The blue boys
Die Blauen Jungs was an Austrian vocal quartet that was founded in 1955 under the name Die Montecarlos . With their records published by the record company Polydor , they were successful in German-speaking countries with hits and sea shanties until the 1960s.
Members
As both Montecarlos and Blaue Jungs, the quartet always performed in the same line-up until its dissolution:
- Bob Martin (born June 7, 1922 as Leo Heppe in Siberia ; † January 19, 1998 in Vienna ) was discovered by the Polydor producer Gerhard Mendelson while performing with the orchestras Johannes Fehring and Heinz Neubrand . After success as a vocal soloist at events in the Colosseum in Vienna and in the Renaissance Theater, he recorded his first records from 1950 on with the Philips record company.
- Rudolf Kreuzberger (born April 9, 1929 in Vienna, † November 1, 2000 there ) studied singing at the Vienna Music Academy. After he had won a tenor competition in England at the age of 20, he was hired by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation as a pop and operetta singer. In 1953 he became a member of the Vienna State Opera Choir and began to sing about his first records. Starting with the Golden 4, Kreuzberger was active in over 40 singing groups during his singing career.
- Rudi Resch (born July 22, 1922 in Vienna) began his musical career as a member of the Vienna State Opera Choir, where he stood out for his versatile tenor voice. In addition to the Montecarlos and the Blue Boys, he worked in numerous other vocal groups, including the Colibris background choir.
- Jörg Maria Berg (* September 24, 1930 as Adolf Strassmayer in Schönbüel / Donau) was initially a musician in his own combo , in which he occasionally appeared as a singer. Gerhard Mendelson finally brought him to a singing career in 1955 when he recorded the first records with him. Jörg Maria Berg was particularly successful together with Peter Kraus , with whom he formed the James Brothers duo.
history
The name Die Montecarlos was invented by the Viennese composer and arranger Erwin Halletz , who put the quartet together with Gerhard Mendelson in 1955. The model was the successful American vocal groups, the Montecarlos were supposed to represent the group genre in a more contemporary way with a modern look and a new timbre compared to the previously active music groups such as the Singing Journeyman or the Cornel Trio. In the summer of 1956 the first single was released with the Montecarlos, which, like the following records, was produced in the Vienna Austrophon Studio for the Polydor record company. All records were also released in parallel in Austria and Germany. The first single came out with catalog number 23276 in August 1956. Her A-side title, the song Andrea composed by Halletz , quickly became a hit and in October 1956 reached third place in the top 30 of the German music magazine Musikmarkt . With the cover version of the Guy Mitchell success Singing the Blues , the Montecarlos came back to ninth place in May 1957.
Three months later, the four released their first record under the name Die Blauen Jungs. It was the polydor single No. 23509 with the title Home, Home / I'll come back to you . With her, the quartet embarked on a new musical genre. While they served the hit scene as Montecarlos, they now addressed the friends of seafaring and homeland romance. Differences were also made externally. While the Montecarlos appeared in civil suits, the blue boys came on stage in maritime clothing. The quartet continued to pursue two tracks until 1960, and as Montecarlos they still released records up to this year, but they were no longer successful. Selling the singles under the name Die Blauen Jungs was cheaper. Even the title Home, Home of the first single was so popular that it rose to second place at Musikmarkt. The Blue Boys achieved further top 10 successes in 1958 with the songs Also for me once the time comes (4th) and once the distance seh'n (5th). While Erwin Halletz appeared as a composer for the Montecarlos, the songs were written for the Blue Boys by Polydor's star composer Werner Scharfenberger. He also produced all of the Blue Boys' records. The titles published after 1958 could no longer build on their first successes, but by 1961 the Blue Boys were able to place another seven titles in the charts. From 1962 to 1964, Polydor only released one single a year with the Blue Boys. In 1965 there was no record by Polydor, but two singles were released by Ariola , followed by a third in 1967. In 1966, Polydor released three singles again, as was usual in the past, and after a break of three years, the last single with Die Blauen Jungs came out in 1970 ( Stars of Home / Blue is the Sea ). In 1961 Polydor had produced the long-playing record Von Meer zu Meer with the Blue Boys , and several EP singles were released with both the Montecarlos and the Blue Boys.
First as Die Montecarlos, later as Die Blauen Jungs, the quartet took part in seven music films between 1957 and 1960 with vocal interludes. Although they did not appear in the 1957 film Blue Boys , they took over the titles Home, Home and I come to you back sung by the Moonlights and Lukas Trio on their first single.
