– 15 January 2000) was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 singer, best known for her participation in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

.

Early career

Palmen was born in IJmuiden. She started her career singing with dance orchestras around the city of Haarlem

Haarlem

Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

, then sang on various radio stations before her first hit record, "Ik zal je nooit meer vergeten", in 1958.

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1960, Palmen took part in the Dutch Eurovision selection, with the song "Wat een geluk

Wat Een Geluk

"Wat een geluk" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960, performed in Dutch by Rudi Carrell. This was the first occasion on which the Dutch entry was performed by a male singer....

" ("What luck"). In a somewhat odd selection process, each of eight songs was performed twice by different artists and a public vote chose the best song. A professional jury then decided which of the two artists would take the song to Eurovision. "Wat een geluk" was duly chosen as the song, but in the head-to-head with Rudi Carrell

Rudi Carrell

Rudi Carrell , born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar, was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters, Linda de Mol and Sylvie van der Vaart, Carrell was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in Germany.He worked as a television entertainer and hosted his...

, Palmen lost out.

Palmen returned in 1963 in a more straightforward procedure, performing three songs from which a professional jury would pick a winner. The song "Geen ander" ("Nobody Else") was chosen to go to the eighth Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1963

The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the 8th Eurovision Song Contest. France had won the contest in 1962 but were incapable of hosting in 1963, as was their right, due to financial shortcomings. As was the case in 1960 - and as would become a tradition when smaller broadcasters could not afford to...

, held in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on 23 March. Before the contest however, the lyrics to the song were completely rewritten, and it became "Een speeldoos

Een Speeldoos

"Een speeldoos" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, performed in Dutch by Annie Palmen.The song describes the romance between a shepherd and a shepherdess - both of whom are figures on a music box. Palmen explains that, even when the music was played, the duo could not move...

" ("A Musical Box"). From a field of 16, "Een speeldoos" was one of four songs (the others being the entries from Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

) which failed to score. This was the Netherlands' second successive 'nul points' showing, following that of De Spelbrekers

De Spelbrekers

De Spelbrekers were a Dutch singing duo, known for their participation in the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest.- 1940s and 1950s :...

 the previous year.

Later career

In 1967, Palmen became a featured singer with the Boertjes van Booten orchestra on the monthly television programme Mik for channel KRO

KRO

KRO, or Katholieke Radio Omroep , is a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcasts the bulk of its television output on the Nederland 1 channel. KRO is also responsible for managing broadcasts made by the Catholic Church...

, playing the role of Drika. This was a success and raised her profile. However, after the cancellation of Mik in 1972, Palmen dropped out of sight.

Death

Palmen died in Beverwijk

Beverwijk

Beverwijk is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast...

on 15 January 2000, after a long illness of an undisclosed nature, aged 73.

Discography

Singles

• 1958: "De dokter heeft gezegd"
• 1958: "Ik zal je nooit meer vergeten"
• 1958: "Laat pa het maar doen"
• 1958: "Piero"
• 1959: "De zilvren maan van Maratonga"
• 1959: "Wat fijn kapitein"
• 1960: "Sailor"
• 1960: "Wat een geluk"
• 1963: "Een speeldoos"
• 1963: "Waarom laat je mij alleen"
• 1964: "Ga naar Bombay, ga naar Rio"
• 1964: "Ich tanze mit dir (in den Himmel hinein)"
• 1965: "Speel nog eenmaal voor mij Habanero"