Vaya Con Dios (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vaya Con Dios | ||
|---|---|---|
 "What's a Woman?", the band's most successful song
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Brussels, Belgium | |
| Genre(s) | Pop | |
| Years active | 1986 - 1996, 2004 - present | |
| Label(s) | Ariola Records | |
| Members | ||
| Dani Klein Jean-Michel Gielen (1990-) |
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| Former members | ||
| Willy Lambregt (1986-1990) Dirk Schoufs (1986-1991) |
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Vaya Con Dios is a Belgian musical group founded in 1986 by Dani Klein, Dirk Schoufs and Willy Lambregt (the latter subsequently replaced by Jean-Michel Gielen). Their name is Spanish for "Go with God".
They had some international success with the songs "Just a Friend of Mine" (a hit in France), "What's a Woman?" (a number 1 hit in the Netherlands in 1990), "Nah Neh Nah" (1990), "Don't Cry For Louie", "Puerto Rico", "Heading For A Fall", "Johnny" and "Don't Break My Heart".
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[edit] Biography
Dani Klein, the lead singer, and Willy Lambregt had previous success in the band Arbeid Adelt! and decided to form the band Vaya Con Dios together with contrabassist Dirk Schoufs, because they shared interests in gypsy music, jazz and opera - genres which they felt were underappreciated in Brussels.
Their first single "Just a Friend of Mine" had a Latin feel and became a big hit in France selling over 300,000 copies.[1] Willy Lambregt left the group and was replaced by Jean-Michel Gielen.
Even though Vaya Con Dios was successful in Latin countries, the band remained largely unknown in the Netherlands, partially due to being a Belgian band, but also because of their gypsy style. In the summer of 1990 they finally had their breakthrough in The Netherlands with "What's a Woman?" peaking at #1 for three weeks, and making Vaya Con Dios the second Belgian artists to have a #1 hit in the Netherlands; the first was Ivan Heylen in 1974. [2] The song is about the difficulties of men and women who on one hand need each other, yet sometimes find it hard to understand one other.
In 1991 Dani Klein and Dirk Schoufs decided to go their separate ways and from then on the group consisted of the singer Dani Klein only playing with various musicians. On 24 May 1991 Schoufs died of an AIDS-related illness (he had contracted HIVthrough his heroin addiction). [1] The third album Time Flies is much more melancholic than its predecessors.
Even though the music and the composition of the band changed, Vaya Con Dios remained popular in much of Europe - especially France, Germany, and Scandinavia - until 1996, when Klein left the music business complaining of too much stress. She returned in 1999 as singer in the group Purple Prose, which released a debut album of the same name that year. Vaya Con Dios returned in 2004 with a new album entitled The Promise released on an independent label.
In total, Vaya Con Dios have sold more than 7 million albums and more than 3 million singles.[3]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Date | Title | Chart | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1988 | Vaya Con Dios | ||
| April 1990 | Night Owls | Platinum (NL) [4] | |
| September 1992 | Time Flies | #1 NL; #1 (5 weeks) CH | Platinum (NL) [4]; 3 x Platinum (CH) [5] |
| September 1995 | Roots and Wings | Gold (NL) [4] | |
| October 1995 | Best of Vaya Con Dios | Greatest hits album | |
| November 1998 | What's A Woman: The Blue Sides of Vaya Con Dios | Greatest hits album | |
| October 2004 | The Promise | ||
| November 2006 | The Ultimate Collection | #5 BE [6] | Greatest hits album |
[edit] Singles
| Date | Title | Chart | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Just a Friend of Mine" | ||
| 1987 | "Puerto Rico" | ||
| 1988 | "Don't Cry For Louie" | ||
| 1989 | "Johnny" | Only released in France | |
| 1990 | "Nah neh nah" | ||
| June 1990 | "What's A Woman?" | #1 (3 weeks) (NL) | Certified Gold in NL [4] |
| 1990 | "Night Owls" | ||
| 1992 | "Heading For a Fall" | ||
| 1993 | "So Long Ago" | ||
| 1995 | "Don't Break My Heart" | ||
| 1996 | "Stay with Me" | ||
| 1996 | "Lonely Feeling" | ||
| 2004 | "No One Can Make You Stay" | ||
| 2005 | "La Vida Es Como Una Rosa/Take Heed" | ||
| 2006 | "Pauvre Diable" | ||
| 2006 | "What's a Woman" ft. Aaron Neville |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Belgian Pop & Rock Archives: Vaya Con Dios (Accessed: Aug 10, 2006)
- ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 nr. 1 hits in the Top 40, page 271, 9023009444 (Book in Dutch)
- ^ Official Vaya Con Dios site: Interview with Dani Klein (Accessed: Aug 10, 2006)
- ^ a b c d NVPI.nl Dutch certification database Accessed November 4, 2006
- ^ SwissCharts.com Certifications 1995 (Accessed: October 29, 2006)
- ^ Skynet.be Ultratop album chart Accessed November 30, 2006
