Heinz Gietz

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Heinz Gietz (born March 31, 1924 in Frankfurt am Main ; † December 24, 1989 in Cologne ) was a German composer , music producer , arranger and songwriter . Together with Kurt Feltz , Gietz formed one of the most successful teams of authors of the German post-war hit in Cologne. He received 30 gold records and wrote over 40 film scores.

education

From 1935 he received violin lessons, from 1937 also piano lessons. From 1941 onwards he visited Dr. Hoch's Conservatory in Frankfurt, where he gained his first experience with jazz through Carlo Bohländer and Emil Mangelsdorff . During the Nazi era in 1941, the young Frankfurt musicians Bohländer and Mangelsdorff formed a jazz band with the clarinetist Charly Petri, the pianist and bassist Hans Otto Jung and the drummer Hans Podehl , which, according to Joachim-Ernst Berendt, "was the nucleus of the Frankfurt post-war jazz" should form. In 1943 Gietz was ordered to the labor service and drafted into the armed forces.

On May 17, 1945, the musicians of the Hotclub Sextet received a license from the US occupation authorities, through which public appearances were permitted. In the ensemble, which existed until 1948, Heinz Gietz (piano), tenor saxophonist Werner Dies, guitarists Heinz Tischmann and Béla Martinelly, bassist Steve Spiegel and drummer Willy “Bottle” Kühn played in the post-war period. The sextet performed mostly in American clubs. From 1948 the sextet appeared in a different line-up (with Bohländer, Dies, Gietz, Louis Freichel (vibraphone), Jung (bass) and Horst Lippmann (drums)).

First compositions

With his first composition, Gietz became a member of STAGMA (legal predecessor of GEMA ) in 1946 . After the currency reform in 1948 he worked full-time as a composer and arranger for the Hessischer Rundfunk. In 1949 the first title with a Heinz-Gietz composition ( Sharp Curves ) was registered, but it was not interpreted. His first arrangements he made for the taken on June 11, 1951 Title The make only the legs of Dolores by Gerhard Wendland . On March 18, 1952, one of the first Gietz compositions was written for Gitta Lind under the title A Dream . This was followed by his composition Flowers for the Lady for Gitta Lind on February 2, 1953 , his first hit.

With the new discovery of Caterina Valente in 1953, the first test recordings were made at Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden. In the same year a long and successful collaboration began with the lyricist and producer Kurt Feltz. Heinz Gietz composed (together with Feltz) and arranged the first recordings for Caterina Valente on March 29, 1954 in Cologne ( O Mama, o Mama, o Mamajo ; Istanbul ; Yes in Madrid and Barcelona with the Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra ). Under Gietz, "the Valente" became an international superstar.

Music films as a vehicle for hits

On October 14, 1955, the film Liebe, Tanz und 1000 Schlager with the hits Casanova (Caterina Valente) and Eventuell, Eventuell ( Peter Alexander and Caterina Valente) premiered. It followed on January 31, 1956 Bonjour Kathrin with the hits Come a little with me to Italy and It goes better, better, better (Peter Alexander, Caterina Valente and Silvio Francesco). The first million-seller Steig in das Traumboot der Liebe (Caterina Valente and Silvio Francesco), published in April 1956 (number one on the German hit parade), comes from the same film . In the same year, the films Du bist Musik (September 21, 1956) with the title song of the same name and I knew it right away , both interpreted by Caterina Valente, and the music parade (October 11, 1956) with the hits I know what's wrong with you (Peter Alexander) and Im Hafen uns'rer Träume (Peter Alexander and Bibi Johns) filmed. 1957 followed more cinema hits with Das haut hin (July 9, 1957) with the hits Das haut ich alles aus Liebe and A little more , sung by Peter Alexander, as well as The simple girl (August 23, 1957) with the two hits Tipitipitipso and I will never forget you , both sung by Caterina Valente. A year later, the film And in the evening in die Scala (February 22, 1958) was made, which contains Gietz Spiel's greatest evergreen , Habanero (already released in December 1957), again sung by Caterina Valente.

Heinz Gietz ensured that the former US soldier Bill Ramsey was given a singing role in the film Music in the Blood , which was released on December 20, 1955. At the end of 1957 he asked Ramsey if he would like to make a record one day. Gietz produced mood songs with the jazz musician Ramsey because Ramsey was only able to sell just under 35,000 copies of the jazzy recording Go, Man, Go with a gospel background in three years, while the hit souvenirs were 500,000. On January 29, 1959, the film hit theaters with Peter Alexander in quick succession.

