Bonnie St. Claire

Bonnie St. Claire (born Bonje Cornelia Swart, 18 November 1949) is a Dutch singer and actress who has a recording history that began in the 1960s and continued into the 1990s. She was part of the trio Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy, and part of the duo with José Hoebee.

Life and career St. Claire with Ati Dijckmeester and Heddy Lester at the 1977 Nationaal Songfestival

St. Claire was born as Bonje Cornelia Swart in Rozenburg on 18 November 1949. She was born on a boat and is the daughter of a barge skipper. Her career began in 1966 when at a Peter Koelewijn concert, she was invited to come up on stage and sing with him.

In 1970 she had a hit with "I Won't Stand Between Them", which peaked at no. 6 in the Netherlands and spent eleven weeks in the charts. In 1979, she was part of a trio called Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy who released a single called "Oh Boy", which was written and produced by Peter Koelewijn. In addition to herself, the trio included Debbie, aka Ria Schildmeyer, and Rosy Pereira. She had a string of hits in the Netherlands, including Dokter Bernhard (1976), Pierrot (1980), Bonnie kom je buiten spelen (1980) and Vlieg nooit te hoog (1981). She also scored a hit with a translation of the Bette Midler song The Rose, which translates as De Roos (1980). Later St. Claire would join José Hoebee as part of the duo Bonnie & José and would have a degree of success in the Netherlands. The two singers were under the same management and they soon became friends and started socializing with each other. In 1984 they enjoyed a Top 40 hit with "Cassandra", which had previously been recorded by ABBA. They also recorded an album of Abba songs, which was approved by Björn Ulvaeus.

In 2010, St. Claire and Gerard Joling had a hit in the Netherlands with "Morgen Wordt Alles Anders" as Bonnie & Gerard. The song peaked at no. 2 and spent nine weeks in the charts. Discography Singles Original Title Meaning in English Year Date of entry(date-month-year) Peak Weeks Notes "Tame Me Tiger" — 1967 25-11-1967 tip — as Bonny St. Claire with The Jets "Tame Me Tiger" — 1967 30-12-1967 tip — as Bonny St. Claire with The Jets "Let Me Come Back Home, Mama" — 1969 17-05-1969 24 6 as Bonny St. Claire; #29 in the Hilversum 3 Top 30 "I Won't Stand Between Them" — 1970 05-09-1970 5 14 #6 in the Hilversum 3 Top 30 "Mañana Mañana" — 1972 29-04-1972 11 8 #8 in the Daverende 30 "Clap your hands and stamp your feet" — 1972 16-12-1972 3 12 with Unit Gloria; #3 in the Daverende 30 "Waikiki Man" — 1973 19-05-1973 4 9 with Unit Gloria; #5 in the Daverende Dertig; AlarmschijfVoulez-vous (Yes I Do, I Love You)" — 1974 30-03-1974 21 6 with Unit Gloria; #23 in the Daverende 30 "Rocco (Don't Go) (Live)" — 1975 04-10-1975 28 5 with Unit Gloria and Peter Koelewijn "Een heel gelukkig kerstfeest" "A Very Happy Christmas" 1975 27-12-1975 10 3 with various artists; #12 in the Nationale Hitparade "Rocky" — 1976 22-05-1976 1 11 with Don Mercedes; #1 in the Nationale Hitparade "Dokter Bernhard" "Doctor Bernhard" 1976 10-07-1976 7 8 with Ron Brandsteder; #6 in the Nationale Hitparade "Ik ben gelukkig zonder jou" "I Am Happy Without You" 1976 25-12-1976 6 9 #19 in the Nationale Hitparade "Stop Me" — 1977 19-02-1977 tip — "(Don't Let Them) Stop the Music" — 1978 — — — Not a hit "Het grote sprookjeslied" "The Great Fairytale Song" 1979 26-01-1980 24 5 with various artists; #16 in the Nationale Hitparade "Pierrot" — 1980 24-05-1980 5 11 #8 in the Nationale Hitparade "Bonnie kom je buiten spelen" "Bonnie, Are You Coming Out to Play" 1980 25-10-1980 19 8 #13 in the Nationale Hitparade "De roos (The Rose)" "The Rose" 1980 03-01-1981 26 5 #23 in the Nationale Hitparade "Merlijn" "Merlin" 1981 30-05-1981 33 3 #18 in the Nationale Hitparade "Vlieg nooit te hoog" "Never Fly Too High" 1981 10-10-1981 34 4 #16 in the Nationale Hitparade "Een kind een kind" "A Child, a Child" 1982 10-04-1982 tip — with various artists "Vreemdeling" "Stranger" 1982 15-05-1982 tip — #36 in the Nationale Hitparade "I Won't Stand Between Them" — 1982 18-12-1982 tip — "Verder valt 't wel mee (Avec simplicité)" "Otherwise It's Not That Bad" 1983 19-03-1983 tip — with Benny Neyman "Sla je arm om me heen" "Put Your Arm Around Me" 1983 30-07-1983 13 7 #11 in the Nationale Hitparade "Kwart voor één (The Child in Me)" "Quarter to One" 1983 17-12-1983 tip18 — #45 in the Nationale HitparadeCassandra" — 1984 07-07-1984 24 5 as Bonnie & José; #19 in the Nationale Hitparade "Zoals vrienden doen (The Way Old Friends Do)" "As Friends Do" 1985 30-08-1985 36 4 as Bonnie & José; #18 in the Nationale Hitparade "Doe alles nog een keer over" "Do It All Over Again" 1985 05-10-1985 tip15 — Dutch version of "Kiss You All Over" "Waarom (Move On)" "Why" 1985 21-12-1985 — — as Bonnie & José; #35 in the Nationale Hitparade "Het lijkt of ik droom" "It Seems Like I'm Dreaming" 1988 14-05-1988 — — Dutch version of "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" "Happy Xmas / Gelukkig kerstfeest" "Happy Christmas" 1988 10-12-1988 35 3 with various artists "Morgen wordt alles anders" "Tomorrow Everything Will Be Different" 1991 29-06-1991 17 8 #12 in the Nationale Top 100 "Zeven jaren" "Seven Years" 1991 07-09-1991 32 3 #21 in the Nationale Top 100 "Douwe" — 1992 01-02-1992 — — #63 in the Nationale Top 100 "'n Engel als jij" "An Angel Like You" 1995 25-02-1995 tip21 — as Bonnie & José "Haven/Masker af" "Harbour / Mask Off" 1997 — — — "Geef ons nog een keer een kans" "Give Us One More Chance" 2008 — — — "Morgen wordt alles anders (Live)" "Tomorrow Everything Will Be Different" 2010 03-08-2010 — — with Gerard Joling "Anders" "Different" 2011 10-2011 — — with David Vandyck