles Is Nog Bij Het Oude Rozane From His Album Brussel And His Duet With Della Bosiers Mensen Van 18 Became Hits. Considering The Subjects Of His Songs De Craene Was Usually Inspired By People He Knew. Because He Found That More People Would Feel Addressed When He Used Common First Names Many Of His Songs Bear Titles Such As Tim Marieke Kristien Elke Rikky Or Marcellino. Not All Of These Songs Are About People Who Bear That Name. Tim For Example Is About His Newborn Son Ramses But Because That Name Woudn't Fit The Melody De Craene Used The Name Of The Son Of One Of His Best Friends. Rozane Was Written For Actress Chris Thys The Sister Of Leah Thys. In 1977 De Craene Wrote His First Musical Help Ik Win Een Miljoen Help I'm Winning A Million . In The Second Half Of The 70s De Craene Popularity Decreased. In 1978 He Organized A Prestigious Concert In Wetteren Belgium For His New Album Wim De Craene Is Ook Nooit Weg But Barely 70 People Attended. The Singer Tried To Get Rid Of The Stigma 'theatre Arts' And Experimented With Different Musical Styles Such As Pop Rock Classical And Disco. On The Album Perte Total From 1980 He Mixed Rock Ballads And Electronic Music. Later That Decade He Was Also Inspired By New Wave. Unfortunately A Large Part Of These Experiments Weren't Popular And Many Of Them Are Generally Seen As Failures. The Experiments That Did Work However Are Still Cherished By Its Admirers. Yet De Craene Felt Misunderstood. In 1981 He Separated His Wife. In 1983 He Took Part In The Preselection For The Eurovision With The Song Kristien Looking For Recognition And Success. In A Tumultuous Finale Won By Pas De Deux He Ended Third. The Hit Breek Uit Jezelf Meant A Brief New Start In In 1987 But After That He Did Not Sell Well. In 1988 He Wrote His Second Musical John De Lichte. In 1990 Decraene Died. Officially He Committed Suicide By Swallowing An Overdose Of Antidepressants. It Is Generally Assumed That He Didn't Get Over A Broken Relationship. In 2005 His Son Ramses Declared In A Humo-Interview That He Has Always Had The Feeling His Father Was Murdered. Wim De Craene Received More Recognition After His Death Than During His Life. His Songs Are Still Played And Songs Such As De Kleine Man Tim Rozane Mensen Van 18 And Breek Uit Jezelf Are Now Recognized As Classics. Discography Albums
Wim De Craene 1973 Alles Is Nog Bij Het Oude 1975 Brussel 1975 Rozerood-Oranje 1975 Wim De Craene Is Ook Nooit Weg 1977 Perte Totale 1980 Kraaknet 1983 Via Dolorosa 1988 Singles
Recht Naar De Kroegen En De Wijven 1970 Portret Van Gisteren 1970 De Kleine Man 1974 Tim 1975 Rozane 1975 Marcellino 1976 Help Ik Win Een Miljoen 1978 St. Tropez 1980 Ravage 1980 Hoor 1982 Ik Kan Geen Kikker Van De Kant Afduwen 1982 Het Exuberante Leven Van Leentje De Vries 1982 Kristien 1983 Rikky 1983 Laat Me Met Je Meegaan 1983 Breek Uit Jezelf 1987 Vrijwillig 1988 Leen 1990 Enkel In Een Broekje 1990 read less