Cees Veerman born 6 October 1943

Cees Veerman (6 October 1943 – 15 March 2014) was a Dutch musician. He was a singer, composer and guitarist for the rock band The Cats. He was born in Volendam in the province of North Holland.

The Cats began life as two separate duos: Cees Veerman and Arnold Muhren who started in a skiffle band; and cousins Piet Veerman and Jaap Schilder who modelled themselves after the Everly Brothers. The duos merged and became The Mystic Four, with Cees and Piet Veerman on vocals and guitar, Schilder on guitar (and piano), and Muhren on bass. By 1965 they changed their name to The Blue Cats, a reference to the colour of their suits and Cees' nickname, Poes (Dutch for 'cat'). Dropping the 'Blue' from their name in 1966 they recruited drummer Theo Klouwer. 

The Cats borrowed money from Jan Buys, who was later to become their manager, and recorded their first singles that immediately entered the charts. Singing in English thanks to a songwriting duo from England, the group sounded British. Cees initially performed the majority of the lead vocals but that was to change by 1968 when the band recorded a cover version of Studio Six' "Times Were When"; Piet felt that this song suited his voice better and Cees agreed. Arnold's lyrics and Piet's sad voice appeared to be a match made in heaven, spawning five Top 10 hits in the next two years. 

                                 

Their international popularity began to grow. By spring 1970 the Cats toured Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles and played one show on 4 April 1970 in Guyana. A tour of Indonesia followed early 1971. "Don't Waste Your Time" broke a string of Top 10 chart dominations, but the next single, "One Way Wind", became The Cats' biggest ever hit. In Germany it reached Number One chart position and in 1972 the band responded by releasing Katzenspiele (Cat's Play), featuring their hits rerecorded in German. By now, the band were very popular and had a busy touring schedule, which began to take its toll Cees contracted voice problems. Crew member Piet Keizer replaced him.

In 1976, Cees Veerman released a solo album called "Another Side of Me", which spawned the single "Sailor, Sail On (Dreamer, Dream On)". By this time Cees had rejoined the group and although the hits continued, the group didn't recapture past glories. In 1978 The Cats were booked to appear on chart-show to playback "She Was Too Young". It was, however, a thinly-disguised solo-performance by Cees. By the end of 1979 The Cats decided to disband. A farewell-single (a reissue of the 1972 track "End of the Show") charted as late as April 1980. After a brief Cats-reunion Piet Veerman had a solo-hit in 1987 with "Sailing Home". 

On 23 March 2006, The Cats were made Members of the Order of Orange-Nassau. The same year the group had a reunion to record a single for inclusion on a best of album. It went gold. Cees Veerman performed with the Cats Aglow Band who both supported and backed Willy DeVille at the latter's Amsterdam Carré Theatre show on 7 July 2008. 

He moved to Indonesia where he died in his sleep on the morning of 15 March 2014 in Yogyakarta, at the age of 70. 

(Edited from Wikipedia)