Taco Ockerse

From Free net encyclopedia

Taco Ockerse (born 21 July, 1955) is a singer popularly known as Taco.

Taco was born to a Dutch couple in Jakarta. He gained international stardom when in 1982 he recorded a distinctive cover record of the old Irving Berlin favorite, Puttin' on the Ritz in Germany, which made him famous early the next year (United States Billboard chart number 4). It has been reported that he did not speak any English at all and merely read the lyrics from transliterations, but this is false: Taco's first language is English, and he has always performed in English. He also speaks German, Dutch, and French.

His releases include After Eight in 1982 and Let's Face The Music in 1984 for RCA, Swing Classics / In The Mood Of Glenn Miller in 1985 and Tell Me That You Like It in 1986 for Polydor. After a brief flirt with contemporary dance music (he even recorded a song for the famous Stock Aitken Waterman team in 1989) he repositioned himself as a swing/soul singer. He has collaborated with Geff Harrison of Kin Ping Meh fame.

He currently resides in Germany, occasionally performing in Berlin and recording.

He has been referenced on the TV show The Simpsons. Episode BABF19, "Behind the Laughter", features Willie Nelson saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco", as well as the end of the tribute itself.

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