THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,226) RO-D-YS — “You’d Better Take Care of Yourself”
The Dutch (Oude Pekela, Groningen) band’s first A-side (‘66) is a fantastic pop rock confection. “The nasal vocals . . . were striking, in English with a Groningen accent. The b]and . . . often communicated [with their Dutch producer] in English, because [he] did not understand the Groningen accent[!]” (Wikipedia (courtesy of Google Translate), https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro-d-Ys)
Richie Unterberger tells us that:
Stylistically, they favored, like many Dutch groups, a very British-influenced sound with a slightly raw and sardonic edge . . . . At various points, their songs (all written by lead singer and guitarist Harry Rijnbergen) incorporated prominent streaks of mod rock, soul, and late-’60s British pop-psychedelia, the lyrics often informed by archly phrased anti-establishment youth viewpoints. . . . When the Ro-d-y-s broke up at the end of the 1960s, some of the members, including Rijnbergen, were in another Dutch band, Zen.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ro-d-y-s-mn0000517865#biography
The band’s website adds (courtesy of Google Translate):
The Ro-d-Ys started their musical journey in 1965 as the Popular Pipers Boys Band at the ULO school in Oude Pekela, Groningen. With Harry Rijnbergen, Joop Hulzebos, Wiechert Kenter and Berend Groen as their core, they mainly played covers of bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. In 1966, Harry Rijnbergen, from De Sputniks, joined the trio and changed the band name to The Rowdies. When it turned out that another band with that name already existed, it eventually became Ro-d-Ys. With manager Wim Zomer at the helm, the band quickly began to gain national fame through frequent performances and efficient promotion. Harry Rijnbergen distinguished himself as a composer and singer, attracting the attention of record company Phonogram. Their first single “You Better Take Care of Yourself” was released in late 1966, followed by the hit “Take Her Home” in May 1967. The Ro-d-Ys rapidly released singles and toured Europe, but kept their home base in Oude Pekela, where they wrote new material in a farm. Their first album “Just Fancy” was critically acclaimed upon its release in September 1967. Despite line-up changes and an experimental album in 1968 called “Earnest Vocation”, the band’s popularity began to decline. After a series of less successful singles, the band split up in 1969. Harry Rijnbergen and Bennie Groen joined the Amsterdam band Zen.
Finally, Wikipedia (courtesy of Google Translate):
They were discovered by Wim Zomer, who attended drama school in Arnhem . . . . In the summer the band broke away from their then manager . . . who was a hotel, theater and cinema owner and mainly saw them as a suitable backing band for his son . . . . Zomer organized pop concerts in Arnhem under the Mod agogo label, thus giving the band their first performances outside the region. He also managed to interest Hans van Hemert, who worked for Phonogram, in the group. Van Hemert . . . took the group under his wing, and the first single You Better Take Care Of Yourself . . . was released in December 1966. . . . A number of singles followed in 1967, mainly played by Radio Veronica. The group toured Italy and England, and the records also sold well in Germany and Belgium. The first LP Just Fancy received good reviews. 1968 was supposed to be the big year for Ro-d-Ys. A concept album was planned under the title Earnest Vocation , which was based on the novel De kleine Johannes by Frederik van Eeden. Producer Van Hemert approached Bert Paige, who took care of the orchestration of the songs. The result of this production method was that only Rijnbergen could be heard as a band member on the recordings. The album, which fit into the psychedelic era of that moment, was well received, but the singles that were released from the album had little success.
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Wow, pretty good tune and impressive job on the vocals.
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