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On this day, October 16, 1923, Bert Kaempfert was born.
Last edited Mon Oct 28, 2024, 10:22 AM - Edit history (1)
Bert Kaempfert
Kaempfert in 1967
Background information
Birth name: Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert
Born: 16 October 1923; Barmbek, Hamburg, Germany
Died: 21 June 1980 (aged 56); Majorca, Spain
Genres: Easy listening, instrumental, jazz, big band
Occupation(s): Orchestra leader, composer
Instrument(s): Accordion, clarinet, piano, saxophone
Years active: 1939–1980
Labels: Polydor, Decca USA, MCA
Website: www.kaempfert.de/en/
Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including "Strangers in the Night", “Danke Schoen” and "Moon Over Naples".
Early life and career
Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the local school of music. A multi-instrumentalist, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra, before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band and toured with them, following that by working as an arranger and producer, making hit records with Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić. Kaempfert met his future wife, Hannelore, in 1945. They married a year later, on 14 August 1946. They had two daughters, Marion and Doris.
Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra
Kaempfert's first hit with his orchestra was "Wonderland by Night". Recorded in July 1959, the song could not get released in Germany, so Kaempfert took the track to Decca Records in New York, which released it in America in the fall of 1960. With its haunting solo trumpet by Charles Tabor, muted brass, and lush strings, the single topped the American pop charts and turned Bert Kaempfert and Orchestra into international stars. Over the next few years, he revived such pop tunes as "Tenderly", "Red Roses for a Blue Lady", "Three O'Clock in the Morning", and "Bye Bye Blues", as well as composing pieces of his own, including "Spanish Eyes" ( a.k.a. "Moon Over Naples" ), "Danke Schoen", and "Wooden Heart", which were recorded by, respectively, Al Martino, Wayne Newton, and Elvis Presley. For Kaempfert, little brought him more personal satisfaction than Nat King Cole recording his "L-O-V-E".
Kaempfert's orchestra made extensive use of horns. A couple of numbers that featured brass prominently, "Magic Trumpet" and "The Mexican Shuffle", were played by both Kaempfert's orchestra and by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The Brass covered "Magic Trumpet", and Kaempfert returned the favor by covering Brass compadre Sol Lake's number "The Mexican Shuffle". The latter tune evolved into a TV ad, The Teaberry Shuffle.
Promotion of the Beatles
In his capacity as record producer, Kaempfert played a part in the rise of the Beatles. In 1961, he hired the Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on an album called My Bonnie. Sheridan had been performing in Hamburg, and needed to recruit a band to play behind him on the proposed tracks. Kaempfert auditioned and signed the Beatles, and recorded two tracks with them during his sessions for Sheridan: "Ain't She Sweet" (sung by rhythm guitarist John Lennon) and "Cry for a Shadow" (an instrumental written by Lennon and lead guitarist George Harrison). The album and its singles, released by Polydor Records, were the Beatles' first commercially released recordings.
On 28 October 1961, a man walked into the Liverpool music store owned by Brian Epstein and asked for a copy of "My Bonnie", a song recorded by the Beatles but credited to Tony Sheridan. The store did not have it, but Epstein noted the request. He was so intrigued by the idea of a Liverpool band releasing a record that he investigated. That event led to his discovery of the Beatles and, through his efforts, their signing by George Martin to Parlophone Records after Kaempfert helped them avoid any contractual claim from Polydor.
{snip}
Songwriting
Throughout the 1960s, various artists recorded renditions of Kaempfert's music:
{snip}
Kaempfert in 1967
Background information
Birth name: Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert
Born: 16 October 1923; Barmbek, Hamburg, Germany
Died: 21 June 1980 (aged 56); Majorca, Spain
Genres: Easy listening, instrumental, jazz, big band
Occupation(s): Orchestra leader, composer
Instrument(s): Accordion, clarinet, piano, saxophone
Years active: 1939–1980
Labels: Polydor, Decca USA, MCA
Website: www.kaempfert.de/en/
Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including "Strangers in the Night", “Danke Schoen” and "Moon Over Naples".
Early life and career
Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the local school of music. A multi-instrumentalist, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra, before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band and toured with them, following that by working as an arranger and producer, making hit records with Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić. Kaempfert met his future wife, Hannelore, in 1945. They married a year later, on 14 August 1946. They had two daughters, Marion and Doris.
Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra
Kaempfert's first hit with his orchestra was "Wonderland by Night". Recorded in July 1959, the song could not get released in Germany, so Kaempfert took the track to Decca Records in New York, which released it in America in the fall of 1960. With its haunting solo trumpet by Charles Tabor, muted brass, and lush strings, the single topped the American pop charts and turned Bert Kaempfert and Orchestra into international stars. Over the next few years, he revived such pop tunes as "Tenderly", "Red Roses for a Blue Lady", "Three O'Clock in the Morning", and "Bye Bye Blues", as well as composing pieces of his own, including "Spanish Eyes" ( a.k.a. "Moon Over Naples" ), "Danke Schoen", and "Wooden Heart", which were recorded by, respectively, Al Martino, Wayne Newton, and Elvis Presley. For Kaempfert, little brought him more personal satisfaction than Nat King Cole recording his "L-O-V-E".
