Mariska Veres

Maria Elisabeth Ender, better known as Mariska Veres (pronunciationⓘ; 1 October 1947 – 2 December 2006), was a Dutch musician who was the lead vocalist of the rock group Shocking Blue. She was known for her sultry voice, eccentric performances, and her striking appearance which featured kohl-rimmed eyes, and high and long jet-black hair, which was actually a wig.

Mariska Veres was born Maria Elisabeth Ender ('Mariska' is the Hungarian dimunitive form of 'Maria'). in The Hague, in the Netherlands. Her father, Lajos Veres (1912–1981), was a Hungarian violinist of Roma descent. Her German-born mother, Maria Antonia Ender (1912–1986), was of French and Russian heritage. The elder Veres had emigrated to the Netherlands from Hungary in 1939, settling in Rotterdam. Several of his family members were killed in The Holocaust.

Mariska had two siblings, both of whom were also musicians, and Mariska began taking singing and piano lessons from an early age. She cited British pop singers Cliff Richard and Helen Shapiro as influences.

Veres began her career as a singer in 1963 with the guitar band Les Mystères. In 1964 the band recorded an EP (GTB-label, 10 copies only) with Veres singing on side 1: "Summertime" (solo) and "Someone" (a duet). In 2010 the EP was re-released by record club Platenclub Utrecht (PLUT 009). In 1965, she sang with the Bumble Bees, and then with the Blue Fighters, Danny and his Favourites and General Four. Later in 1966 she sang with the Motowns with whom she also played organ.

In 1968, she was invited to join Shocking Blue to replace lead singer Fred de Wilde, who had to join the army. In 1969/1970 Shocking Blue gained worldwide fame with the hit single "Venus". The month of their arrival in the United States gossip columnist Earl Wilson referred to Veres as a "beautiful busty girl'".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.