Koos du Plessis
Encyclopedia
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, colloquially known as Koos Doep. Although he received critical acclaim for much of his work, he became best known for the runaway success of a rendition of his song Kinders van die Wind (Children of the Wind) by Laurika Rauch
Laurika Rauch
Laurika Rauch is a South African singer who sings in the Afrikaans as well as English language.She had a hit single in 1979 with Kinders van die Wind , written by the late Koos du Plessis...
.
Koos du Plessis was born in Rustenburg. He was the youngest of four children, and grew up in the mining town of Springs. After school, he attended the University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
, and the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
, majoring in Afrikaans-Nederlands (Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
-Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
). At university he met his future wife, Mornay. The couple had three daughters, Irma, Karien en Karla. Koos would eventually write a song for each of these four women in his life.
Koos worked as journalist and editor for several Afrikaans publications (Oggendblad, Die Vaderland, Die Nataller en Die Transvaler). He died in a car accident close to Krugersdorp during the early morning hours of January 15, 1984.
In 2010 two albums were released in The Netherlands. First Ofschaaid Zunder Woorden, an album with songs of Du Plessis sung in Grunnegs by Wia Buze and Klaas Spekken. Karla du Plessis joins for a special duet on this album. Secondly Die Land Van Blou Saffiere is released in the Tussen Kontinente-series. This release is a hardcover book with a biography, lyrics with footnotes and explanations, backgrounds and a cd with 20 of his songs.
Published works
- Erfdeel (2004) ISBN 1919980202
- Om jou verlaas te groet: nagelate verse (1985) ISBN 0798118717
- Skink nog ʾn uur in my glas: nagelate verse (1995) ISBN 1874901414
- Die Land van Blou Saffiere (2010) ISBN 9789081565912
External links
- Website dedicated to Koos du Plessis' legacy (in Afrikaans)
- LitNet: The Life and Music of Koos du Plessis (in Afrikaans)
- Dutch website providing information about a project around the work of Koos du Plessis (in Dutch)
- Dutch website in support of the release of the book/cd Die Land Van Blou Saffiere (in Dutch)