Anton Goosen

As a young boy in school, Goosen was not considered 'bright'. At the age of 9, his teachers sought to place him in a class for mentally challenged children as his behaviour became disruptive. When he was 17, a guidance counsellor suggested to Goosen that he abandon his music career.

In 1963, Goosen was expelled from boarding school after being caught in a bath playing guitar and smoking. His guitar was confiscated and its case filled with bricks. Despite this, Goosen persevered and formed his high school's first rock band that same year.[4]

Goosen attended the Teachers Training College Heidelberg, and qualified in Special Education after which he taught school for awhile, and worked as a writer and reviewer for Beeld, before becoming a full-time song writer.[5]

Goosen wrote songs for other artists, most notably and prodigiously for Sonja Herholdt, but also for Carike Keuzenkamp, Laurika Rauch, Richard Clayderman, Francis Goya, and Koos Kombuis.[5] He released his own first album, Boy Van Die Suburbs, in 1979, and it sold over 80,000 copies.[5] He was noted for being the first to produce an album of his own works entirely in Afrikaans. He used irony and symbolism in his songs to protest against removals to Bantustans and to underline the injustices behind the Soweto riots.[5]

Goosen is noted for two films for which he wrote music and directed: 'n Brief vir Simone (1980) and Sing vir die Harlekyn (1980).[6] He wrote the theme music for Die Laaste Tango (2013), 'n Pawpaw vir my Darling (2016) and Siembamba (Lullaby) (2017). As early as 1980 Goosen was referred to as the father of the Afrikaans chanson.[7]

• Anton Goosen official website
• Anton Goosen in The South African Rock Encyclopedia