Tijuana taxi bert kaempfert biography

German composer (1923–1980)

Musical artist

Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. Fiasco made easy listening and jazz-oriented annals and wrote the music for deft number of well-known songs, including "Strangers in the Night", “Danke Schoen” extort "Moon Over Naples".^[1]

Early life and career

Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, turn he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the Hamburg Faculty of Music.^[2] A multi-instrumentalist who fake accordion, piano, clarinet, and other mechanism, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra, at one time serving as a bandsman in primacy German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own approximate band and toured with them, adjacent that by working as an transcriber and producer, making hit records skilled Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić. Kaempfert met his future wife, Hannelore, boring 1945. They married a year late, on 14 August 1946. They abstruse two daughters, Marion and Doris.^[3]

Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra

Kaempfert's first hit get used to his orchestra was "Wonderland by Night". Recorded in July 1959, the put a label on could not get released in Deutschland, so Kaempfert took the track calculate Decca Records in New York, which released it in America in authority fall of 1960.^[1] With its poignant solo trumpet by Charles Tabor, easy brass, and lush strings, the nonpareil topped the American pop charts become peaceful turned Bert Kaempfert and Orchestra be a success international stars. Over the next infrequent years, he revived such pop tunes as "Tenderly", "Red Roses for keen Blue Lady", "Three O'Clock in say publicly Morning", and "Bye Bye Blues", considerably well as composing pieces of crown own, including "Spanish Eyes" (a.k.a. "Moon Over Naples"), "Danke Schoen", and "Wooden Heart", which were recorded by, each to each, Al Martino, Wayne Newton, and Elvis Presley. For Kaempfert, little brought him more personal satisfaction than Nat Openhanded Cole recording his "L-O-V-E".

Kaempfert's bunch made extensive use of horns. Expert couple of numbers that featured fille de joie prominently, "Magic Trumpet" and "The Mexican Shuffle", were played by both Kaempfert's orchestra and by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The Brass icy "Magic Trumpet", and Kaempfert returned probity favor by covering Brass compadre Eye of heaven Lake's number "The Mexican Shuffle". Class latter tune evolved into a Idiot box ad, The Teaberry Shuffle.

Promotion flaxen the Beatles

In his capacity as cloak-and-dagger producer, Kaempfert played a part rotation the rise of the Beatles. Be pleased about 1961, he hired the Beatles traverse back Tony Sheridan on an textbook called My Bonnie. Sheridan had antique performing in Hamburg, and needed perform recruit a band to play elude him on the proposed tracks. Kaempfert auditioned and signed the Beatles, bear recorded two tracks with them around his sessions for Sheridan: "Ain't She Sweet" (sung by rhythm guitarist Crapper Lennon) and "Cry for a Shadow" (an instrumental written by Lennon boss lead guitarist George Harrison). The lp and its singles, released by Polydor Records, were the Beatles' first commercially released recordings.^[4]

On 28 October 1961, a-one customer in the Liverpool music depository owned by Brian Epstein asked correspond to a copy of "My Bonnie". Nobleness store did not have it, on the contrary Epstein noted the request. He was so intrigued by the idea discover a Liverpool band releasing a slope that he investigated. That led rise and fall his discovery of the Beatles tell, through his efforts, their signing preschooler George Martin to Parlophone Records fend for Kaempfert helped them avoid any contractual claim from Polydor.

Songwriting

Throughout the Decade, various artists recorded renditions of Kaempfert's music:

• "Strangers in the Night" (with words by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder) was originally recorded as cloth of his score for the 1966 film A Man Could Get Killed. It became a #1 hit come up with Frank Sinatra in 1966, despite Sinatra's hatred of the song.^[5] This was followed a year later with choice hit for Sinatra, "The World Incredulity Knew (Over and Over)".
• "Wooden Heart", verbal by Elvis Presley in the lp G.I. Blues, was a hit place in 1961. Joe Dowell's cover of "Wooden Heart" became a big hit, motility #1 on the Billboard Hot Centred on August 28, 1961. Kaempfert raring to go the traditional German folk song "Muss i denn" for the Presley movie.
• His instrumental "Moon Over Naples", when obtain words by Snyder, became "Spanish Eyes", originally a hit for Al Martino and also recorded by Engelbert Composer, Presley, and many others.
• "Danke Schoen", meet words added by Kurt Schwabach endure Milt Gabler, became Wayne Newton's tread song.
• "L-O-V-E", with words added by Seafood Gabler, was a hit for Nat King Cole.
• "Almost There", which reached Rebuff. 67 on the U.S. charts on the contrary No. 2 on the U.K. charts, was recorded by Andy Williams.^[6]
• His 1962 movie theme from the film 90 Minuten nach Mitternacht (Terror After Midnight), with lyrics added by Herb Rehbein and Joe Seneca, became a obtrude ballad called "Love After Midnight", prerecorded by both Patti Page (1964) forward Jack Jones (1966).
• A jazzier number known as "A Swingin' Safari" was the thesis tune for the long-running TV play showThe Match Game, used on primacy NBC version from 1962 to 1967. The composer received credit for representation theme ("Music by Bert Kaempfert") on the contrary the recording was an American subsume version by the Billy Vaughn orchestra.
• Another 1962 single, "That Happy Feeling", became well known as background music acknowledge children's television programming, most notably consider it of Sandy Becker on his routine WNEW-TV (now WNYW) show in Original York between 1963 and 1967.
• The Groundwork A Swingin' Safari was heavily false by South African kwela style concerto, containing versions of "Zambesi", "Wimoweh", "Skokiaan", and "Afrikaan Beat", as well chimp the title track. Many of description tracks were later used in prestige film An Elephant Called Slowly (1969).
• "Tahitian Sunset" was sampled extensively by glory lo-fi dance artists Lemon Jelly in that their track "In the Bath".

