Drafi German
Drafi Deutscher , real name Drafi Richard Franz Deutscher (born May 9, 1946 in Berlin-Charlottenburg ; † June 9, 2006 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German singer , composer and music producer .
biography
The German, who claims to come from the Kálmán family of musicians , grew up in poor conditions with his grandmother in Berlin. The well-known Hungarian operetta composer Emmerich Kálmán is said to have been a great-uncle of German. This information from Deutscher can no longer be verified in the family circle, but is often doubted. He never met his father, the Hungarian pianist Drafi Kálmán. German mother Margarete Lehmann was a nurse.
He was married a total of three times (including between 1989 and 1991 with the pop singer Isabel Varell , for whom he also composed several titles). He was married to his first wife Karin from 1966 to 1976. The twin sons Drafi junior, born in 1965, came from this connection. and René.
German was an SPD member.
On November 19 and 22, 1998, German suffered strokes . A physical breakdown followed in 1999, during which time diabetes mellitus was diagnosed. Nevertheless, he continued to perform and supported charity events for children with diabetes. On May 20, 2006 he fell ill with pneumonia and suffered a heart attack in Mömlingen, where he lived .
Drafi Deutscher died on June 9, 2006 at the University Hospital in Frankfurt at the age of 60. He was buried in the municipal park cemetery in Berlin-Lichterfelde (field 16). His final resting place is adorned with a headstone in the shape of a hat.
Musical career
Beginnings
At the age of eleven, Deutscher took part in a talent competition and took first place with the title Tutti Frutti of his idol Little Richard . This was followed by a small role in a television movie .
After finishing school at the age of fourteen, Deutscher earned his living as a musician in his band Charlie & The Timebombs, which mainly interpreted rock 'n' roll hits from the USA and which he founded at the age of eleven. After the band split up, Deutscher came across the group The Magics in 1963 , which was to remain his permanent companion for a few years. The repertoire had meanwhile expanded to include beat music , which had become increasingly popular since the early 1960s .
Ascent
In the same year, again in a talent competition, the music producers Peter Meisel and Christian Bruhn became aware of Deutscher and the Magics. This was followed by a contract with the Decca record company and the first single with the German-language beat numbers Teeny and Shu Bi Du Bi Du The Slop, composed by Christian Bruhn . With sales of around 80,000 pieces, Deutscher achieved a first respectable success.
Deutscher had his first hit with his third single Shake Hands (1964). In addition, the singer played together with his band in the program of a tour of Germany by Cliff Richard .
First high phase
After further successful single releases like Keep Smiling , Cinderella Baby , Today I paint your picture, Cindy Lou and the long-playing record Shake Hands! Keep Smiling! In 1965 the title Marble, Stone and Iron Breaks (first published as Marble Stone and Iron Breaks ) came onto the market. The piece, which became an evergreen , climbed to number 1 on the German sales charts and became Deutscher's greatest success. The English-language version Marble Breaks and Iron Bends , published in 1966, even made it into the US charts.
In 1966, Deutscher was at the height of his young career. The singles Take me as I am , Honey Bee , Die goldene Zeit (with Manuela ) and the long-playing record Drafi! , on which Germans also sang socially critical protest songs, all of them became sales hits . In the same year he received the Golden Otto of the youth magazine Bravo as the most popular pop star.
In 1967, a scandal led to a kink in the singer's career. Deutscher urinated while drunk from a balcony on the street, which was observed by school children. A trial followed closely by the tabloids followed and a conviction for causing public nuisance .
In 1969 Drafi Deutscher was featured in the ZDF hit parade with the hit Don Quichotte and qualified fourth for the next show. A year later he appeared again in the ZDF hit parade with the hit So much luck you should have . Other successful titles from this time were the singles Because I love you , Kellerkind , With your head through the wall , Are you still thinking of him , United , You and I , I love you , Someday , I break down or Why do you go away .
Success under pseudonyms, composer and producer time
The single Alaska , which he recorded with Tina Rainford , was also well listed in some radio hit parades. The duo called themselves Tina and Drafi .
With the group Wir Drafi Deutscher 1973 had a big hit with the title David and Goliath .
Deutscher initially disappeared from the limelight, separated from the band The Magics, but continued to release records under various pseudonyms and was also successful as a producer and composer for other artists. He wrote titles for Tina Rainford ( Silverbird , Charly Boy ), Peggy March ( Fly Away Pretty Flamingo ), Bino ( Mama Leone ) and Boney M. ( Belfast ), among others .
He himself had great success with his project Mr. Walkie Talkie, especially in the Benelux countries, with the title Be My Boogie Woogie Baby , which also made it into the top 40 of the German charts . In 1980 Deutscher celebrated a small comeback as a singer under the pseudonym Jack Goldbird and landed a hit with Can I Reach You . In 1981 the album Lost In New York City, produced in the USA, was released in Germany .
