356/917 Harmony: 'tis OK (Netherlands 1978)

For the second time in this blog the random number generator picked a song that I had already reviewed, and so I chose the next song myself. Eurosong 356 does not change the world, but behind the smiles and fun show you find a very good song that makes the sun shine.

Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the first one I watched from start to finish as a seven year old schoolboy. I also tried to record the contest on tape, but because of empty batteries the cassette recorder managed to tape only the first ten seconds of each song before slowing down. I would have to wait another couple of years before I got a copy of a tape with full versions of the song. It took over ten years before I saw the video recording of the contest for the first time.

One of my fondest memories of this great contest was the Dutch entry. Harmony was a perky and colourful group (apparently assembled with the contest in mind) with Rosina Louwaars as their talented soloist. Despite of their faultless performance, the song only got 37 points and 13th place in the lineup of 20 countries.

This song always gets a smile on my face. In a good "ding a dong"-fashion the melody is catchy and has a great orchestral arrangement (with ever smiling Harry van Hoof conducting). The Dutch language is cream of the cake making a nice but ordinary pop ditty a little more pecial.

My points 5/5