Before the band became widely known as Ro-d-Ys, they had been active for several years under the name Popular Pipers Boys Band . When they became professional musicians in 1966 , the name of the band was changed to Rowdies, but a number of bands already appeared to perform under that name, and they decided to rename the band Ro-d-Ys. They were discovered by Wim Zomer , who attended drama school in Arnhem and was Winschoten originated, but it didn't last, soon after they met Hans van Hemert , who worked for Phonogram, took the group under his wing. Van Hemert, had already worked with Q65 , Zen and Groep 1850.
Their first single You Better Take Care Of Yourself / Wheels, Wheels, Wheels was released in December 1966. In 1967 a number of singles followed, mainly played by Radio Veronica . The group toured through Italy and England , and records sold well in Germany and Belgium as well. The first LP Just Fancy garnered good reviews. When drummer Bennie Groen had to join the army to fulfill his military service , Dick Beekman (ex. Cuby + Blizzards) joined the band. After his discharge from the army, however, Groen returned as a regular drummer.
1968 was to be the big year for Ro-d-Ys . Α concept album entitled Earnest Vocation, was released and was based on the novel Little John by Frederik van Eeden. Producer Van Hemert approached Bert Paige, who took the arragements and the orchestration of the songs. The album fitted with the psychedelic era and was well received, but the singles released from the album were not very successful. When Rijnbergen temporarily left the band in September 1968, their popularity was already declining sharply. In the same period the group broke up with manager Wim Zomer.
With a new manager Krijn Torringa the band (and with Harry Rijnbergen on board again) tried a new comeback in 1969 with Annet Hesterman as a singer. A year earlier she had declined an offer to become a singer with Shocking Blue . However, the new single Winter Woman / Looking for Something Better did not go as much as they expected.. Rijnbergen and Groen then left the band, to join Zen. After a few unsuccessful singles, they disbanded in 1970.
Joop Hulzebos died on 27 September 1998, aged 52. On March 15, 2003, Berend Groen passed away at the age of 56. On September 23, 2006, on the initiative of the Ro-d-Ys Foundation, a monument for the band was unveiled in Oude Pekela.
Tracks
1. You Better Take Care Of Yourself - 2:27
2. Take Her Home - 2:37
3. Just Fancy - 3:02
4. Tomorrow - 2:33
5. Just Go Go - 2:54
6. Destination - 3:03
7. I Still Got You - 2:03
8. Let's Try - 2:29
9. Nothing To Change A Mind - 2:31
10.Sleep Sleep Sleep - 3:08
11.Anytime - 3:13
12.Unforgettable Girl - 3:08
13.Earnest Vacation - 4:59
14.Let It Be Tomorrow - 2:17
15.Look For Windchild - 2:38
16.Winter Woman - 4:25
All compositions by Harry Rijnbergen
Track 1 from single You Better Take Care Of Yourself 1966
Track 2 from single Take Her Home 1967
Tracks 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 from LP Just Fancy 1967
Track 9 from single Nothing To Change A Mind 1967
Track 10 from single Sleep, Sleep, Sleep 1968
Track 11 from single Anytime 1968
Tracks 12, 13, 14, 15 from LP Earnest Vocation 1968
Track 16 from single Winter Woman 1969
Ro-D-Ys
*Harry Rijnbergen - Guitar, Vocals
*Joop Hulzebos - Guitar, Keyboards
*Wiechert Kenter - Bass, Trumpet, Vibraphone
*Bennie Groen - Drums
*Dick Beekman - Drums
*Annet Hesterman - Vocals