Download Free Bert Kaempfert * Songs

Bert Kaempfert music biography continued...

as a youngster. He was recruited into a pop Orchestra run by Hans Bussch while in his teens, and later formed his own orchestra, which generated such hits as "Catalania," "Ducky," "Las Vegas," and "Explorer." In 1959, Kaempfert arranged, produced, and recorded an instrumental entitled "Wonderland by Night," which was released in the United States through Decca Records. The single topped the American pop charts and turned Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra into international stars. Over the next few years, he revived such pop tunes as "Tenderly," "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," "Three O'Clock in the Morning," and "Bye Bye Blues," bringing them all high onto the pop charts internationally, as well as composing pieces of his own, including "Spanish Eyes (Moon Over Naples)," "Danke Schoen," and "Wooden Heart," which were recorded by, respectively, Al Martino, Wayne Newton, and Elvis Presley. By 1965, Kaempfert had also joined the ranks of film music composers with the soundtrack to a movie entitled A Man Could Get Killed -- the title song from the movie became "Strangers in the Night," which Frank Sinatra propelled to the top of the American and British charts. He followed this up a year later with another hit for Sinatra, "The World We Knew (Over and Over)." By now, Kaempfert's records were selling in the hundreds of thousands, making a true international sensation, and responsible, along the way for giving The Beatles their first break.



Kaempfert's chart placements disappeared in the 1970s as the music marketplace (especially on radio) finally squeezed out the adult and older dance music listenership he'd cultivated. But his sales always healthy, if not substantial, in the United States, and in Europe he was still a top concert draw. Kaempfert died suddenly on June 21, 1980, at the age of 56, of a heart seizure while at his home in Mallorca. In the years since, he has finally been recognized for the breadth of his achievements as a composer, arranger, bandleader and performer—achievements which laid the groundwork for much of the popular music that would follow.