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Bert Kaempfert
- Born 1923, Hamburg, Germany
- Died 21 June 1980, Majorca, Spain
Although he came on the scene much later than Ray Conniff or Percy Faith, Kaempfert was just as prolific and successful during his fifteen-year career with Decca. Kaempfert studied music in Hamburg and began performing and working as an arranger for German radio during World War II. After the war, he hired on with Polydor as an A&R (artists and repetoire) man, producing numerous recordings, including the first by the Beatles. In early 1961, Polydor contracted with Tony Sheridan, a British vocalist stranded. like the Beatles, trying to make enough money to get back home from Hamburg. Sheridan asked to be backed by the Beatles. Sheridan recorded "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and "When the Saints Go Marching In"; the Beatles recorded "Ain't She Sweet" and George's tip of the hat to the Shadows, "Cry for a Shadow." Kaempfert was unimpressed with their work and released the single under the name of "The Beat Brothers."
Kaempfert was winding down his A&R chores by then. His recording of his tune, "Wonderland By Night" reached #1 in the US charts in 1961, and he decided to concentrate on his orchestra and recordings. Between 1959 and 1973, Kaempfert released over 30 albums for Decca. Kaempfert was primarily a studio performer--his band rarely toured or appeared live. Many of his albums feature the melody played by trumpeter Fred Moch, and bassist Ladi Geisler laying down Kaempfert's signature rhythm line. Kaempfert and Geisler developed a special technique of plucking the string and then suppressing any sustenato, which gave the bass beat a particularly punchy sound--it's one of the strongest beats in pop music. Without it, Kaempfert would have sounded like just about any other light pop orchestra. Its effect was like a supercharge of nicotine in a cigarette--instantly addictive.
Kaempfert also enjoyed remarkable success as a composer. Two of his songs--"Spanish Eyes" and "Strangers in the Night"--are listed by BMI as having had over 4 million airplays. "Spanish Eyes" was originally recorded as an instrumental, "Moon Over Naples," but lyrics were added several years later, and Al Martino had a Top 10 hit with it as a vocal number. His "Swingin' Safari" was a staple of supermarket music and provided background music for countless home movies of summer vacations. Virtually all his albums include at least 2-3 Kaempfert originals, which adds up to a considerable body of work over the span of his recordings.
Recordings
- April In Portugal, DL-78881 (1959)
- Wonderland By Night, Decca DL-74101 (1960)
- The Wonderland Of Bert Kaempfert, Decca DL-74117 (1960)
- Dancing In Wonderland, Decca DL-74161 (1960)
- With A Sound In My Heart DL-74228 (1961)
- Lights Out, Sweet Dreams, Decca DL-74265 (1961)
- Afrikaan Beat, Decca DL-74273 (1962)
- That Happy Feeling, Decca DL-74305 (1962)
- Living It Up, Decca DL-74374 (1962)
- Christmas Wonderland, Decca DL-74441 (1963)
- That Latin Feeling, Decca DL-74490 (1963)
- Blue Midnight, Decca DL-74569 (1964)
- The Magic Music Of Far Away Places, Decca DL-74616 (1964)
- Three O'Clock In The Morning, Decca DL-74670 (1965)
- Bye Bye Blues, Decca DL-74693 (1965)
- A Man Could Get Killed, Decca DL-74750 (1966)
- Strangers In The Night, Decca DL-74795 (1966)
- Bert Kaempfert's Greatest Hits, Decca DL-74810 (1966)
- Hold Me, Decca DL-74810 (1967)
- Bert Kaempfert's Best, Decca DL-734485 (1967)
- The World We Knew, Decca DL-74925 (1967)
- Love That Bert Kaempfert, Decca DL-74986 (1967)
- The Best Of Bert Kaempfert DXSB-7200 (1968)
- My Way Of Life, Decca DL-75059 (1968)
- Warm And Wonderful, Decca DL-75189 (1969)
- Traces Of Love, Decca DL-75140 (1969)
- The Kaempfert Touch, Decca DL-75175 (2/70)
- Free And Easy, Decca DL-75234 (7/70)
- Orange Colored Sky, Decca DL-75256 (2/71)
- Bert Kaempfert Now!, Decca DL-75305 (9/71)
- 6 Plus 6, Decca DL-75322 (5/72)
- Bert Kaempfert's Best, Decca DL-75367 (10/72)
- Fabulous Fifties, MCA-314 (4/73)
- To The Good Life, MCA-368 (10/73)
- The Most Beautiful Girl, MCA-402 (3/74)
- Gallery, MCA-447 (11/74)
- Live In London, Polydor 825144-2 (1974)
- Golden Memories, MCA-466 (4/75)
- Moon Over Miami, MCA-489 (9/75)
- Kaempfert '76, Polydor 2310456 (5/76)
- The Best Of Bert Kaempfert, MCA2-4100 (10/76)
- Safari Swings Again, Polydor 2310494 (1977)
- Tropical Sunrise, Polydor 2310562 (1977)
- Bert Kaempfert Swing, Polydor 2310592 (1978)
- Keep On Dancing, Polydor 2310625 (1979)
- Bert Kaempfert In Concert, Polydor 2310657 (1980)
- The Best Of Bert Kaempfert, MFCD-795 (1988)
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