MUSICIAN

Toots Thielemans

1922 - 2016

Photo of Toots Thielemans

Icon of person Toots Thielemans

Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans ([tuts tiləmans]), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and whistling skills, and composing. According to jazz historian Ted Gioia, his most important contribution was in "championing the humble harmonica", which Thielemans made into a "legitimate voice in jazz". Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Toots Thielemans has received more than 865,674 page views. His biography is available in 34 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 31 in 2019). Toots Thielemans is the 257th most popular musician (down from 230th in 2019), the 157th most popular biography from Belgium (down from 146th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Belgian Musician.

Toots Thielemans is most famous for his harmonica playing. He has been playing the harmonica since he was a child and was mentored by jazz legend Benny Goodman.

Memorability Metrics

  • 870k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.16

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 34

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.52

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.76

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Toots Thielemans by language

Over the past year Toots Thielemans has had the most page views in the with 65,530 views, followed by Dutch (19,254), and French (13,998). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Ido (105.90%), Basque (83.46%), and Southern Azerbaijani (56.40%)

Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Toots Thielemans ranks 257 out of 3,175. Before him are Maria Theresia von Paradis, Peter Tosh, Beck, Wanda Landowska, Chico Buarque, and Bob Klose. After him are Henryk Szeryng, Karl Jenkins, Heinrich Neuhaus, Paul Stanley, Steve Harris, and Billy Idol.

Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1922, Toots Thielemans ranks 69. Before him are Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Lucian Freud, Ugo Tognazzi, Adolfo Celi, Enrico Berlinguer, and Rajko Mitić. After him are Carlo M. Cipolla, Charles Mingus, Arthur Penn, Denholm Elliott, Karl-Otto Apel, and Richard Hamilton. Among people deceased in 2016, Toots Thielemans ranks 79. Before him are Michel Butor, Keith Emerson, Margot Honecker, Tony Burton, Thomas Schelling, and Iolanda Balaș. After him are Corry Brokken, Ashraf Pahlavi, Claude Gensac, Takahito, Prince Mikasa, Michal Kováč, and Chris Amon.

Others Born in 1922

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Others Deceased in 2016

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In Belgium

Among people born in Belgium, Toots Thielemans ranks 157 out of 1,190. Before him are Gudula (646), Henri, Count of Paris (1933), Eric Gerets (1954), Silvio Gesell (1862), Ermengarde of Hesbaye (778), and Lara Fabian (1970). After him are Blanche of Namur (1320), The Singing Nun (1933), Petrus Plancius (1552), Victor D'Hondt (1841), Abraham Brueghel (1631), and Chantal Akerman (1950).

Others born in Belgium

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Among MUSICIANS In Belgium

Among musicians born in Belgium, Toots Thielemans ranks 2. Before him are Django Reinhardt (1910). After him are Arthur Grumiaux (1921), Brian Molko (1972), Sigiswald Kuijken (1944), Adrien-François Servais (1807), Bobbejaan Schoepen (1925), André Cluytens (1905), Francis Goya (1946), Arthur De Greef (1862), Gotye (1980), and Lost Frequencies (1993).

Belgian born Musicians

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