Gerd Böttcher

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
00Greatest success:
Money like hay
on Decca No. 19273

Gerd Böttcher (born July 18, 1936 in Berlin , † February 26, 1985 in Dortmund ) was a German pop singer .

Life

Gerd Böttcher grew up in Berlin and did an apprenticeship as a gardener after finishing school . He then took singing lessons, performed with hits in pubs under the pseudonym Tino Merano and was the singer of Hans Karbe's dance orchestra. The composer, orchestra director and music producer Werner Müller brokered a record deal with Decca for him in 1960 .

His first single with the German version of the classic Jambalaya by Hank Williams was recorded under Böttcher's stage name. However, producer Müller decided that Böttcher's real name was ultimately to be read on the record label. The record made it into the German charts. A version with the same text by Gerhard Wendland was a big hit back in 1953. At the same time, the Decca released a single under the name Werner Müller and Chorus , on which Gerd Böttcher could be heard as a solo singer.

In the fall of 1960, Gerd Böttcher's song Ich bin wieder , an adaptation of the hit It's Now or Never ( 'O sole mio ) by Elvis Presley , was published.

By 1962, Böttcher recorded the following five Presley titles:

  • I'll be back (Original: It's Now or Never )
  • Adieu, Farewell, Goodbye (Original: Tonight's so Right for Love )
  • I'm looking for you in all ways (Original: Surrender )
  • Rock-A-Hula-Baby (with Detlef Engel ; Original: Rock A Hula Baby )
  • You look at me (Original: She's Not You )

For the first time in the top ten hit parade places Böttcher came in 1961 with Adieu, Lebewohl, Goodbye , whose melody was based on the barcarole from Hoffmann's stories by Jacques Offenbach . A little later, the Fontana Records label brought a version by Peter Beil with the same text, but more slowly arranged, onto the market.

Böttcher's most successful year was 1962 when, with Geld wie Heu , the cover version of Pat Boone's Johnny Will , he reached number 2 on the hit lists and was listed for a total of 24 weeks. Für Gaby tu 'ich alles was similarly successful (4th and 24th weeks listed), which was a title composed by Werner Müller under his pseudonym Heinz Buchholz . Hans Bradtke wrote the text .

Böttcher's most popular Decca recordings also included ten duets with Detlef Engel . Böttcher was particularly successful with cover versions of American hits by Burt Bacharach , Chubby Checker , The Everly Brothers , Ricky Nelson , Buck Owens , Cole Porter , Johnny Tillotson and others. In 1963 Böttcher entered the Schlager Festival in Baden-Baden with the hit song Do not wedding without me, composed by Alexander Gordan . Although the song only landed in 12th and last place, the single was listed in the charts. On the B-side was the title On the Hacienda missing a woman from Billy Mo , who ended up in eighth place in the competition. By 1965 Werner Müller had produced a total of 24 singles with Gerd Böttcher. Half of them made it into the charts. This made Böttcher the most successful German representative of so-called high school rock 'n' roll . He appeared in popular television programs , such as in 1961 in the Treffpunkt Telebar and in 1963 in the Caterina Valente show Bonsoir Kathrin .

In 1966, Böttcher briefly switched to the Polydor record company . There were two singles with compositions by Joachim Heider and Michael Holm , one of which made it into the charts. In 1967 Böttcher signed a record deal with Hansa Musik Produktion, which was founded in 1964 . With the songs produced and composed by Dieter Zimmermann , Please don't say good night and Romantic hours , Böttcher was successful in the charts for the last time. His piece When Sehnsucht Begin , published in 1968 , was a cover version of the British number one hit Let the Heartaches Begin , but it was again a failure.

In the same year there was another change, this time to the record label Metronome . Although Böttcher worked with young composers such as Dieter Zimmermann, Michael Holm or Giorgio Moroder and made numerous appearances in discotheques during this period , he was no longer successful. Several appearances on the ZDF turntable and on October 18, 1969 in the ZDF hit parade could not change that. From 1970 four singles, produced by Howard Carpendale among others, appeared on EMI Columbia . But even with these songs, Böttcher was denied a comeback. From 1972 Böttcher was without a record deal. Problems with alcohol and the tax office followed, as well as the divorce of his first marriage. In 1974 the once successful singer returned to his trained profession as a gardener. In 1976, Ariola published again Rock 'n' Roll with me, Böttcher's last elaborately produced single, with the Schlager Tanz composed by Drafi Deutscher .

In the course of the 1950s revival in the early 1980s, Böttcher appeared again with his old hits at concerts and on television. There were also recordings again, including a duet with his stepdaughter Silke. In 1985 the production of a long-playing record was planned, but it was no longer to be realized. Shortly after appearing as the carnival prince of his place of residence Werne on WDR , Gerd Böttcher died of kidney failure in a Dortmund hospital .

