Charly Wittong

Charly Wittong , actually Carl Friedrich Wittmaack (born November 26, 1876 in Altona , † October 24, 1943 near Lüneburg ) was a German folk singer.

Life

At the age of 18 he performed in the Schusterkeller on Heinestrasse (today Hamburger Berg), later with Emil Naucke . He was friends with the well-known Hamburg comedian Hein Köllisch . Wittong later appeared on the Reeperbahn in the "Universum" continued by Köllisch's family. His repertoire at this time consisted exclusively of High German, mostly romantic songs, which he presented wearing a velvet jacket and breeches. In 1912, Charly Wittong met the seaman, copywriter and promoter Walter Rothenburg in the Kaiser-Cafe on the shoulder blade , and from then on he presented his Low German couplets as Hamburger Buttje with blue Büx and Elbe sailor. For example, it became very popular

" At the corner of de Steenstroot there is an Olsch with stint "

With this new repertoire, to which the songwriter August Wismar Rosendahl also made a noticeable contribution, Wittong appeared in numerous variety theaters, including in the winter garden in Berlin .

Before he found dialect songs, Wittong also sang high German lyrical songs, folk songs and occasionally even operetta melodies. Artistic role models for him were singers such as Otto Reutter and Robert Steidl . Now and then he performed in the circus.

He played smaller roles in films with local Hamburg flavor. B. in raid in St. Pauli .

As early as the 1910s he made numerous recordings of his songs on various stamps (early recordings on gramophone, zonophon, favorite, later from around 1925 on Lindström labels Odeon, Parlophon and Beka, and on homocord and isiphon). When radio came to Hamburg in 1924, Wittong also stepped in front of the NORAG microphone .

After his own house on Heligoland had been bombed out in 1943 , Wittong retired to St. Dionys near Lüneburg . He died here on October 24, 1943. At his request, however, he was buried in Hamburg.

At Wittong's funeral in Hamburg, Rothenburg called after him, alluding to their common song by the Hamborger Fährjung am Grabe:

“Charly, we all times röber, de een so, de anner so. Now you go ahead. Gode ​​Reis! "

Sound documents (selection)

At Parlophon / Beka stated as “Hamburg Special-Recordings”:

• B. 6251 (mx. 34 321 W) Alster and Elbe (Erich Walden, text by Theodor Stockmann) / (mx. 34 322) Heintje Klüüt (Erich Walden, text by Theodor Stockmann)
• B.6252 (mx. 34 320) The fisherman's house on Norderney (Rich. Blank, text by Reinh. Pfeiffer) / (mx. 34 325) The little mother from the Elbe beach (Rob. Simon, text by Walter Rothenburg)
• B.6253 (mx. 34 317) The old streets are still there (Wismar Rosendahl) / (mx. 34 319) Seaman's friend and sorrow (text by Charly Wittong)
• B. 6254 (mx. 34 318) De ole Moder Bostelmann (Hugo Seelhorst, text by Hans Brockmann) / (mx. 34 323) Honey, we're both going to the weekend today '(Wismar Rosendahl)
• B.6255 (mx. 34 315) My Hamburg, I love you so much (Hans Kandler) / (mx. 34 324) Das Lied von der Elbe (Wismar Rosendahl)
• B. 6256 (mx. 34 316) Whether you live in Barmbek (Wismar Rosendahl) / (mx. 34 326) Hamburg who saw you once (O. Otto)

Other recordings by him included:

• Decelerating rivets (text by Hagen, on Homocord B.1752 (mx. M 17 635))
• The fisherman's house on Norderney (text by Pfeiffer, on Homocord 4-2593 (mx. M 20 044))
• The little mother from the Elbe (text by Walter Rothenburg, on Odeon O-2255 (mx. Be 6152))
• De Hamborger Jung (Isiphon No. 269 (mx. 7164))
• De Hamborger Fährjung (better known as: Fohr mi mol röber) (Beka B.5015 (mx. 30 312))
• Every putt has its lid (Homocord B.23 (mx. M 16 501) 1926)
• Neue Hamborger Biller (Homocord B.23 (mx. M 16 500) 1926)

Re-releases

The following sound recordings by Wittong were re-released in 1998 on a CD with the title Fohr mi mol röber ( Bear Family Records CD MUSA 007):

• Whether you live in Barmbek
• Hamborger Buttje
• Alster and Elbe
• I wish I was a little girl
• De swatte cat
• Hamborger Kinner
• My Hamburg, I love you so much
• Hamborger Kedelklopper
• Hamburg, who saw you once
• Scheun mutt dat sien
• De Deerns of St. Pauli
• Heintje Klütt
• I have a little girl in St. Pauli
• On the Reeperbahn
• De ole Moder Bostelmann
• Honey, we're both going to the weekend today
• The most beautiful city is Hamburg
• Sailor's farewell
• Mäken, may you say hello
• Hamborger Biller
• The old streets are still there

literature

• Berthold Leimbach, audio documents of the cabaret and its interpreters 1898 - 1945 . Göttingen, self-published in 1991, unpag.
• Rainer E. Lotz et al. (Hrsg.): Discographie der deutschen Kleinkunst, Volume 6 by Heinz Büttner, Klaus Krüger, Rainer E. Lotz and Christian Zwarg . ISBN 978-3-9805808-7-8 [3-9805808-7-3] Hard cover. 576 pages.
• P arlophon Beka Electric main directory 1928/29 containing all through August published in 1928 plates. Berlin, Carl Lindström AG, SO36.

swell

1. ↑ received on record Homocord B.21 (A 5 4 24)
2. ↑ (1878-1954), like his colleague Hugo Seelhorst, especially cultivated the Hamburg and the 'waterkant' local color.
3. ↑ Examples would be tear jerkers like Emil Winter-Tymian's famous “Am Elterngrab”, received on Favorite 1-15 804 (mx. 4210-t-) or Adolf Philipp's “The Last Letter” on Favorite 1-15 039 (mx. 463- k-)
4. ↑ z. B. the Vierländer Lied on Zonophone x-5 22 051 (mx. 2204 from), cf. on this [de-latuecht.de/latuechten/latuecht72.pdf], page 5.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Berthold Leimbach, Tondokumente der Kleinkunst and their interpreters 1898 - 1945 . Göttingen, self-published in 1991, unpag.
6. ↑ cf. Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ so the Parlophon-Beka main directory from 1928/29, page 132

Web links

• Hamburger Abendblatt - Charly Wittong - singer in a blue Büx
• Karl J. Spurzem: The secret of the Schietgangs . In: mare.online Feb 2008, No.66 (on the “Kedelklopperlied” by folk singer Charly Wittong and his socio-historical background)