Born Ralph Rabie in 1960, Kerkorrel began his professional life as a journalist, but by 1986 he had performed his first live gig in Cape Town. These first performances were satirical and political cabarets. After moving back to Johannesburg in 1987 he started working with Andre Letoit (Koos Kombuis). They first performed as a duo, then a group of musicians joined them on stage and the band "Johannes Kerkorrel en die Gereformeerde Blues Band" (GBB) was born.

Johannes was one of the leading Afrikaans musical voices against Apartheid during the 1980’s, he was part of a generational movement that rebelled against authority and found his voice through music. In fact, Johannes Kerkorrel was one of the first white Afrikaans singers who got completely accepted by the media and public. Kerkorrel was a multi-talented artist - a journalist, singer-songwriter, playwright, and activist.