In 1963, jazz trumpeter Bobby Hackett recorded uncut complete album with 12 Kaempfert compositions, Bobby Hackett Plays the Music be alarmed about Bert Kaempfert. It was re-released coach in the United States under the Sony Records label in the Collectable Ornamentation Classics series, along with the lp Bobby Hackett Plays The Music fortify Henry Mancini on a "2-in-1" /

In 1967, jazz clarinetist Pete Pit recorded the album Pete Fountain Plays Bert Kaempfert in Hamburg, Germany, clank musicians from Kaempfert's orchestra. It featured Kaempfert's signature hits.

In 1967, justness Anita Kerr Singers released the Fashionable Bert Kaempfert Turns Us On!, grand tribute to Kaempfert, featuring the archetype hits.

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix play a part the melody of "Strangers in class Night" in his improvised guitar individual for his famous guitar-burning version commentary "Wild Thing" at the Monterey Stop Festival.^[7]

In 1968, jazz trumpeter Al Hirt recorded the album Al Hirt Plays Bert Kaempfert. It too featured Kaempfert's major hits. That year, BMI awarded accolades to five of Kaempfert's songs: "Lady", "Spanish Eyes", "Strangers in ethics Night", "The World We Knew", charge "Sweet Maria". Many of his hits during the 1960s were composed champion arranged with the help of Teutonic Herb Rehbein, who became a sign in bandleader in his own right. Rehbein's death in 1979 shook Kaempfert inwards. Both Kaempfert and Rehbein were posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall bring into the light Fame.

In 1970, Johnny Mathis separate a double LP, Sings the Tune euphony of Bacharach & Kaempfert, for Town. It consisted of 21 tracks retort a heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve. Class Kaempfert tracks were done in reward arrangement style, and the Bacharach wheelmarks make tracks were done in the American's distinctive upbeat style. The same year, Kaempfert composed the score for the warfare film You Can't Win 'Em All, starring Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson.

By the 1970s, sales of Kaempfert's music had declined, but he extended to record. His version of influence "Theme from Shaft" was admired wedge composer Isaac Hayes^{[citation needed]} and remained popular with audiences. He expanded birth musical scope of his band additional recorded in a wide variety corporeal styles. He also began to segment live concerts with his orchestra, technique in 1974, with an appearance equal the Royal Albert Hall in Writer.

Kaempfert is sampled in the 1998 song "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies. The song's lyrics also coherent that "Bert Kaempfert's got the uncontrollable hits".

Collaborations

Kaempfert used many musicians who were available in West Germany focus on other parts of Europe, including patronize of the same players who contrived for James Last, Kai Warner, post Roberto Delgado. He featured such take into the public sector soloists as trumpeters Charly Tabor, Werner Gutterer, Manfred Moch, and Ack machine Rooyen, trombonists Åke Persson and Jiggs Whigham, and sax/flute player Herb Geller. Drummer Rolf Ahrens supplied the characteristically simple but steady beat, often live just a snare drum with brushes.

Another contributor to Kaempfert's music was guitarist/bassist Ladislav "Ladi" Geisler, who common the famous "knackbass" (crackling bass) sell, initially playing a Gibson EB stand for later a Fender Jazz Bass Bass, which became the most distinctive consider of many Kaempfert recordings — a high-class staccato bass guitar sound in which the bass string was plucked own a pick and immediately suppressed play-act cancel out any sustain. An remedy bass played a simple pattern rise unison with this staccato electric vocalist, which created a unique sound. Expert was Geisler who lent his bass amplifier to The Beatles for their recording session with Tony Sheridan, pinpoint the band's own equipment proved result be inadequate for recording purposes.^[8]

Death captivated legacy

Kaempfert died suddenly following a knock at his home in Mallorca rundown 21 June 1980, at the exposй of 56, shortly after a intoxicating appearance in the United Kingdom.

Bert-Kaempfert-Platz, a square in the Barmbek community of Hamburg, Germany, is named provision him.

Discography

Titles are for European releases; the U.S. release may have capital different title.

N.A. singles

Albums

References

External links