Taco Ockerse (born July 21, 1955 in Jakarta, Indonesia), known mononymously… Read Full Bio ↴Taco Ockerse (born July 21, 1955 in Jakarta, Indonesia), known mononymously as Taco, is an Indonesian-born Dutch singer. He gained international stardom when in 1982 he recorded a distinctive cover record of the old Irving Berlin favorite, Puttin' on the Ritz in Germany, which made him famous early the next year (United States Billboard chart number 4). It has been reported that he did not speak any English at all and merely read the lyrics from transliterations, but this is false: Taco speaks English and almost always performed in English. He also speaks German, having recorded a couple of songs ("Träume brauchen Zeit" and "Blauer Vogel, steig!") for German Eurovision in 1981. He is also a speaker of Dutch and French.
Taco was born to a Dutch couple in Jakarta (On a side note, Indonesia was once a Dutch colony). Prior to his worldwide hit with Puttin' on the Ritz, he fronted a Berlin-based band called Taco's Bizz. Their niche was performing Depression-era oldies in a more contemporary style, and soon Taco was courted by record labels to release a solo single. Puttin' on the Ritz gained so much attention that an entire album was funded by RCA Records. Both the album and the single were hits in Europe, and thanks to a popular MTV video for Puttin' on the Ritz, the single and the album became hits in America as well, selling over 500,000 copies of Taco's 1982 debut album After Eight.
A follow-up album, Let's Face The Music, was recorded in 1984 for RCA, but it failed to recreate Taco's initial success, and he vanished from the American market immediately thereafter. Taco continued to record, however, focusing mostly on the German market with albums Swing Classics/In The Mood Of Glenn Miller in 1985 and Tell Me That You Like It in 1986 for Polydor. In 1987 he recorded the self-titled album Taco. In 1989 he briefly flirted with contemporary dance music by releasing a pair of singles, Love Touch and Got To Be Your Lover, that were blatantly styled after the high energy disco sound popularized by Stock Aitken Waterman. Afterwards he repositioned himself as a swing/soul singer. He has collaborated with Geff Harrison of Kin Ping Meh fame.
He currently resides in Germany, occasionally performing in Berlin and recording.
He has been referenced on the TV show The Simpsons. Episode BABF19, "Behind the Laughter", features Willie Nelson saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco", as well as the end of the tribute itself. Recently, Taco was referenced in an episode of The Venture Bros. in describing Klaus Nomi's tuxedo attire.
Taco was born to a Dutch couple in Jakarta (On a side note, Indonesia was once a Dutch colony). Prior to his worldwide hit with Puttin' on the Ritz, he fronted a Berlin-based band called Taco's Bizz. Their niche was performing Depression-era oldies in a more contemporary style, and soon Taco was courted by record labels to release a solo single. Puttin' on the Ritz gained so much attention that an entire album was funded by RCA Records. Both the album and the single were hits in Europe, and thanks to a popular MTV video for Puttin' on the Ritz, the single and the album became hits in America as well, selling over 500,000 copies of Taco's 1982 debut album After Eight.
A follow-up album, Let's Face The Music, was recorded in 1984 for RCA, but it failed to recreate Taco's initial success, and he vanished from the American market immediately thereafter. Taco continued to record, however, focusing mostly on the German market with albums Swing Classics/In The Mood Of Glenn Miller in 1985 and Tell Me That You Like It in 1986 for Polydor. In 1987 he recorded the self-titled album Taco. In 1989 he briefly flirted with contemporary dance music by releasing a pair of singles, Love Touch and Got To Be Your Lover, that were blatantly styled after the high energy disco sound popularized by Stock Aitken Waterman. Afterwards he repositioned himself as a swing/soul singer. He has collaborated with Geff Harrison of Kin Ping Meh fame.
He currently resides in Germany, occasionally performing in Berlin and recording.
He has been referenced on the TV show The Simpsons. Episode BABF19, "Behind the Laughter", features Willie Nelson saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco", as well as the end of the tribute itself. Recently, Taco was referenced in an episode of The Venture Bros. in describing Klaus Nomi's tuxedo attire.
