Singer Ronnie Tober knighted by Dutch Queen for 40-year career

Former ‘Junior Mr. America’

APELDOORN, the Netherlands - Wellknown Dutch singer Ronnie Tober (58) recently was knighted for a 40-year career in his native country. He is now a Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Tober, who had lived in the U.S. from age three to age nineteen, already had an impressive singing career in his adoptive country when he returned home in 1964.

The Tober family of six emigrated from Bussum to the United States in 1948 and settled in the Albany, New York area. Ronnie sang in a church choir and in 1960 made his first record which has regional success. In 1961 and 1962, he was seen on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ and ‘The Perry Como Show’ and had his own local TV series. In 1962, Tober was named Junior Mr. America.

When visiting his grandmother in the Netherlands in 1963, Tober he also performed at the popular Voor de vuist weg (Off the cuff) television program of Willem Duys. Public reaction was such that Tober decided to move back to Holland where he immediately signed a record deal with Phonogram/Philips. His first Dutch-language record - Iedere avond (Every Night) - had distinct traces of an American accent, as did some of his follow-up singles. His Rozen voor Sandra (Roses for Sandra) perhaps is his best recording.

Tober has recorded hundreds of songs since, mostly in the Dutch language. He has engagements almost every day of the year and often performs abroad, sometimes in the U.S.

Tober’s 2003 CD Zelfportret (Self-portrait) includes his specialty Mijn Amerika.