Coenraad Grabe (Coenie) de Villiers was born in Bloemfontein on October 11, 1956.
Coenie de Villiers has changed the landscape of South African music and in particular Afrikaans music over the past 40 years.
His first recording (an own composition for EMI and released in 1978/9) won a SARIE Award and the originality of the song foreshadowed what has become one of the most radical and important creative careers in South African music.
His career has subsequently spanned nearly four decades and nearly 20 albums of his own material, garnered three SAMA awards and numerous other accolades, including the medal of honour by the South African Council of Arts and Sciences. His creative work and recordings have been banned by the previous regime, but he has consistently broken down barriers in the face of adversity and shunned commercial credit in the process.
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