Kaempfert's orchestra made extensive use of horns. A couple of numbers that featured brass prominently, "Magic Trumpet" and "The Mexican Shuffle", were played by both Kaempfert's orchestra and by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The Brass covered "Magic Trumpet", and Kaempfert returned the favor by covering Brass compadre Sol Lake's number "The Mexican Shuffle". The latter tune evolved into a TV ad, The Teaberry Shuffle.
Promotion of the Beatles
In his capacity as record producer, Kaempfert played a part in the rise of the Beatles. In 1961, he hired the Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on an album called My Bonnie. Sheridan had been performing in Hamburg, and needed to recruit a band to play behind him on the proposed tracks. Kaempfert auditioned and signed the Beatles, and recorded two tracks with them during his sessions for Sheridan: "Ain't She Sweet" (sung by rhythm guitarist John Lennon) and "Cry for a Shadow" (an instrumental written by Lennon and lead guitarist George Harrison). The album and its singles, released by Polydor Records, were the Beatles' first commercially released recordings.
On 28 October 1961, a man walked into the Liverpool music store owned by Brian Epstein and asked for a copy of "My Bonnie", a song recorded by the Beatles but credited to Tony Sheridan. The store did not have it, but Epstein noted the request. He was so intrigued by the idea of a Liverpool band releasing a record that he investigated. That event led to his discovery of the Beatles and, through his efforts, their signing by George Martin to Parlophone Records after Kaempfert helped them avoid any contractual claim from Polydor.
{snip}
Songwriting
Throughout the 1960s, various artists recorded renditions of Kaempfert's music:
• "Strangers in the Night" (with words by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder), was originally recorded as part of his score for the 1966 film A Man Could Get Killed. It became a #1 hit for Frank Sinatra in 1966, despite Sinatra's hatred of the song, which he called the “worst fucking song that I have ever heard”. This was followed a year later with another hit for Sinatra, "The World We Knew (Over and Over)".
{snip}
L-O-V-E
33,294,514 views Feb 19, 2017
Nat King Cole
245K subscribers
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group
L-O-V-E · Nat King Cole
L-O-V-E
℗ 1964 Capitol Records, LLC
Released on: 1992-01-01
Composer: Bert Kaempfert
Author: Milt Gabler
Auto-generated by YouTube.
33,294,514 views Feb 19, 2017
Nat King Cole
245K subscribers
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group
L-O-V-E · Nat King Cole
L-O-V-E
℗ 1964 Capitol Records, LLC
Released on: 1992-01-01
Composer: Bert Kaempfert
Author: Milt Gabler
Auto-generated by YouTube.
Three O'Clock In The Morning
66,890 views Sep 15, 2018
Bert Kaempfert
11.4K subscribers
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group
Three O'Clock In The Morning · Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra
Blue Midnight
℗ A Polydor recording; ℗ 1964 Doris Kaempfert, under exclusive license to Universal Music GmbH
Released on: 1964-01-01
Producer: Bert Kaempfert
Producer: Milt Gabler
Composer: Julian Robledo
Arranger, Work Arranger: Bert Kaempfert
Auto-generated by YouTube.
66,890 views Sep 15, 2018
Bert Kaempfert
11.4K subscribers
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group
Three O'Clock In The Morning · Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra
Blue Midnight
℗ A Polydor recording; ℗ 1964 Doris Kaempfert, under exclusive license to Universal Music GmbH
Released on: 1964-01-01
Producer: Bert Kaempfert
Producer: Milt Gabler
Composer: Julian Robledo
Arranger, Work Arranger: Bert Kaempfert
Auto-generated by YouTube.
Teaberry Gum Commercial 1960's Herb Alpert Teaberry Shuffle
mark loudin
2.75K subscribers
This gum was made buy Clark. The theme music was by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass origianly entitled the Mexican Shuffle renamed the Teaberry Shuffle
mark loudin
2.75K subscribers
This gum was made buy Clark. The theme music was by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass origianly entitled the Mexican Shuffle renamed the Teaberry Shuffle
Mon Oct 28, 2024: On October 28, 1961, a customer walked into the Liverpool music store owned by Brian Epstein and asked for ...
Wed Oct 16, 2024: On this day, October 16, 1923, Bert Kaempfert was born. {this one}
Thu Apr 11, 2024: On this day, April 11, 1966, Frank Sinatra recorded "Strangers in the Night."
Mon Oct 30, 2023: On October 28, 1961, a customer walked into the Liverpool music store owned by Brian Epstein and asked for ...
Mon Oct 16, 2023: On this day, October 16, 1923, Bert Kaempfert was born.
Tue Apr 11, 2023: On this day, April 11, 1966, Frank Sinatra recorded "Strangers in the Night."
Sun Oct 16, 2022: On this day, October 16, 1923, Bert Kaempfert was born.