Jan Rietman is a Dutch musician and radio and TV-personality.
The kid from Doetinchem, a quiet town in the far east of the Netherlands, skipped school to join the band Moan and moved on to major success with Long Tall Ernie & The Shakers, Unit Gloria and Rainbow Train.
In 1977 he moved his Jan Rietman Band from the smokey bar circuit to Hilversum, broadcasting capitol of The Netherlands. He got his own show at NCRV-radio: Los Vast.
In this highest rated Saturday radio program, Jan Rietman gave artists the chance to promote their new singles.
He interviewed artist like ABBA and Madonna, and with his band he accompanied everybody from Dutch number 1 artist Anita Meijer to Nashville’s grand old Dame Emmylou Harris and from Donny Osmond to Fats Domino.
When the Los Vast Show starts going live on location, things are going crazy !
Fifteen sell-outs of the Ahoy arena were only topped by three sell-outs of the Feijenoord stadium “De Kuip” (three times 60,000 attendees!).
A feature in Los Vast with Dutch showman and comedian André van Duin developed into the most popular Dutch radio- and TV comedy program: ‘De Dikvoormekaarshow’, which tied millions of viewers to their TV sets. Jan also became the steady sidekick of André van Duin in his many TV specials and theater tours, becoming the European equivalent of David Letterman’s musical director Paul Shaffer. When Jan and André wrote “Het Pizzalied”, that became the biggest selling single of the year and was even heard from thousands of Dutch marathon athletes warming up with future Dutch King Prince William of Orange for the New York Marathon of ’94.
Jan Rietman moonlighted as a producer, arranger and piano-man at thousands of sessions, featuring such diverse artists as Golden Earring and Lee Towers, and even the Dutch Royal Family. A score of gold and platinum records on Jan’s wall from acts like Kinderen voor Kinderen, Andre van Duin, Anita Meijer and Lee Towers underline his commercial instinct and musical abilities.
More TV shows followed. Jan became a regular guest in many european countries with The Supriseshow and the Soundmixshow. Followed by a stint as musical director of the musical Sweet Charity and the touring bands of Lee Towers and Boudewijn de Groot.
Jan’s first solo-album appeared in 1971, ‘The Killer’ on BMG-Ariola. His current manager Evert Wilbrink met him forty years ago at the office of the label to interview him for the liner notes and a press-release. Just recently they teamed up again at Wilbrink’s house in Nashville to kick off Jan’s adventures in Music City.
In 1995 Jan Rietman’s solo-album “Don't Shoot The Pianoplayer” charted and the single ‘Fast And Friendly’ got furious airplay, followed in 1999 by the album “Heroes And Friends”, which read like a Who-Is-Who-In-Dutch-Music and featured top10 artists like Herman Brood, André van Duin, Guus Meeuwis, Gerard Joling, Anita Meijer and André Hazes singing Dutch translations of songs by Elvis Presley, Righteous Brothers, Elton John, The Beatles en The Rolling Stones.
Yet Jan stayed involved with TV shows like RTL4-TV’s “Moppentoppers” and the shows of André van Duin.
Only in 2005 Jan Rietman decided to concentrate on his own career and took his band on continuing tours along the theaters of the Netherlands for projects like ‘Singing With The Stars’ and “Forever Young”. Most recently he performed his last album “Open Book” in a more intimate setting. From that album the song “Ma Ga Niet Weg” became the immediate reason for Jan to look beyond the horizon and move his career to Nashville, Tennessee.
“Ma Ga Niet Weg” became “Just A Little Bit Longer”, the first song recorded with legendary producer Bil Vorndick, proud owner of a bunch of Grammy Awards. A new Nashville groomed album is in the works for 2012 and much of the material from that album will find its way into future theater programs, in which Jan Rietman will marry the influences from his past with recent experiences in “Music City”.
The Jan Rietman of 2011 is a real Rockin’ Nashville Cat!
The kid from Doetinchem, a quiet town in the far east of the Netherlands, skipped school to join the band Moan and moved on to major success with Long Tall Ernie & The Shakers, Unit Gloria and Rainbow Train.
In 1977 he moved his Jan Rietman Band from the smokey bar circuit to Hilversum, broadcasting capitol of The Netherlands. He got his own show at NCRV-radio: Los Vast.
In this highest rated Saturday radio program, Jan Rietman gave artists the chance to promote their new singles.
He interviewed artist like ABBA and Madonna, and with his band he accompanied everybody from Dutch number 1 artist Anita Meijer to Nashville’s grand old Dame Emmylou Harris and from Donny Osmond to Fats Domino.
When the Los Vast Show starts going live on location, things are going crazy !
Fifteen sell-outs of the Ahoy arena were only topped by three sell-outs of the Feijenoord stadium “De Kuip” (three times 60,000 attendees!).
A feature in Los Vast with Dutch showman and comedian André van Duin developed into the most popular Dutch radio- and TV comedy program: ‘De Dikvoormekaarshow’, which tied millions of viewers to their TV sets. Jan also became the steady sidekick of André van Duin in his many TV specials and theater tours, becoming the European equivalent of David Letterman’s musical director Paul Shaffer. When Jan and André wrote “Het Pizzalied”, that became the biggest selling single of the year and was even heard from thousands of Dutch marathon athletes warming up with future Dutch King Prince William of Orange for the New York Marathon of ’94.
Jan Rietman moonlighted as a producer, arranger and piano-man at thousands of sessions, featuring such diverse artists as Golden Earring and Lee Towers, and even the Dutch Royal Family. A score of gold and platinum records on Jan’s wall from acts like Kinderen voor Kinderen, Andre van Duin, Anita Meijer and Lee Towers underline his commercial instinct and musical abilities.
More TV shows followed. Jan became a regular guest in many european countries with The Supriseshow and the Soundmixshow. Followed by a stint as musical director of the musical Sweet Charity and the touring bands of Lee Towers and Boudewijn de Groot.
Jan’s first solo-album appeared in 1971, ‘The Killer’ on BMG-Ariola. His current manager Evert Wilbrink met him forty years ago at the office of the label to interview him for the liner notes and a press-release. Just recently they teamed up again at Wilbrink’s house in Nashville to kick off Jan’s adventures in Music City.
In 1995 Jan Rietman’s solo-album “Don't Shoot The Pianoplayer” charted and the single ‘Fast And Friendly’ got furious airplay, followed in 1999 by the album “Heroes And Friends”, which read like a Who-Is-Who-In-Dutch-Music and featured top10 artists like Herman Brood, André van Duin, Guus Meeuwis, Gerard Joling, Anita Meijer and André Hazes singing Dutch translations of songs by Elvis Presley, Righteous Brothers, Elton John, The Beatles en The Rolling Stones.
Yet Jan stayed involved with TV shows like RTL4-TV’s “Moppentoppers” and the shows of André van Duin.
Only in 2005 Jan Rietman decided to concentrate on his own career and took his band on continuing tours along the theaters of the Netherlands for projects like ‘Singing With The Stars’ and “Forever Young”. Most recently he performed his last album “Open Book” in a more intimate setting. From that album the song “Ma Ga Niet Weg” became the immediate reason for Jan to look beyond the horizon and move his career to Nashville, Tennessee.
“Ma Ga Niet Weg” became “Just A Little Bit Longer”, the first song recorded with legendary producer Bil Vorndick, proud owner of a bunch of Grammy Awards. A new Nashville groomed album is in the works for 2012 and much of the material from that album will find its way into future theater programs, in which Jan Rietman will marry the influences from his past with recent experiences in “Music City”.
The Jan Rietman of 2011 is a real Rockin’ Nashville Cat!