Just A Friend
Taco Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Just A Friend' by these artists:
Adam Douglas When I wake up I try to see The little things…
All Ends Oooh Who am I to argue? I can't change the color of…
Awolnation & hyro the hero Have you ever met a girl that you tried to…
Bonnie Bianco When we met, you made me feel so good But I…
Booker T. Jones Just friends, lovers no more Just friends, but not like befo…
Concrete Castles Why do you hide when your phone lights up the…
D.C. Lewis Just friends, lovers no more Just friends, but not like befo…
DJ-SLT-UK We're running out of time but something on my mind But…
Edith Frost I've got a bad feeling something's going down soon Invisib…
Gray When will we get The time to be Just friends? It's never saf…
J.J. Fad 우리 처음 마주한 그날 너는 기억이 안 날지 모르지만 나는 선명하게 기억해 니가…
Jamie Grace I saw you in the hallway, With all of your friends, And…
Jasmine V Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Say what you want Do what you …
Jasmine Villegas Uh, what up? Yeah yeah yeah New jasmine v baby Are we on? Ye…
Jay Sean Hold me Both our bodies close together Teasin' me Let me get…
Jordi So you think I'm dumb now? So you think I'm naive You…
Kana Nishino After school 誰もいない教室 一日は instant なみに過ぎ去った ああでもないこうでもないジョ一ク交わ…
Katrina (Formerly of Katrina And The Waves) When you asked me if we were friends I agreed without…
Kidz Bop I wanna know you name and I wanna know if you…
KIDZ BOP Kids I want to know your name and I want to know…
L.W.S. inc. Just friends, lovers no more Just friends, but not like befo…
Luke Walton I see your face and I can’t erase what’s already…
Lunatics Without Skateboards Inc. I'm standing here, don't know what to say It has happened,…
Mario You ready for it, man I want to know your name…
Mario feat. Biz Markie Ya'll ready fo' me? Ahh I wanna know your name and I wann…
Mario Ft Fabolous You ready for it, man I want to know your name…
Mario Vazquez I want to know your name and I want to…
Mark & Almond I see her every day but she turns her face…
Markie Have you ever met a girl that you tried to…
Roy Acuff Hey hey baby you've been on my mind I knew…
Sandy Coast When the day comes to an end and darkness takes…
Skeletal Family Questions need of answer and answers need explaining Sometim…
T-Lost Every night, when I go to bed, I miss her I…
Tally Hall Have you ever met a girl that you tried to…
Terry And The Zydeco Bad Boys Just friends, lovers no more Just friends, but not like befo…
Toni Romiti You said she's just a friend, And I believed you but now…
Too Phat Verse 1 ( Malique ) have you ever met a…
Too Phat (Upload By Shamaziz) Verse 1 ( Malique ) have you ever met a…
Too Phat feat. V.E Verse 1 ( Malique ) have you ever met a…
Too Phat feat. V.E. Have you ever met a gurl that you thought was…
tory lanez First off baby, I'm too wavy for all this bullshit That…
V.E. Yeah we’re, just friends You ain’t gotta worry ‘bout a damn…
Winesy I don’t wanna fall in love again cuz …
We have lyrics for these tracks by Taco:
After Eight After eight, a rendezvous with Kate She works late, I've had…
Carmella I found her in a dirty little cafe in an…
Cheek To Cheek Chichi con c-con con chichi chichi con c-con) (Chichi con c-…
Desire Kiss you. I wanna kiss you あなたに全てを見透かされ 雨音響く部屋で 僕は僕を裏切りながら …
Encore Every evening, eight o'clock The curtain's up, the band begi…
Got To Be Your Lover Got to be your lover lover Wow wow I got to…
I Should Care I should care, I should go around weeping I should care,…
La Chambre Separee Contessa, of Tridessa Frequented clubs of bad taste In disgu…
La Vie En Rose Des yeux qui font baisser les miens Un rire qui se…
Let The Music Play (What we're gonna do?) (Gonna do what?) (Hey - what we're go…
Livin in My Dreamworld Livin' in my dreamworld, memories of yesteryear Visions of G…
Mas Que Nada Ô ariá raiô Obá, Obá, Obá, Ô ariá raiô Obá, Obá, Obá M…
Night And Day Where the jungle shadows fall Like the tick tick tick…
Opera Rap In the days of old Back in old Europa People got hip…
Puttin If you're blue and you don't know where to go…
Sayonara Chartered by starlight Searchin' the oceans Land of the risi…
Singin' In The Rain (My God... You fly thousands of miles to get some…
Somewhere Over the Rainbow Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that…
Taco's Charleston Charleston, Charleston ???.... Yes sir, that's my baby …
Thanks a Million Thanks a million, a million thanks to you For everything…
The Breaks Let's take a break and break it down I break you…
They Can't Take That Away From Me The way you wear your hat The way you sip your…
Tribute to Tino He ruled the golden silent screen He haunted millions in the…
Where Did Our Love Go Baby, baby, baby don't leave me Ooh, please don't leave me…
Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral You're bringin' me down You stood there…
You Are My Lucky Star You are my lucky star I saw you from afar Two…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found