The distinctive vibrato of Amsterdam singers like Johnny Jordaan and Willy Alberti came in the fifties from every pub in the Jordaan. The popular Jordaan were justifiably proud of their artists, even though broadcasters refused to run these 'ordinary' music. Johnny Jordan (real name: John of Musscher) in 1955 won the talent show "Voice of the Jordan." The first picture he took (With Us In The Jordan)
… was an instant success. Yet was it Johnny not count in his life: he grew up in abject poverty, lost at the age of nine one eye after a romp with his nephew Carel Verbrugge (later known under the name Willy Alberti), had bad luck in business and struggled for years with his homosexual feelings. Enough material for a drama series broadcast by the VPRO in 2009.more