Taco Ockerse (born 21 July 1955), known mononymously as Taco, is an Indonesian-born Dutch musician[5][6] and entertainer who started his career in Germany.[1][2][3] He scored a global hit song in 1982 with a version of "Puttin' on the Ritz".
Taco | |
|---|---|
 Taco at Oldie 95 Studio in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Taco Ockerse |
| Born | 21 July 1955 Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Origin | Hamburg, Germany[1][2][3] |
| Genres | New wave,[4] synth-pop |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | |
Early life
editTaco Ockerse was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 21 July 1955.[7] He spent many of his childhood years moving around the world, residing in the Netherlands, the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany.[8]
He attended the International School of Brussels, Belgium, and graduated in 1973. Afterwards, he studied interior decoration and finished acting school in Hamburg. He held lead roles in numerous school productions, including You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Carousel; The Fantasticks; and Fiddler on the Roof.
Career
editIn 1975, he began his first professional theatrical engagements in Hamburg.[8] This included roles in Children's Theatre, and roles as an ensemble member of the Thalia Theatre in a number of plays, including Sweet Charity, Chicago, and Three Musketeers. He also directed and choreographed for the musical Nightchild. In 1979, he played "Chino" in John Neumeier's West Side Story at Hamburg Opera House. He founded his first band, Taco's Bizz, in 1979.
In 1981, Taco signed his first record contract with Polydor in West Germany for two record releases, whereon he released his first single, "Puttin' On the Ritz",[8] which in 1982 was issued by RCA Records for US release. The single was widely played throughout the US by late summer of 1983, eventually peaking at No. 4 in September 1983 on the Hot 100 as well as No. 1 on Cashbox.[9][10] Although the single eventually earned him a Gold-certification for selling over one million copies, it was Taco's only Top 40 hit in the US.[11] In 1983 and 1984, he toured extensively throughout Europe. While the single "Puttin' on the Ritz" topped the charts in Sweden and New Zealand, it entered the Top 5 in numerous countries including Norway, Austria, and Canada.[12][13] His subsequent album, After Eight, was released in over 40 countries and managed to reach No. 4 in Norway, No. 5 in Canada, No. 11 in Austria, No. 17 in New Zealand, No. 23 in the United States, and No. 59 in Germany.[14][15][16][17] The album earned Taco a number of Gold certifications including one in Finland for selling over 25,000 copies.[18]
Taco's second single "Singing in the Rain" was a moderate success peaking at No. 49 in Germany, No. 46 in Canada, and No. 98 in the UK.[19][20][21]
He appeared as a guest on The Merv Griffin Show, Alan Thicke, Solid Gold, Good Morning America, a Bob Hope TV special, and many other TV shows while touring.[8]
Taco's follow-up album, Let's Face the Music, was recorded in 1984 for Polydor, which peaked at No. 58 in his home of West Germany and managed to enter the Top 100 in Canada peaking at No. 92.[17][22] Taco continued to record, focusing mostly on the German market with albums Swing Classics/In the Mood of Glenn Miller in 1985 and Tell Me That You Like It in 1986 for Polydor. In 1987 he recorded the self-titled album Taco.
In 1989, he briefly flirted with contemporary dance music by releasing a pair of singles, "Love Touch" and "Got to Be Your Lover", that were styled after the high energy disco sound popularised by Stock Aitken Waterman. Afterwards, he repositioned himself as a swing/soul singer. He has collaborated with Geff Harrison of Kin Ping Meh fame.
Between 1989 and 1996, Taco worked as an actor. He had television acting roles in Friedrichstadt Palast and Das Erbe der Guldenburgs, and an appearance in the film Karniggels. He also appeared as "Chico" in the theatre production of Marx Brothers Radio Show, and played lead roles in Shakespeare Rock n Roll in Berlin and Shakespeare as We Like It in Austria.
On 11 October 2009, the first channel of Russian TV, 1TV, filmed the program Songs of the 20th Century. Taco appears with "Puttin' On the Ritz" in the sequence about the 1930s. The show was broadcast in January 2010.[23] On 27 November 2009 he performed "Puttin' On the Ritz" and "Singin' in the Rain" at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Furthermore, he was the star guest in the "New Year's Eve Show 2009" of Russian TV, which had about 84 million viewers in more than 20 countries.