Discography

Singles

00First single:
Decca No. 19065 from 1960
From page Catalog no. publication
Decca
Jambalaya / Don't cry for me 19065 June 1960
Oh Katherin / Sing nightingale sing 19067 June 1960
I'll be back / you - tonight! 19101 August 1960
Your red lips / Adieu - Farewell - Goodbye 19131 December 1960
I look for you in all ways / Ay-ay oh Signorina 19170 April 1961
Because you are my great love / home, I want to move home 19213 June 1961
It's so easy to pass happiness / Tina-Lou 19229 August 1961
Oh Billy Billy Black / Over The Prairie (& Detlef Engel *) 19240 August 1961
Money like hay / Carolin, Carolin 19273 January 1962
Rock-A-Hula-Baby / In Der Twist-Spelunke by Mac Miller * 19279 January 1962
A dozen other men / Like an Indian 19350 May 1962
I know the streets of the wide world / Because * 19356 May 1962
You look at me / I do everything for Gaby 19388 November 1962
Sailor Boy / Two Caballeros * 19412 January 1963
My bride, she can do better / Susanna 19421 March 1963
Don't have a wedding without me / (Billi Mo: A woman is missing on the hacienda) 19440 May 1963
Bing Bang Bungalow / Blue Lady 19461 August 1963
Goodbye - goodbye / Lady Lou 19509 December 1963
Just no Beatle hairstyle / Because you have sky-blue eyes 19531 May 1964
Star of Samoa / A world without love * 19603 July 1964
Only Annemarie comes into question / Lorelei 19622 September 1964
Pretty women / girls are a dime a dozen 19639 November 1964
Crazy Little Bluebird / Where's my baby 19665 March 1965
One I liked the most / I can't find anything about it 19724 September 1965
Polydor
Put your trust in me / who will be next 52611 February 1966
I stand by you / You can never leave me 52688 June 1966
Hansa
Once you have my name / somewhere in Mexico 19276 February 1967
Don't say goodnight to me yet / If the wind turns too 19506 July 1967
Romantic hours / where does love begin 19738 October 1967
Roses for You / Give me your heart as a souvenir 14012 April 1968
Metronomes
Mona Lisa / lonely girl 25071 1968
Grand Prix / Who is going to cry? 25163 October 1968
Beautiful Helena / That can't be true 25196 1970
Mambola / Who invented love 25233 1970
Columbia
A rose from your garden / rock 'n' roll boogie 29930 1972
Every day a new morning / a heart with a phone 30378 1972
Ariola
Dance rock 'n' roll with me again / rainbow 17421 1976
OMP
Melanie / Madeleine 7810 1977

Vinyl long-playing records

  • Gerd Böttcher (1966; Decca BLK 16217)
  • Your Red Lips (1981; Bear Family Records BFX 15053)
  • His unforgettable successes 1971-81 (1987; Sieg-Ton ST 3010287)

CDs

  • I'll do anything for Gaby (1987; Bear Family Records)
  • Pretty Woman (1996; Bear Family Records)
  • I'll be back (2001; Kiddinx)
  • Dance Rock 'n' Roll With Me One More Time (2006; Bear Family Records)

Chart placements

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChartsChart placementsTemplate: chart table / maintenance / monthly data
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE
1960 Jambalaya DE34 (3 months)
DE
I'll be back DE2 (5 months)
DE
1961 Goodbye, goodbye DE8 (4 months)
DE
Your red lips DE38 (2 months)
DE
I look for you in all ways DE6 (2 months)
DE
Ay-Ay-Ay-Ay, oh Signorina DE37 (1 month)
DE
Because you are my great love DE8 (4 months)
DE
with Detlef Engel
I want to go home, home DE34 (1 month)
DE
with Detlef Engel
Tina-Lou DE21 (3 months)
DE
Oh Billy Billy Black DE11 (3 months)
DE
with Detlef Engel
It's so easy to pass happiness DE44 (1 month)
DE
1962 money to burn DE2 (6 months)
DE
Rock-A-Hula-Baby (Twist Special) DE26 (2 months)
DE
with Detlef Engel
A dozen other men DE5 (5 months)
DE
I do everything for Gaby DE4 (6 months)
DE
1963 My bride, she can do better DE8 (4 months)
DE
Don't have a wedding without me DE30 (1 month)
DE
Bing Bang Bungalow DE30 (1 month)
DE
1964 Lady Lou DE22 (3 months)
DE
1966 Put your trust in me DE19 (2 months)
DE
1967 Don't say good night to me yet DE25 (½ month)
DE
Romantic hours DE36 (½ month)
DE

literature

  • Frank Laufenberg: Rock & Pop Lexicon . Econ Taschenbuch Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 , Volume 1, p. 174.
  • Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet German chart singles 1956–1980. Taurus Press, 1987, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 .

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Chart sources: DE
personal data
SURNAME Böttcher, Gerd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German pop singer
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH February 26, 1985
Place of death Dortmund