In 1955, he won a singing competition, the "Jordaan festival",Hart 27–28. organized by the record company Bovema in collaboration with singer and composer Louis Noiret; the aim was to find the best voices from the Jordaan. His lifelong friend Tante Leen, a notable Jordaan singer in her own right, finished second in the same competition. His first single contained two Noiret compositions, "De Parel van de Jordaan" and "Bij ons in de Jordaan". After being played on an AVRO radio program the single was an instant hit record, propelling Johnny and his Jordaan to national fame—the entire neighborhood, which had been poor and deprived since the 19th century, suddenly became popular due to the success of Johnny Jordaan and others. Cabaret artist and historian Jacques Klöters referred to 1955 as "the year of Johnny Jordaan": he sold hundreds of thousands of records within months, got to perform in the Concertgebouw with Tante Leen, and helped popularize the "uncivilized" Jordaan dialect.Klöters 654.
