Shocking Blue-Best (1973)

Shocking Blue made history as the first Dutch group to reach number one on the US Billboard charts with the song "Venus", which also became a massive worldwide hit. Founded in The Hague in 1967, the band was centered around guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen, who recruited guitarist Fred de Wilde, bassist Klassje Van der Wal, and drummer Van der Beek. After signing with Polydor Records, they recorded their first single, "Love Is in the Air", which failed to chart. However, they achieved considerable success with their next single, "Lucy Brown Is Back in Town", a song with clear British Invasion pop influences. A year later, their debut album, "Beat with Us", was released, and shortly after, Van Leeuwen added singer Mariska Veres, who was soon hailed as the Dutch Grace Slick for her versatile and powerful voice. With Mariska already in the fold, they released the vibrant song "Send Me a Postcard", with a more psychedelic sound than anything they had done up to that point. From this point on, the band established themselves as the sensation of Dutch pop-rock, achieving another hit with "Long Lonesome Road". In 1969, the song "Venus" definitively cemented their international success with numerous number one hits around the world. However, the same cannot be said for their native Netherlands, where it only reached a modest eleventh place on the charts. The following year, the band continued to release great songs that didn't achieve the worldwide success of "Venus", although they did find success in Europe with "Mighty Joe" and "Never Marry a Railroad Man", both of which reached number one in the Netherlands. During 1971 and 1972, the group released their last albums with mixed success, despite containing high-quality songs such as "Hello Darkness", "Blossom Lady", "Shocking You", and "Rock in the Sea". From that year onward, the group gradually lost the public's interest and eventually disbanded.