The Music of Mouth & MacNeal

I can bet that a lot of people have never heard of Mouth & MacNeal but I am pretty sure they have heard their million-selling recording of “How Do You Do”. They are a pop duo from the Netherlands and they came together in 1971. The duo consisted of Willem Duyn aka Big Mouth and Maggie MacNeal.

Previously Big Mouth has sung in other 1960s bands. Their first single “Hey You Love” rose up to number five on the Dutch Top 40 charts.  This was followed by their best-known hit “How Do You Do” and “Hello-A”. Both of these songs hit number one.

 “How Do You Do” was made popular in the U.S. by radio personality Jim Connors and reached the number eight spot on the U.S. charts in 1972. The song also spent 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the R.I.A.A. gold disc.

 In 1974 Mouth & MacNeal appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the Netherlands with their song “I See a Star” and got third place. Soon afterward they split up to each pursue a solo career. Sadly Duyn died of a heart attack in December of 2004 at the age of 67. MacNeal began performing as Sjoukje Smit in 2008 and attempted to reform Mouth&MacNeal with Arie Ribbens but wasn’t successful.