Gerard Cox scored a hit fifty years ago with ‘The beautiful summer is over again. He is still shouted at on the street for it. “I liked the melancholy about a summer that is passing by.”
He prefers not to go outside too often, but when he does go outside, he is always told the same two things. “Japio!”, after his role in the hit series Happiness was common then. And, especially at this time of year when the leaves are starting to color again: “It’s over that beautiful summer again, isn’t it, Gerard?”
Cox, 83, can see the fun in it. Smiling: “People think they are original, but of course they are not. I’ve heard those things so many times. But: I don’t find it annoying. There is no artist who dislikes attention.”
Why Cox insisted on the very sweet ballad in 1973 That beautiful summer is over againa Dutch version of Salute les amoureux by the French singer Joe Dassin, wanted to record: he actually doesn’t understand that anymore. “Yes, it was a very strong song. I still think so. I heard the French version while on holiday in France. A very melancholy song, I thought. About the summer that passed… I had feelings about that too. Because I’ve never liked that either. That cold! The melancholy about the summer passing is in that song. I liked that.”
It was just a strange time, the early seventies. People were quick to oppose something. So some people said that to me too
Gerard Cox
But in 1973, Cox’s record company said no. “And yet I kept calling. No, I still have no idea why I did that. Because at that time I was also very busy with other things.”
After yet another call from Cox, the record company, the late CBS, changed tack. Cox went into the studio. It had to be cheap, yes, but he gathered good Dutch musicians around him. The chorus with which the song begins almost makes the enamel fall off the teeth, even after fifty years. “Na-na-na naa na naa, na na-na na-na naa na-naa,” it sounds. “That beautiful summer is over again,” Cox sings. ‘You thought it couldn’t end, but before you know it, the whole summer is long gone.’
The cover of the single.
“It was a song for the people,” Cox says. “The song stood the test of time. I rarely perform anymore, but friends recently asked me to give a small performance. I sang some songs and wanted to finish. And guess what: that wasn’t allowed. ‘No, Gerard, would you like that first? That beautiful summer is over again to sing?”’
Rolling Stones
The song caused a sensation in the 1973 hit list. Even Angie of The Rolling Stones had to lose out. Still, there was a commotion. “Before that time I was known as a committed artist. But actually, I had always wanted to be a folk singer. And suddenly I was that folk singer! The halls were full.” Only: some colleagues from the music industry loudly disapproved of his sickly sweet song. “It was a strange time, the early seventies. People were quick to oppose something. So some people said that to me too. I suddenly had to defend myself. ”
He still receives money for the song credited to his account. “At this time of year it is always played on the radio again. But CDs and LPs are no longer sold, are they? It’s all become ‘streaming’. And YouTube. Am I saying that right? YouTube? I don’t even know how it works.”
More than 4.5 million times That beautiful summer is over again Already listened to on Spotify. “I believe I get 0.00001 cents per time for a stream. So that amount does not amount to much in any case.”
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