Gietz continued to work for German big bands and was mainly employed by Kurt Edelhagen, for whose albums Kurt Edelhagen Presents (1957) and A Toast to the Bands (1959) he arranged some tracks, as well as the complete album A Toast to the Girls , the Edelhagen recorded in Cologne in 1958 together with Caterina Valente.

Hit producer

Hazy Osterwlad Sextet - Criminal Tango
Chris Howland - Hammer Polka

New successful interpreters in collaboration with Gietz in 1959 were Bill Ramsey, who had concentrated on humorous hits, and the Hazy Osterwald Sextet , for which he first wrote the arrangement for the clever title Kriminal-Tango (October 1959). The original hit from Italy sold a million times. Officially, his production activity began in 1960 in the music production of Kurt Feltz, who mainly wrote the lyrics. Heinz Gietz then wrote for Bill Ramsey Telefon from Paris (May 1960; B-side of Gina, Gina ) and the top hit Pigalle (February 1961), which also became an evergreen with a large number of cover versions .

In 1961 Gietz separated from the Feltz music production, where the last hit was the classic Zuckerpuppe with Bill Ramsey (August 1961) and then took over production management in the Pop department at EMI- Electrola in Cologne. His first hit was the Hämmerchen-Polka , sung by Chris Howland in November 1961. In 1962 he directed the hits Zwei kleine Italiener / Lady Sunshine and Mister Moon with Conny Froboess (February 1962), the German cover version of Speedy Gonzales (with the Title Kleiner Gonzales ) with Rex Gildo (June 1962), one of his compositions without crime, Mimi never goes to bed with Bill Ramsey (July 24, 1962, Ramsey's debut at EMI after the change from Polydor), the big number is made with Ralf Bendix (November 1962) and the hooligan hymn Motorbiene with Benny Quick (November 1962) were among the top sellers of the year. His production of the innovative hit song Ich will 'nen Cowboy als Mann by Gitte Hænning developed into a million seller after its publication in June 1963.

At the end of 1964, EMI in Cologne signed the previously award-winning German beat band The Lords and from then on markets them as The German Beatles . The first single was the only German-language track Hey Baby, letern / Tobacco Road , produced at the end of 1964 , under the production direction of Heinz Gietz, who from now on produced all of the group's big hits and LPs.

Gietz has produced and / or composed a total of 46 titles at Electrola since 1953 for Bill Ramsey (including the big hits Souvenirs , Pigalle and Without Krimi, Mimi Never Goes To Bed ), 33 titles for Caterina Valente (including Fiesta Cubana , Eventuell , Bonjour Kathrin , Where my sun shines ), 31 tracks for Cindy & Bert , 7 tracks for Howland, 82 for Freddy Breck (including Bianca , Rote Rosen ), 50 for the Lords (including all the big hits), 11 for Ireen Sheer since 1979 and 23 for Gitte and Rex Gildo ( from the city park the lanterns ).

Own record label

Horst Muys - A visit to the zoo

In 1965 Heinz Gietz separated again from EMI, but continued to produce the Lords until 1967 and built up his own record label Cornet-Records within two years . The label began in 1966 with the album Big Beat Bombs by the Jay Five, a Bavarian band that often accompanied Graham Bonney and Bill Ramsey. The first hit parade entry for the label was Peter Orloff's It's never too late in September 1967. Other hit releases followed by 1970, such as Monja with Roland W. (December 1967) or Mucho Amore for Jacqueline Boyer (March 1969). In 1970 he opened the label's own recording studio, Cornet Studios .

For its repertoire, the label also tried to attract carnival greats from Cologne. In December 1969, Horst Muys recorded the visit to the zoo , written by the Cologne dialect composer Hans Knipp , in the Cornet studios , which brought the Cornet label sales of 100,000 singles. From 1970 the Eilemann trio , Lotti Krekel and Ludwig Sebus recorded here . In 1971 Gietz discovered the Cologne dialect group De Bläck Fööss , and he produced their first hit drink a met , In our Veedel and the classic Mer losse d'r Dom in Kölle . 1971 began the collaboration with Freddy Breck (1971: My Sweet, Sweet Candy and Carola ) and Cindy & Bert, who in the following years also released all hits not composed by Gietz on his Cornet label (including every Sunday , February 1973) . Rico Lanza, the illegitimate son of Mario Lanza , reached the charts in July 1973 with the Gietz composition Mama Dolores .

