ZZ & de Maskers

1964 - ZZ & De Maskers (Artone PDR-138)

01. ZZ & De Maskers - Greensleeves
02. ZZ & De Maskers - Ik Heb Genoeg Van Jou
03. ZZ & De Maskers - Main Theme From James Bond 007
04. ZZ & De Maskers - La Comparsa
05. ZZ & De Maskers - Quizas Quizas Quizas
06. ZZ & De Maskers - Shake Hands
07. ZZ & De Maskers - Beat Girl
08. ZZ & De Maskers - Spanish Tears
09. ZZ & De Maskers - Cadillac
10. ZZ & De Maskers - Till
11. ZZ & De Maskers - Tamara
12. ZZ & De Maskers - Dracula

1965 - ZZ and de Maskers (Artone POS-020)

01. ZZ & De Maskers - Playboy Loves Playgirl
02. ZZ & De Maskers - So Sorry
03. ZZ & De Maskers - I Wanna Relax
04. ZZ & De Maskers - You're Old And Leaf
05. ZZ & De Maskers - Do, Do, Do You Love Me
06. ZZ & De Maskers - They Tell You
07. ZZ & De Maskers - I Wanna Keep You
08. ZZ & De Maskers - Slopping In Las Vegas
09. ZZ & De Maskers - She's Got My Heart
10. ZZ & De Maskers - Love Is Just A One Night Thing
11. ZZ & De Maskers - Nothing To Do
12. ZZ & De Maskers - Cheat Cheat
13. ZZ & De Maskers - Dracula (English Version)

1966 - Sensations In Sound (Artone PDS-510)

01. De Maskers - As Long As I Have You
02. De Maskers - Masters Of War
03. De Maskers - Living In The Past
04. De Maskers - Angelique
05. De Maskers - Play The Game Now
06. De Maskers - Three's A Crowd
07. De Maskers - Baby Blue.mp3
08. De Maskers - Love Passed By
09. De Maskers - Danny Boy
10. De Maskers - Hodge Podge
11. De Maskers - What Price Fame
12. De Maskers - Kashbah
13. De Maskers - Turn Of The Tide

1967 - Beat Meets Rhythm & Blues (Artone PDR-552)

01. De Maskers - Batman TV Theme
02. De Maskers - Brand New Cadillac
03. De Maskers - Georgia On My Mind
04. De Maskers - Goldfinger
05. De Maskers - Smack Dab In The Middle
06. De Maskers - He Cursed Him
07. De Maskers - The Saint
08. De Maskers - Shame And Scandal In The Family
09. De Maskers - Come On Boy, Join The Army
10. De Maskers - Formula V Special
11. De Maskers - Unchain My Heart
12. De Maskers - Come With Me My Honey
13. De Maskers - Let The Good Times Roll
14. De Maskers - Ave Maria No Morro
15. De Maskers - Because I'm In Love
16. De Maskers - North Sea Melody

1967 - Shame On You (Artone PDS-560)

01. De Maskers - Shame On You
02. De Maskers - No Use Crying
03. De Maskers - I'll Take Care Of You
04. De Maskers - It Will Never Happen Again
05. De Maskers - Wade In The Water
o6. De Maskers - Hard Times
07. De Maskers - You're Taking Hold Of Me
08. De Maskers - Baby Don't You Do It
09. De Maskers - I Believe To My Soul
10. De Maskers - Watermelon Man
11. De Maskers - Sack O'Woe
12. De Maskers - Bill Bailey

The group arises late 1962 as singer Bob Bouber saw the Amsterdam band the Apron Strings on stage. He thougt the concept of ZZ & de Maskers with the entire group (including him self as ZZ) acting with masks. Later Bouber discard his mask. The group was initially focused on Dutch rock with songs like "Dracula," "Ik Heb Genoeg Van Jou," and "Shake Hands." In addition to the vocals of Bob Bouber they played a large number of instrumental tracks as ZZ & de Maskers -- although Bouber was not contributing to them. Jan de Hont was the soloist in these songs, of which La Comparsa became a classic. Inspired by the British beat music in 1964, the group also recorded songs in English as "Sloppin' in Las Vegas" (also as "Stoppin' In Las Vegas" with Chubby Checker in 1965) and "Cheat, Cheat, Cheat.

After five mostly instrumental years as "ZZ en de Maskers", and the split from their singer Bob Bouber, Jan de Hont and his Amsterdam guys tried to find new roads as De Maskers. Times had changed. Beat and Rhythm & Blues had taken over from instrumentals. The first single with the new face was "Brand New Cadillac", a cover from The Renegades. The record reaches #15 in the Dutch hit list. After that a new single came with Chubby Checker; "Baby, Baby, Balla, Balla!!!, who reached #17 in Holland and climbed to #1 in Germany. De Maskers recorded three original lp's, from who --in my opinion-- the first: "Sensations In Sound" was the best. The second lp mixed up some new tracks with a couple of older instrumentals. The record company had for sure troubles with the new 'beat face' of De Maskers, and tried to please the old fans this way. That makes it even more difficult for the band to build up a new public image. The third and last long player was more Rhythm and Blues orientated, but missed the real touch from --for instance-- The Incrowd and The Rodys, two other Dutch R&B groups. But overall De Maskers were one off the best and most important Dutch bands in the sixties with their superb guitarist Jan de Hont.