Ger Rijff
Ger Rijff in 1982
(Photo source: Showcase ...
/ Parool, March 3, 1982)
Gerrit Johannes Rijff was born in Amsterdam on December 10, 1951, and died unexpectedly on 13 July 2019 at the age of 67.
He took a special place in the Elvis fandom as a Dutchman:
he is praised in circles of connoisseurs as "a legendary icon" and "the leading expert on fifties data and photos",
praise that can be summarized in the statement "two words will forever remain synonymous with the fifties Elvis: Ger Rijff".
As a teenager fascinated by rock 'n' roll and all things America, Rijff first made a name for himself in the 1970s and 1980s as
a draftsman of rock 'n' roll cartoons for Muziek Parade and Aloha and as a cartoonist of, among others, the hippie strip
De Vogels (Daan and Dodo, 1970-1971). He was also involved in pornographic parodies of comics like Suske and Wiske,
Lucky Luke and Tintin. More importantly, Tall Hair Gerry (his nickname in America) who had seen Elvis perform three
times in the pre-internet era in 1976 and 1977 when everything happened through newsletters
became one of the first Elvis super collectors to uncover an impressive arsenal
of Elvis photographs from the 1950s in particular that he shared with his fellow fans in a series of groundbreaking
and high-quality books: before RCA's Follow That Dream label,
before Erik Lorentzen's Elvis Files, before the
Memphis Recording Service and before Boxcar Books, there were Ger Rijff and Tutti Frutti Productions.
He also released bootleg LPs and soundboard recordings, releases that led to the creation of RCA's collectively
active Follow That Dream label. In addition, he was involved in legal publications, including
The King Of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters box (1992), and was allowed to dive into the
RCA archives in the early 1990s with Ernst Jørgensen in search of material for
Hits Like Never Before: Essential Elvis Volume 3 (1990).
Yet it is especially those fantastic photo books (see the reference list below),
including several in collaboration with photographer Alfred Wertheimer, for which Rijff will be
remembered.
(the text above was adapted from the website "Boppin' Around", see the link below)
He had been struggling with his health for more than ten years and since then was mainly active
on the internet: you can find his beautiful writings on his highly recommended
Elvis Echoes of the Past (last access: December 30, 2024: offline)
website.
His brother, music journalist Lodewijk Rijff (1944-2010) wrote the books
Elvis Presley in 1977: The Biography Of A Phenomenon (1977) which was re-issued as
Herinneringen Elvis Presley 1935 1977 1985 in 1985, and with Pim Oets
Elvis Presley: Het Volledige Platenverhaal in 1978. Lodewijk contributed with his brother Ger and
JeanPaul Commandeur to the liner notes for the 50 CD box
The original Elvis Presley Collection in 1996.
Sources:
- Boppin' Around News / Elviswereld neemt afscheid van Ger Rijff ... (last access: 30 July 2021)
- Ger Rijff - Lambiek Comiclopedia ... (last access: 30 July 2021)
- Elvis Echoes of the Past (last access: December 28, 2024; website is offline)
For the book info and descriptions Ger's books were consulted. Additional background information was found in:
- Infinite Elvis; An Annotated Bibliography by Mary Hancock Hinds
- The Printed Elvis by Steven Opdyke
- theelvisforum.org / Ger Rijff books ... (last access: 30 July 2021)
Text updated: December 25, 2024
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