Jack (Willem) de Nijs, artist name Jack Jersey (18 July 1941 – 26 May 1997), was a Dutch singer, composer, arranger, lyricist and record producer of light music (popular music) who worked for national and international artists. He had his own production company, J.R. (Jeetzi-Rah) which means "Creation" / "Creational world" in Hebrew. He discovered artists such as André Moss, Nick MacKenzie and Frank & Mirella. During his life, Jack de Nijs and the artists he represented were good for selling more than twenty million records.
Biography
The first years
Jack de Nijs was born in 1941 at Tjimahi in West Java, Indonesia. At the age of seven he received a Ukulele as a present, and was soon allowed to play in the local village band. At a young age he showed talent as a musician and composer. In 1951 the family moved to the Netherlands, where he came into contact with a different life and music style. During high school he started his first band, named The Dixie Stampers, with jazz and dixieland music.
After leaving high school, he went to a college for Higher Hotel Management in Maastricht. Here he formed his second band, a quartet known as The Four Sweeters and afterwards he continued in Jack & Woody. All together they released more than ten records. According to the recordcompany Bovema/EMI the song called Paulette of Jack & Woody climed to the top in the charts of Singapore and also in Peru. The Four Sweeters with the song I'll be lonely became a succes in Belgium.
After Jack & Woody he became the lead singer of The Losers, from 1964 to 1967. They were signed by CNR that promoted them and some other bands as Beat from Holland. In 1965 their first single Since You're Gone / Mexico was released. Only the first, however, is a beat song. The second is a cover version of Elvis Presley from his film Fun in Acapulco (1963). It was written by the Peruvian composer Francis Lopez. Over there, in Peru, this song became a number No. 1 hit.
After receiving his diploma for Higher Hotel Management (BBA), Jersey gave up his aspiration to make a success of the music business. In the meantime he married Ella and started to work for a multinational.
Return
Music was much too appealing and he decided to give it a try again. He changed his approach and started working as a producer and composer for a record company. After teaming up with Henk Voorheijen he got a contract with Polydor Records for 500 Dutch Guilders a month. His first hit Oh...Antoinette was released by Leo den Hop. One of the following hits was Gina Lollobrigida (about the so called actress). He released Sofia Loren (1970) on a single. Both songs were recorded by the singer Ray Miller (Rainer Müller) as well who had two hits with them in Germany.
In 1971, De Nijs recorded Blame It on the Summersun under the artist name Ruby Nash. This was his first English language recording. He started his own production company, and Henk Voorheijen participated for business matters. Meanwhile, he was father of a son and a daughter who he, however, hardly saw.
Jack Jersey
A couple of singles later he changed his name to Jack Jersey and continued singing in English. Jersey refers to the British island near France. It heralded a successful period in his music career, with some international hits.
His first English single I'm Calling (1973) was declared Alarm Disc at Radio Veronica and became his first major hit in the Netherlands and Belgium. Hits that followed were In The Still of the Night, Papa Was A Poor Man and Blue Brown Eyed Lady. His biggest hit was Sri-Lanka ... My Shangri-La that charted in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
In 1973 he was member of the group Brabants Bont, with artists like Yvonne de Nijs, Leo den Hop, Jan Boezeroen en Wil de Bras. In 1974 his album In The Still of the Night peaked at No. 3 in the album top of Radio Hilversum 3.
Nashville
Invited by Capitol Records he recorded a live-album in 12 hours in Nashville with The Jordanaires, the group that had accompanied Elvis Presley for many years. (This entire live-album recording took only 12 hours, while in the Netherlands that applies to a recording of only 1 song.) For the European market it was released as I Wonder and for the American market as Honky Tonk Man.