The winner of the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest for the Netherlands, Corry Brokken has passed away today June 2nd. The singer’s daughter announced tonight in Dutch media.
Corry Brokken started her career as a singer in the 1950s when she had a string of hits in the Netherlands. She participated in the first three editions of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, 1957 and 1958 representing her home country.
In 1956, she entered with the song Voorgoed voorbij. It is not known which ranking the song placed as the first edition of the contest only had 1 winner and no points system.
Corry won the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest with her song Net Als Toen. This was of course the first win for the Netherlands.
Finally, in 1958, she tried to fight for her winning title with her third entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, Heel de wereld. Unfortunately, this time she finished in last place (tied with Luxembourg) making her the only European artist to finish both first and last at the contest.
In the 1960s, her cover of the song Milord (originally by Edith Piaf) saw her climb the Dutch charts.
In 1976, Brokken hosted the Eurovision Song Contest which was held in The Hague in the Netherlands. That year, she also retired from the music business and concentrated in her law studies. She first became an attorney and then a judge.
In the 1990s, she returned to show business by performing some shows and recording a new album. She also wrote a column in Margriet, a women’s weekly publication.
In 1997, she was seen as the announcer of the Dutch votes at the Eurovision Song Contest and during the 2003 edition, she was one of the judges for the national selection show.
Here’s a clip of Corry Brokken performing her winning entry Net Als Toen:
