Joe Harris (singer)

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Joe Harris , real name Georges Lisabeth (born December 25, 1943 in Bruges , Belgium , † June 1, 2003 ibid) was a Flemish singer .

Life

Lisabeth was born the youngest child in his family. His parents ran a grocery store and a coffee shop. At a young age he played in the Koninklijke Speelschaar Sint-Franciscus-Xaverius Brugge. At the age of twelve he recorded his first record under the name Joske Harris: "My mummy is an angel." In the first half of the sixties he released a number of singles under the name Joske Harry's. Then he sang English songs with his band Joe Harris and The Pink Umbrellas. In 1968 the band had two hits with Hope of a Miracle and Daisy Does . Another number in English is Home Isn't Home Anymore . Harris finally switched to Dutch in the 1970s.

Career

His first big Flemish hit in 1971 was Eerst zien en dan geloven , a translation of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by the British formation Middle of the Road . He achieved his greatest success in 1975 with Drink Rotwein , a cover for Udo Jürgens' number Greek Wine . The production of this song, which also became a hit in the Netherlands, was in the hands of the Dutchman Johnny Hoes . Harris then achieved other hits such as Maria Magdalena , originally sung by Karel Gott or Santa Maria , originally sung by Oliver Onions .

In the eighties, Harris opened in Itegem the disco-restaurant "The Seyenhof" which he had to close the 1,992th His relationship with Chrissy, with whom he recorded several duets in his career, also ran aground. From 1994 Joe Harris lived with his new girlfriend Linda.

In 1999 he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer . After an apparently successful operation, he continued to have pain that prevented him from singing. Yet he still performed regularly in retirement homes and at senior parties.

On June 1, 2003, Harris was found dead in Bruges in the Bruges-Ostend Canal. According to the police report, he committed suicide. An autopsy found that he had died of cardiac arrest .

Discography

Joe Harris often covered songs by German singers.

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