I saw a post on Facebook about Pim Maas aka the Dutch Elvis.
The text below was adapted from an original story by George Evers
Rarity Records, 1991 by Black Cat Rockabilly
In the fifties and
early sixties Pim Maas was
RCA's official Dutch Elvis. Pim was born on June 26, 1944 in Amsterdam, son of
a bar owner and professional saxophone player. At the age of 14 he used all of
his allowance to buy Elvis records and seeing Elvis' movies at the cinema. He
took guitar lessons and joined his dad's band. One day in 1959 he read a poster
at the Cinema Royal in Amsterdam, that there was gonna be an Elvis Presley
contest, Pim duly entered and after 3 weeks, from a total of 324 contestants,
he came out first. Runner up was Ria Valk, a girl who later gained fame with
hits such as "Rocking Billy" and "Tommy
Uit Tennessee".
At this time Pim’s
father’s "Stateside" bar was very popular with the American G.I.’s
based in Germany and it was in this bar that a soldier based at Bad Nauheim with
Elvis Presley heard Pim’s first R.C.A. release "Kansas City". He was
so impressed with the record that he promised to arrange a meeting for Pim with
Elvis. Pim didn’t take all this too seriously but a short time after he
received a letter with an invitation and travelled to Germany with his parents,
where they were met by Pim's idol, Elvis Presley. They stayed for two days and
Pim and Elvis even did a mini-show together for the G.I.'s, they performed 3
songs with piano accompaniment.
The visit to
Germany also resulted in an invitation to come the U.S. and Pim stayed
states-side for 9 months. He couldn’t stay as long as he wanted, because he
could not get a permanent working permit at that time. In the early sixties Pim
toured Europe, mainly in Holland, Scandinavia, Spain and Germany. In the early
70s Pim joined the "Big Rock Revival" and scored another hit in 1974
with "What Makes The World". In the mid 70s Pim moved to the United
States where he still lives today.
In the early 90s
there is a renewed interest in Pim’s music with the release of a limited
edition single and an TV appearance on "Sunday Evening With Van
Willigenburg", a popular Dutch television programme. Rarity Records
released a 10 track LP titled "The Dutch Elvis" (LP 192441) with
Pim's 50s and early 60s recordings in 1991. Other Rarity releases include
"Pim Maas Sings Elvis" (CD 192501) and "Now And Then" (2CD
192600). Some of Pim's early recordings can also be found on the ultimate Dutch
rock 'n' roll collection "De Rock 'n' Roll Methode" (Sam Sam
Music).
