Dutch singer Pierre Kartner has died. He died on Tuesday morning, November 8th, several Dutch media outlets unanimously quote the artist’s family. The family did not provide any information on the cause of death. He was 87 years old. Kartner, better known as Vader Abraham, had lived a completely reclusive life for the past two years. He stopped performing and stopped appearing in public. He was buried on Friday morning, it said.
Pierre Kartner was born in Elst in 1935 and has lived most of his life in Breda, the Netherlands. His life was entirely devoted to music. He was a singer, bassist, lyricist, music writer and producer. He achieved his greatest successes with “The Little Pub” (1975) and “The Smurfs’ Song” (1977). “The Little Pub” was covered more than 200 times by other artists, and with “Smurf Song” he reached the top of all hit parades worldwide. He also achieved fame with a large number of carnival songs.
Many other artists have had success with the Breda musician’s productions. Among them were the Greek pop artist Nana Mouskouri (88), the French chanson singer Joe Dassin (1938-1980) and the Austrian entertainer Peter Alexander (1926-2011). The reinterpretation of the “Smurf Song” by comedian Otto Waalkes (74) from 1982 is probably the best known in Germany.
Kartner remained active into old age, confident that he could create another evergreen that would gain worldwide attention. It didn’t come to that, but he left behind an impressive body of work and is considered one of the most important Dutch musicians of his time. However, he was regularly disappointed by the lack of appreciation for his work in his homeland. He is survived by his wife Annie and their son Walter.