In 1975 Gietz reactivated the collaboration with Caterina Valente. After 16 years with the German Decca branch, she switched to EMI, and the first newly written title Wo die Musikanten sind gave her a remarkable comeback. In July 1975, The Great Zampano became a medium hit for Freddy Breck. When the Cornet label had to be liquidated in 1977, Gietz worked as a freelance producer for EMI Electrola again.

In October 1978, Caterina Valente was able to penetrate the hit parade again with Manuel . This Gietz composition was followed by another hit in 1979. His second composition Das Lied von Manuel , sung by Manuel & Pony, took fifth place on the charts in August 1979. Manuel was the boy who accompanied Caterina Valente on her first recording in falsetto. From 1982 he produced and composed songs for Andy Borg . The last Gietz composition for Freddy Breck was in 1985 in Im Wind der Nacht . In December 1988 the Cornet label was discontinued.

Work for television

German television has often appointed him as musical director or arranger. In 1963 Heinz Gietz took over the musical direction of the Peter-Weck-Show on ARD television. In 1963 he wrote for the TV series Musik für Sie and in the same year Verliebt, engaged, married (sung by Conny Froboess and Peter Alexander) for the film Der Musterknabe . In 1975 Gietz became musical director and arranger of the ZDF Saturday evening show, Musik ist Trumpf, which was the most successful of its time . By 1981 he produced the music for over 20 editions of this Saturday evening TV show, the theme tune of which he also wrote.

Heinz Gietz continued to work as musical director and arranger for entertainment shows on German television in the years to come. So u. a. Zug um Zug , And the music plays along with it (1986) and the International Artist Prize .

Heinz Gietz died on December 24, 1989 at the age of 65 in Cologne. His son Alexander also works as a music producer in Cologne and produces a. a. the music of his wife Sylvia Vrethammar , who wedded to 2015 after 25 years of living together and who already worked with his father.

In 2013 the city ​​of Rösrath decided to name a newly developed, 120-meter-long street in the vicinity of the address Auf der Hedwigshöhe 14, where Gietz lived until 1986, in Heinz-Gietz-Weg.

Successes (selection, if not mentioned in the text)

  • Oklahoma Tom (Schauberg & Bartels), 1953
  • Baiao Bongo (Caterina Valente), 1954
  • Smoky (The Seven Ravens), 1956
  • Play one more time for me, Habañero (Caterina Valente), 1957
  • Music is in the Air (Caterina Valente), 1957
  • Take me to Cheriko (Peter Alexander), 1960
  • Just a bad copy ( Greetje Kauffeld ), 1961
  • Music is Trumps (Hazy Osterwald Sextet), 1961
  • If you are musical (Gitte), 1964
  • Spain's guitars (Cindy & Bert), 1973
  • When the roses bloom in Malaga (Cindy & Bert), 1975
  • With a colorful bouquet (Freddy Breck), 1975
  • The Stars Are Good ( Freddy Breck ), 1977
  • Make something nice out of this day (Freddy Breck), 1977
  • The Song of Manuel ( Manuel & Pony ), 1979
  • Girls (Freddy Breck), 1979
  • Bodega Blanca (Freddy Breck), 1982
  • I don't want to know your name ( Andy Borg ), 1984
  • Comedian (Freddy Breck), 2012

Film music

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ulrich S. Soénius (Ed.), Jürgen Wilhelm (Ed.): Kölner Personen-Lexikon. Greven, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-7743-0400-0 , p. 184.
  2. ↑ Joachim-Ernst Berendt, Ein Fenster aus Jazz , 1978, p. 46
  3. ↑ Entry by GEMA  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / mgonline.gema.de  
  4. ↑ ; the text came from Joachim Fuchsberger
  5. ↑ Der Spiegel 21/1966 of May 16, 1966: Go, Man
  6. ↑ Eckhard Diergarten, THE LORDS - 50 Years The Lords , p. 15, ISBN 978-3868052329
  7. ↑ City of Rösrath, the mayor, print no. 634/2013, April 15, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Gietz, Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, music producer, arranger and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH December 24, 1989
Place of death Cologne