Ben Cramer

Ben Cramer
Ben Cramer in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Ben Kramer
Born	(1947-02-17) 17 February 1947 (age 77)
Origin	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genres	Pop, musical theatre
Occupation(s)	Singer
Website	Ben Cramer

Ben Cramer (born Bernardus Kramer; 17 February 1947) is a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest.

Music career

Early years

Cramer was born in Amsterdam. He made his television debut in 1966 with his backing group the Spaklings, and was spotted by singer Annie de Reuver, who helped him obtain a record deal. In 1967, his first single, "Zai zai zai", became a hit, reaching No. 7 on the Dutch chart. The follow-up "Dans met mij" also peaked at No. 7, and he would have a string of successful records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His most fondly-remembered record is "De Clown" from 1971.^[1]

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1970, Cramer took part in the Dutch Eurovision selection with the song "Julia", which came fourth.

Cramer returned to Eurovision in 1981 with two songs, "Marianne" and "Retour", in the Dutch selection, but both finished well down the field.^[5]

Cramer was associated with the 1988 Contest providing radio commentary for Dutch listeners.

Later career

Cramer continued to enjoy periodic chart success through the 1970s; his last charting single was "Alles is anders" in 1980. The 1980s were relatively quiet. In 1989, he starred as Juan Perón in the musical

Cramer was one of the artists who recorded the song Shalom from Holland (written by Simon Hammelburg and Ron Klipstein) as a token of solidarity to the Israeli people, threatened by missiles from Iraq, during the first Gulf War in 1991.

In 2009, along with a number of other Dutch Eurovision veterans, Cramer was a special guest at that year's televised Eurovision selection.

References

External links

• Media related to Ben Cramer at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (in Dutch)
• 1973 at Dingadong.nl (Dutch)
• Complete discography