James Brothers

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The James Brothers were a hit duo that consisted of the singers Peter Kraus and Jörg Maria Berg and was successful in the late 1950s to early 1960s.

Band history

In 1958 the music producer Gerhard Mendelson from the studio in Vienna of the record company Polydor had the idea to provide the already successful singer Peter Kraus with a male singing partner and to market a duo based on the model of the Everly Brothers . Kraus first introduced his colleague Udo Jürgens , who had already released numerous records with the sister label Heliodor , as a singing partner. Mendelson's choice fell on the Austrian singer Jörg Maria Berg, who has already made a name for himself as a solo performer and a member of various vocal groups such as Die Blauen Jungs and Die Montecarlos .

The first single by the James Brothers , as Mendelson called the duo, was created in September 1958. In November of the same year, the title Wenn , the German cover version of the US hit When the Kalin Twins , hit the charts. The producer's concept worked and by 1962 a total of 13 singles for the duo had been produced. In addition to cover versions of Jody Reynolds , Steve Lawrence and The Jarmels , a large part of their repertoire consisted of songs by the pop composers Werner Scharfenberger and Erwin Halletz , who in addition to Johannes Fehring also directed the accompanying orchestras. In 1959, the duo with the titles Cowboy Billy and Sensational in the music film Melody and Rhythm (director: John Olden ) was seen. The James Brothers successfully went on tour and performed with Louis Armstrong , Erni Bieler , Max Greger , Ted Herold , Lolita and Dany Mann , among others . They stood there together and individually on the stage.

Jörg Maria Berg's solo career after 1960 developed much less successfully than that of Peter Kraus. When the success of the James Brothers waned at the beginning of the 1960s, the recording contract with Berg was not renewed. The last joint recording by Berg and Kraus ( Hüh-a-hoh, old Schimmel ) was made in February 1962 and initially remained unpublished. On the last single under the pseudonym James Brothers, which came on the market at the end of 1963, the singer Gina Dobra acted as Peter Kraus' duet partner. The record contained, among other things, the title Had I a Hammer , the German cover version of the hit If I Had a Hammer by Trini Lopez , and it was a failure. The young audience now preferred the English-language original in the emerging beat wave. In the course of the rock 'n' roll revival , the hits of the James Brothers were released again on a long-playing record in 1981. The song Wenn in particular has been part of oldie samplers time and again . The duo's complete studio recordings were released on CD in 1989/90 and 1996.

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
If
  DE 6th 11/01/1958 (20 weeks)
If you go out today
  DE 11 02/01/1959 (12 weeks)
The young years
  DE 10 02/01/1959 (12 weeks)
Cowboy billy
  DE 6th 09/01/1959 (24 weeks)
How nice it would be at home now
  DE 54 11/01/1959 (4 weeks)
Just like you
  DE 35 02/01/1960 (4 weeks)
Tomorrow you will be rid of all worries
  DE 16 08/01/1961 (8 weeks)
Rosy, Oh Rosy (By the candlelight)
  DE 17th 11/01/1961 (8 weeks)

LPs

  • If (1981; Bear Family Records)

CDs

  • Peter Kraus: The Singles 1958–1959 (1989; Bear Family Records)
  • Peter Kraus: The Singles 1960 (1989; Bear Family Records)
  • Peter Kraus: The Singles 1960–1961 (1990; Bear Family Records)
  • Peter Kraus: The Singles 1961–1962 (1990; Bear Family Records)
  • Peter Kraus: The Singles 1962–1963 (1990; Bear Family Records)
  • Peter Kraus: Teenagers' dreams, love affairs and sugar babies - The first ten years (10-CD box) (1996; Bear Family Records)
  • Schlagerbummel 1959 (Live Compilation - 2000; Bear Family Records)

EPs

  • The James Brothers (If / Oh, Veronika / If You're Going Out Today / The Young Years) (1958)
  • Teenage hit parade with the James Brothers (Cowboy-Billy / Wenn / OK (Okay, okay) / Sensational) (1959)
  • James Brothers (Cowboy Billy / Sensational / Just like you / Goodbye and have a good time) (1959)

Singles

  • If / Oh, Veronika (1958)
  • The Younger Years / When You Go Out Today (1958)
  • That's fine / OK (Okay, okay) (1959)
  • Cowboy Billy / Sensational (1959)
  • Goodbye and have a good time / Just like you (1959)
  • Red Roses / A House in Tennessee (1960)
  • Blue River / Chérie, Chérie (1960)
  • Cowboy Jenny / Rosemarie (1960)
  • She has such beautiful eyes / Tiger-Lilly (1960)
  • Tomorrow you'll be rid of all worries / Like a little lady (1961)
  • At the candlelight / Rosy, oh Rosy (1961)
  • I'm so used to you / Hanna from Havana (1961)
  • Come Again / Holiday Lady (1962)
  • If I had a hammer / Ricky-Ticky-Teeny-Weeny-Twist-Express (1963; Peter Kraus and Gina Dobra)

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Kraus: Biography . As of August 7, 2009
  2. ↑ Jörg Maria Berg . Herbert's Oldie Pages; Retrieved August 7, 2009
  3. ↑ Discography Peter Kraus . In the booklet accompanying the CD Peter Kraus: The Singles 1958–1960 . Bear Family Records 1989
  4. ↑ Manfred Fleckenstein: Text accompanying the CD Peter Kraus: The Singles 1960 . Bear Family Records 1989
  5. ↑ Discography Peter Kraus . In the booklet accompanying the CD Peter Kraus: The Singles 1962–1963 . Bear Family Records 1990
  6. ↑ Charts DE Charts DE2