Souvenirs (song)
Souvenirs is the title of a German hit with a foxtrot rhythm . It is a cover version of the English-language song of the same name, which was written by the American songwriter Cy Coben. The German text is by Jonny Bartels. The German version became a number one hit with Bill Ramsey .
history
Former GI Bill Ramsey was chosen as a joker singer by the German record company Polydor, as evidenced by his first publications such as Yes, Fanny ich tu das or Wumba-Tumba chocolate ice cream seller . At first, the chocolate ice cream seller seemed unsaleable because the audience had not responded for eight weeks since its publication in early January 1959. In March 1959, for example, the successor single with the title He Was by the Constantinople Choral Society was released . When the chocolate ice cream seller finally appeared in the top 30 of the music market in April and climbed up to fourth place, it was decided to take advantage of the trend and release a third single with Bill Ramsey within four months. Since the chocolate ice cream seller song was in the top 30 until the end of May, they waited until June with the new record. In May the A-side with the title Mach keine Heck-Meck had already been produced, the recording for the B-side took place on June 8th.
For the B-side of the new Bill Ramsey single, a German text for the English title Souvenirs was used. This title was written by the successful American composer Cy Coben in music and text and published with the singer Barbara Evans. Although the title was only 111th in the US charts, Polydor thought the version with the German text by Jonny Bartels was good enough for the B-side. Similar to the English version, Bartels ironically targeted the hunt for souvenirs from celebrities ("A pipe from Ricky Nelson, a driver's license from Stirling Moss, you guys buy it, buy it"). The recording with Bill Ramsey took place in Messestudio Cologne under the direction of Kurt Feltz , the musical background was provided by a studio orchestra under Werner Twardy and the Botho-Lucas-Chor .
The single with the titles Mach keine Heck-Meck and Souvenirs went on sale in June 1959. The audience reacted only in September, but differently than expected from Polydor. The B-side title Souvenirs appeared in the top 30 of the music market and was number one on October 10th. He stayed there for six weeks. He was ranked eighth in the annual music market charts. The “Musicbox” of the youth magazine Bravo also listed souvenirs from September and also took the title at number one for two weeks. The song Souvenirs was still in the hit lists when the film No Man to Marry Bill Ramsey and his song Souvenirs, made by Hans Deppe, hit theaters on December 18, 1959 .
Cover versions
The Decca record company released a promo single in the United States in February 1960 with the title Souvenirs Sung by Bill Ramsey, with Go Man Go on the back . The German copywriter is given for both titles, so it can be assumed that these are the German original recordings. Well-known singers did not cover the Bartels version of souvenirs , the cheap label Bella Musica released a single in 1960 with the unknown singer Henry Baist, on which he sings souvenirs in the Bartels version. In 2002 a compact disc appeared with Rainhard Fendrich , on which he sings his own versions of 1960s German hits. This also includes souvenirs with slightly different text. The song Souvenirs by The Gathering , which appeared on the CD of the same name in 2003, has nothing to do with the Coben / Bartels title. In France it was covered by Johnny Hallyday and Rita Cadillac in 1960 , with the Hallyday version being the most successful.
Discography (selection)
| Interpreter | Label | date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Evans | RCA Victor 7519 | 4/1959 | Single, english |
| Bill Ramsey | Polydor 24037 | 6/1959 | Single, German |
| Bill Ramsey | Decca 31052 | 2/1960 | Single, German |
| Henry Baist | Bella Musica 253 | 1960 | Single, German |
| Bill Ramsey | Polydor 463018 | 1981 | LP Unforgotten Hits, Track A3 |
| Bill Ramsey | Dino Music | 1986 | LP Die Deutsche Wirtschaftswunder-Hits, 4/6 |
| Bill Ramsey | Bear Family | 1992 | CD souvenirs, track 7 |
| Bill Ramsey | Polydor | 9/2007 | CD His great successes, Track 1 |
| Rainhard Fendrich | Gig records | 11/2002 | CD Ein Saitensprung, German, Track 6 |
literature
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet German chart singles 1956-1980. Taurus Press 1987, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 .
- Christian Müller: The Bravo Music Box, Volume 1 , self-published by Christian Müller 2000.
- Angelika & Lothar Binding: The large binding single catalog , 3rd edition, Heidelberg 1994.
Web links
- Patrick Pollmer: Souvenirs . In: Song Lexicon . Retrieved October 27, 2014.