One of my favorite '60s rock singers, Dutch gypsy vocalist Mariska Veres had a powerful presence as front woman for the arty psych band Shocking Blue, one of the great teenage rock bands of the era. Best known for their original version of "Venus" (covered thousands of times, literally, around the world) and their FAR SUPERIOR original version of "Love Buzz" (covered by Nirvana), they had a lot of great tunes! Other great tunes from them are the Indian-tinged "Acka Raga", "Send Me A Postcard" and other killers.
Born in The Hague, her father was a Hungarian/Romani gypsy violinist and she learned piano as a girl. At 16 she joined the beat band Les Mysteres as vocalist. They recorded a single in '64 and she joined several other bands around that time, including playing organ in one of them. She made a few singles under her own name before she replaced the departed male vocalist for Shocking Blue in '68. They had a huge hit with "Venus" and they became one of the biggest bands in the Netherlands, Russia and Europe, but had success in markets around the world.
After the group split in '74, she started a solo career. Shocking Blue reunited in '84 to some success but was torn apart over the smash hit cover of "Venus" by Bananarama in '86. In '93 she formed the Shocking Jazz Quintet with the cheesy concept of recording jazz covers of classic rock hits. The end part of her life found her back with Shocking Blue. She sang in various languages and rediscovered her gypsy roots as she grew older.