In 1982 Deutscher released a new album on Ariola called Drafi , from which the single Jeanne D'Arc (Maid Of Orleans) , a cover version of the OMD hit Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc) , was decoupled.
In 1983 he finally took the first two places in the German single charts for several weeks with the same composition ( Guardian Angel / Jenseits von Eden ). The German version was sung by Nino de Angelo , the English version was sung by Deutscher himself with Chris Evans under the name Masquerade.
Deutscher was responsible for the music for the 1984 film Zwei Nasen tanken Super .
Duet epoch
Heralded by the hit singles Herz an Herzfühl and Uns're Herzen freeze , Drafi Deutscher's most successful solo album was released in 1986 with Mixed feelings .
With the Mixed Emotions project , a duo together with Oliver Simon , Deutscher was very successful from autumn 1986. In mid-1987 they were in the German charts with three titles at the same time. In 1988 he delivered the title song to an episode of the Eurocops series with the single Running Wild .
In 1989 Deutscher went on a tour of Germany with his album Über Grenzen geht'n . He also recorded the single Young Love with Demis Roussos , which was at least very well placed in the ZDF hit parade , and re-released the album Lost In New York City . In 1991 Deutscher continued his duo project with Andreas Martin as New Mixed Emotions .
In 1996 he achieved another win in the ZDF hit parade with the title Amen from the album So Many Questions . He has also produced other albums in recent years. In 1998 he reissued his successful title Guardian Angel with his Duo 2 Generations together with Stefan Körber, the former lead singer of the boy band "Verliebte Jungs", Guardian Angel '98 .
With the album We Belong Together , Drafi Deutscher and Oliver Simon returned in 1999 as Mixed Emotions in the original formation and once again reached the top 30 of the German album charts.
Old star and musical afterlife
In 2003, Deutscher celebrated his 40th stage anniversary. After that he performed 20 to 25 times a year, mostly at oldie events.
In March 2007, about nine months after his death, Drafi Deutscher's last album, The Last Mile , was released . It only contains previously unpublished recordings made by his sons Drafi jr. and René have completed. In addition, this album contains the tribute song Dicht ein schützen nobody back , sung by Nino de Angelo .
On October 10, 2008, the 1982 album Drafi was released for the first time in its entirety and in its original design on CD, supplemented by six bonus tracks, five of which were previously unreleased on CD.
In January 2009 the best-of-CD Schlager & Stars (Best of) was released , on which, among other things, the maxi version of the chart single Uns're Herzen freeze from 1986 was first released on CD.
Discography
Filmography
Although Deutscher is mainly known as an interpreter, he also had a few appearances in film and television productions:
- In 1973 he had a cameo with the music group We in Blue Gentian Flowers .
- He took on a small role in the 1982 film, Marmor, Stein und Eisen breaks , which is partially based on the life of Deutschers.
- In 1988, Deutscher took on a role in the literary film adaptation of The Bertinis .
- In 1990, Deutscher appeared in the first episode of the RTL series Ein Schloss am Wörthersee
- In 1992 he appeared in the first episode of the Heinz Becker family in a guest role.
- In 2000, Deutscher played himself in the episode In Best Company of the series Der Pfundskerl alongside Ottfried Fischer .
Pseudonyms (selection)
About 40 pseudonyms are known under which Deutscher appeared and worked. Here is a selection:
Baby Champ, Baby Girl, Big Wigwam, Blue Brothers, Blue Lagune, Continental Brothers, Dave Bolan, Deddies Driver Group, Erus Tsebehtmi (read backwards: Sure, I'm the best ), Fingernails, Guadeloupe, Hektor von Usedom, Ironic Remark , Jack Goldbird, Kurt Gebegern, Lars Funkel, Masquerade, Mixed Emotions , Mr. Walkie Talkie, New Mixed Emotions, Quickborner, Piña Colada, Randy Rodgers, Renate Vaplus, Kaiser von China (single 1974 - I have a smack) and Wir .
Web links
- Literature by and about Drafi Deutscher in the catalog of the German National Library
- Drafi Deutscher at laut.de.
- Track listing: Drafi Deutscher - All songs
- Masquerade - The Sound Of Masquerade (1984) and some more from Drafi Deutscher and Chris Evans
Individual evidence
- ↑ Drafi Deutscher on abc-stars.com
- ↑ LAUT.DE-BIOGRAPHY: Drafi Deutscher. In: laut.de . Retrieved November 26, 2018 .
- ^ Rhein-Zeitung: Drafi Deutscher suffered a stroke . November 24, 1998
- ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Drafi Deutscher
- ↑ Die Zeit: Bye, Drafi German
- ↑ a b c d e f Matthias Heine: Dam Dam; Dam Dam. Die Welt , accessed November 4, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | German, Drafi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Goldbird, Jack; German, Richard Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German singer, composer and music producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 9, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 9, 2006 |
| Place of death | Frankfurt am Main |