Hit parade placements
Started | title | space | Weeks in total |
---|---|---|---|
09/08/1956 | Andrea | 3 | 15 * |
03/30/1957 | Why do the stars shine so bright tonight | 9 | 12 * |
10/26/1957 | At home, at home | 2 | 20th |
03/22/1958 | The time will come for me too | 4th | 22nd |
10/11/1958 | See the distance once | 5 | 17th |
10/03/1959 | As long as you have a boyfriend | 30th | 7th |
December 19, 1959 | Santa Catalina | 30th | 8th |
January 16, 1960 | How nice it would be at home now | 35 | 3 |
05/07/1960 | When white clouds wander | 33 | 8th |
09/10/1960 | Seven long years | 41 | 4th |
05/20/1961 | Addio, Addio Maria | 46 | 2 |
11/11/1961 | Drive us home, captain | 44 | 4th |
* as Montecarlos
Singles discography
From page | Catalog no. | published |
---|---|---|
The Montecarlos | Polydor | |
Andrea / The Bell of Notre Dame | 23276 | 8/1956 |
All of my dreams / my eyes are you | 23375 | 12/1956 |
Why do the stars shine so bright tonight / Young love | 23404 | 2/1957 |
Giovanna Maria / Only women can be like this | 23472 | 7/1957 |
Bahama Mama / When ... | 23568 | 10/1957 |
Dream, dream, Maria / I only have you | 23634 | 2/1958 |
Magdalena / You are the star | 23785 | 9/1958 |
Just like you / old time melody | 23817 | 11/1958 |
No other heart / teenage love | 24026 | 6/1959 |
When the bells ring brightly / The sea | 24162 | 1/1960 |
Like the first day / beautiful like Mona Lisa | 24175 | 2/1960 |
In Goona Goona / Franky | 24305 | 8/1960 |
The blue boys | ||
Home, home / I'll come back to you | 23509 | 8/1957 |
The time will come for me too / When I'm with you again | 23630 | 1/1958 |
See the distance once / Where are the friends | 23745 | 7/1958 |
Star of Montana / Never again | 23910 | 2/1959 |
As long as you have a friend / Our course is south | 24051 | 7/1959 |
How nice it would be at home now / Santa Catalina | 24123 | 10/1959 |
When white clouds wander / Life goes on | 24179 | 1/1960 |
Seven long years / Until we meet again | 24315 | 7/1960 |
Addio, Addio Maria / From port to port | 24438 | 2/1961 |
When the boatman's piano sounds on board / We were off Madagascar | 24533 | 5/1961 |
Only in a foreign country / drive us home, captain | 24583 | 7/1961 |
Blue sky, blue boys and blue sea / Where the stars are | 24736 | 2/1962 |
Little Venus of Hawaii / Far at home. . . | 52008 | 1/1963 |
One is too many / Where the sky is so blue | 52392 | 10/1964 |
I'm still the same / my ship is coming back | 52609 | 1966 |
Home your stars / little seagull, fly to Heligoland | 54001 | 1966 |
La Paloma / Alo ahé | 54094 | 1966 |
Home stars / blue is the sea | 2041036 | 1970 |
Ariola | ||
Blue boys from Bremerhaven / Take us on a journey with the captain | 18016 | 2/1965 |
We were in Madagascar / We love the storms | 18156 | 4/1965 |
Farewell, goodbye / full steam ahead | 19784 | 1967 |
Filmography
- 1957: To be a great lady for once - The Montecarlos as singers
- 1957: Looking for a nanny for dad - The Montecarlos with Andrea
- 1957: Blue Boys - The Blue Boys with home, home
- 1958: Love can be like poison - The Montecarlos with the title song Magdalena (only vocals)
- 1958: My sweetheart is from Tyrol - The Blue Boys with See the distance once
- 1959: Paradise of the Sailors - The Blue Boys as singers
- 1959: My darling, come with me to the blue sea - The Blue Boys with As long as you have a boyfriend
- 1960: Love at Königssee is beautiful - The Blue Boys as singers
literature
- Frank Laufenberg: Rock & Pop Lexicon . Econ Taschenbuch Verlag 1998, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 , Volume 1, p. 150.
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet German chart singles 1956–1980. Taurus Press 1987, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Rudolf Kreuzberger is dead Wiener Zeitung from November 8, 2000, accessed on July 11, 2016.
- ↑ to music market