In July 2010, Cleopatra Records Los Angeles released an entirely new re-recording of "Puttin' On the Ritz". Taco's vocals were recorded in Germany and the backing tracks with top studio musicians in their studio in L.A. On 1 March 2011, DingDing Music released the original song "Timeless Love" that was written and produced by Edgar Rothermich and Matthias Muentefering in the late 1980s. The studio recording that Taco performed as a duet with the singer Rozaa Wortham in Berlin was remixed in late 2010 in the U.S. and is now available for download.[24]
On 11 March 2011, RTL Germany broadcast The Ultimate Chartshow - the most successful Evergreens of all time, where he appeared with "Puttin' On The Ritz".[25]
Discography
editAlbums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [26] |
AUT [27] |
CAN [28] |
FIN [29] |
GER [30] |
NOR [31] |
NZ [32] |
SWE [33] |
US [34] | ||
| After Eight | 35 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 59 | 4 | 17 | 6 | 23 | |
| Let's Face the Music |
|
— | — | — | — | 58 | — | — | — | — |
| Swing Classics: In the Mood of Glenn Miller |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tell Me That You Like It |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Taco |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Puttin' On the Ritz |
|
| The Very Best Of |
|
| Best of Taco |
|
| Puttin' On the Ritz |
|
| Singin' in the Rain |
|
| Putting on the Ritz – Original Greatest Hits |
|
| Gold – The Maxi Versions |
|
| Gold – The Ultimate Best Of |
|
| Gold Rarities, Vol. 1 |
|
EPs
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| 4 Tracks |
|
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [26] |
BE (FL) [35] |
CAN [36][37] |
FIN [29] |
GER [30] |
NL [38] |
NZ [39] |
SWE [40] |
UK [41] |
US [42] | |||
| "Träume brauchen Zeit" | 1981 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Keiner Gewinnt" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Puttin' On the Ritz" | 1982 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | After Eight |
| "Singin' in the Rain" | 1983 | — | 28 | 46 | 28 | 49 | — | — | — | 98 | — | |
| "You Are My Lucky Star" (Sweden-only release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Let's Face the Music | |
| "Cheek to Cheek (Heaven)" | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | After Eight | |
| "Superphysical Resurrection" | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Let's Face the Music (And Dance)" | 1984 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Let's Face the Music |
| "Under My Tight Skin" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Winchester Cathedral" (New Zealand-only release) | 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Let's Face the Music |
| "Heartbreak City" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Tell Me That You Like It | |
| "You're My Answer to It All" | 1986 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Got to Be Your Lover" | 1988 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Love Touch" | 1989 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lady of My Heart" | 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Go Trabi Go soundtrack |
| "Tico Tico" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Timeless Love" (featuring Rozaa Wortham) | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Puttin On the Ritz 2017" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Heavy Metal" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Gold - The Ultimate Best Of |
| "Far from My Homeland" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hot Summer Jams" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "I Wanna Dance" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Gold Rarities, Vol. 1 | |
| "Loonar Beat" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Sing, Baby, Sing" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | After Eight (Deluxe Edition) | |
| "It's Snowing In My Heart (Bad Santa)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Bel Ami" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Billboard: Industry in Focus". Billboard Magazine. 29 June 1985. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Auf einen Schlag berühmt (Famous on the Instant)" (in German). han-online.de. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "IRVING BERLIN IS BACK ON THE POP CHARTS". The New York Times. 19 September 1983. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ "Dutch new wave singer Taco is still puttin' on the Ritz". AXS.
- ^ "Taco puts pizazz into the oldies". The Pittsburgh Press. 3 June 1984. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- ^ "Taco's fans span many generations". Edmonton Journal. 8 September 1983. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- ^ "Allmusic:Tack (Biography)". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Taco's Biography". taco.tc. Taco Ockerse. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "Hot 100: Week of September 10, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ "Search results: Taco". RIAA.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "Taco: Puttin' on the Ritz (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "50 Singles (Volume 38, No. 16, June 18, 1983)". RPM. Retrieved 29 March 2011 – via collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ^ "Taco: After Eight (album)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "100 Albums (Volume 38, No. 17, June 25, 1983)". RPM. Retrieved 29 March 2011 – via collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ^ "Billboard: Taco (Albums)". Allmusic. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Taco (Albums)". charts.de. Retrieved 29 March 2011.[dead link]
- ^ "Tilastot: Taco". IFPI.fi. Finland. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "Taco (Singles)". charts.de. Retrieved 29 March 2011.[dead link]
- ^ "50 Singles (Volume 39, No. 1, September 03, 1983)". RPM. Retrieved 29 March 2011 – via collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ^ "Singing in the Rain". OfficialCharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- ^ "100 Albums (Volume 40, No. 12, May 26, 1984)". RPM. Retrieved 29 March 2011 – via collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ^ Roland Colerus. "TACO - 'Puttin' On The Ritz' (New Year's Eve Show - Moscow/Russia 2009/10)". Archived from the original on 12 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Taco Feat. Rozza Wortham". dingdingmusic.com. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ "The Ultimate Chartshow". rtl.de. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 304. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit T - TAR". Sisältää hitin. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Taco". Billboard. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "TACO | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Taco". Billboard. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
