Henny de Munnik passed away in Emmen, where he lives. De Munnik was one of the founders of Black Lake and he was part of this well-known band as a drummer for 28 years.
Ask a number of random people in Southeast Drenthe to name a well-known band from the region and you will definitely hear the name Black Lake several times. Not surprisingly. The band was founded in 1962, quickly built up a reputation and still performs regularly.
If you say Black Lake, you also say Henny de Munnik. He was a founding member and was behind the drums for the first 28 years. In 1990, when he was 45 years old, he dropped out. Due to back problems, he could no longer maintain the solid repertoire of the band. De Munnik did not immediately put the drumsticks in the cupboard. In the period after that he accompanied the accordion duo Jan & Zwaan for another four years.
Henny de Munnik grew up in Zwartemeer, in a family with five children. His father, who was a peat worker, played the accordion. It wasn’t long before young Henny had a drum kit in the house. At the age of 17 he founded Black Lake Shadows with fellow villagers Gerrit de Hoop and Hammy Hemme. The first part of the name referred to the gentlemen’s place of residence at the time, the second part to the band from which they played a lot of music. Songs by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Gene Pitney, The Spotnicks and René and the Alligators, among others, were also on the repertoire. Besides De Munnik, De Hoop and Hemme, Henk Linneman and Siebe Pol were also part of the first occupation.
Dark hair, handsome guy
,,I remember how we started in 1962”, De Munnik looked back in 2003 in Dagblad van het Noorden. ,,Our first performance was one afternoon in Berend Gustin’s café in Barger-Compascuum. Gustin picked us up. There were five of us, complete with installation and instruments, in a Volkswagen Beetle.” It went well. So good, in fact, that Gustin wanted the band to perform again the same night. That happened and at the end of the day the musicians closed the door behind them with a satisfied feeling and 25 guilders from the bar owner richer. Then the ball started rolling. ,,Especially after we had played at Van Hemmen in Gasselte, the dancing with the glass dance floor. Many famous artists came there. If you performed there, it really couldn’t go wrong.”
Almost the whole of the Netherlands and parts of Germany became the working area. In 1970 the band left Emmer-Compascuum together with The Rhythm Stars. The name Black Lake Shadows became Black Lake and the band became professional. For De Munnik this meant that he quit his job at the Honeywell factory. For the born Zwartemeerder, 1970 was an important year for another reason. He married Atie Wever from Emmen, the girl he had been dating for seven years. ,,The first time I saw Henny was in dancing Wams in New Amsterdam”, says Atie. ,,I was with a group of friends and Henny performed with the Black Lake Shadows. He immediately caught my eye. Dark hair, handsome guy. I danced around him as much as possible, but he didn’t notice me.”
Professional musician
It all worked out fine, a week later. ,, During the VVV week I was with friends in café Groothuis in Emmen and who walked in with a bunch of friends? That Black Lake Shadows drummer! After some time he came to me and asked me to dance. He turned out not only handsome, but also very nice. At the end of the evening he brought me home with the Zundapp and we never left each other again.”
De Munnik thought life as a professional musician was fantastic. ,,The fun, the togetherness in good and bad times, the performances. Well, actually everything”, he said in 2003. Jet black was the year 1980. The then 28-year-old singer / guitarist Koos Bloemsma collided with his car against a beet truck at Erica and was killed. The band continued, although its survival was at stake for a while.
In the second half of the 1980s, De Munnik started having back problems. In 1990 that pain was so great that he was forced to drop out. In Zwartemeer he was offered a big farewell concert in a party tent and the drummer and his wife were picked up from home by limousine.
After a year of sick leave, De Munnik picked up drumming again. For about four years he was the permanent percussionist of Jan & Zwaan and he also accompanied artists such as Ria Valk and Corry Konings on several occasions. ,,The lighter work, he could do that just fine”, says wife Atie. In 2002 De Munnik was asked if he might want to return to Black Lake. Because he didn’t feel like going out all weekends again, he declined the honor.
Henry van der Most
De Munnik had already been active as a painter for several years for striking businessman Hennie van der Most. He worked in Speelstad Oranje, the former water tower De Koperen Hoogte in De Lichtmis, and he also painted Van der Most’s private home. In his spare time he liked to go out with his wife and mutual friends. Several (former) band members of Black Lake and their partners belonged to that group. De Munnik also liked fishing and sculpting, as well as spending the summer months in the mobile home in Noordwijkerhout. ,,We had a fantastic life together, I can’t say anything else”, said Atie De Munnik-Wever.
In July last year, dark clouds gathered over this happiness. De Munnik was struggling with health problems and was found to have cancer after examination. An operation followed, but it did not lead to a good recovery.
The amiable musician passed away on June 26, at the age of 78. The farewell took place in a small circle.
2023-07-05 19:02:33
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