Happy 100th Birthday Bert Kaempfert!
Well…technically…
Bert stopped having birthdays in 1980, when he died an untimely death at 56 years old.
Many only know him from being sampled and name dropped in Barenaked Ladies 1998 chart topper “One Week.”
Older folks may remember a few more songs from his easy listening hit-making days of the early 60s.
His close friends throughout his life knew him by his nickname, “Fips.” He led an interesting life that involved accordions, a taxi accident,
and a significant brush with The Beatles.
Berthold Heinrich Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1923.
At age six, he had the unfortunate experience of being hit by a taxi.
But the resulting insurance settlement made the Kaempfert family 500 deutschmarks richer.
And as fate had it, Bert’s mother bought a piano for him with some of the money. Smart mutter!
Bert took to music naturally, becoming proficient at piano, clarinet, saxophone, and the accordion (his personal favorite). He went to a local school that specialized in music and by the time he was 16 he was recruited into a locally touring orchestra.
And then there was this world war.
Bert volunteered for the Navy where he played in a band. After being captured by allied forces in Denmark, he organized a band while in prison. They were called “Pik Ass”…which sounds like an unfortunate moniker, until you realize that translated from German…
it means “Ace of Spades”.
After the war Bert quietly gained a reputation as a competent musician/arranger through various freelance work and performances, both to Germans, and to Allied forces in mainland Europe and Britain. Eventually he caught the attention of Hamburg company Polydor Records. Through the 50s, his star continued to rise.
But he really hit the big time in 1960.
Bert had written “Wonderland by Night” in 1959. He knew he had a special song in his hands, but Polydor wasn’t interested in it. So he reached out to a connection in America.
Milt Gabler worked for Decca Records in New York, and he immediately latched onto the song. The release topped the charts in America, followed by many countries around the world.
(Stereogum reviewer Tom Breihan gave it a 7.)
That same year, Elvis Presley was stationed in the Army in Germany. He was making a movie about the experience (which became GI Blues).
Bert arranged a German folk tune, which Elvis sang in the movie, and became a #1 hit for American Joe Dowell, “Wooden Heart”. (Tom Breihan gave that song a 2.)
Acting as a record producer at Polydor in 1961, Bert hired backing musicians for a Tony Sheridan album. Those musicians’ names were John, Paul, George, and Pete.
They were the Beat Brothers… soon to be the Beatles. Those were their first commercial recordings.
That album’s subsequent discovery by Brian Epstein back in England helped lead to their signing on Parlophone Records…and they ended up having some decent success of their own.
These little moments of good fortune secured Bert’s demand for the rest of his life.
He released album after album of easy listening music with a jazzy flavor. Albums in Europe were on Polydor, albums in America were on Decca. While he never had massive sales of any particular single or album, what he did have was global popularity.
A steady sale of records worldwide (I saw numbers of 150 million at his death) made him a wealthy man. Additionally, he penned some very popular standards that became hugely successful in the 1960s, not the least of which was “Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra, despite Frank himself famously hating the song. (Tom Breihan gave that one a 4.) Always the quiet, unassuming man, he was happy to remain in the background while others succeeded with his songs.
Other songwriting highlights included:
“L-O-V-E”,
popularized by Nat King Cole
“Danke Schoen”
popularized by Wayne Newton
“Spanish Eyes”
popularized by Al Martino
Some artists started to fill entire albums with Kaempfert penned songs, including Johnny Mathis, The Anita Kerr Singers, Bobby Hackett, Al Hirt, and Pete Fountain. Music publishing company BMI tallied “Strangers in the Night” and “Spanish Eyes” as the 47th and 64th most played songs in America in the 20th century. If worldwide plays could be counted, those numbers would likely be higher.
As tastes changed in the 1970s, Kaempfert’s record sales dwindled, but he remained a concert demand.
Right up to the end in 1980, Kaempfert was just finishing a successful tour of England (the country in which he was most popular), with plans for a new album and new concert dates scheduled.
He died at age 56 in his own bed in Germany on June 21, 1980 of a stroke. His ashes were spread over the Everglades in Florida, a favorite vacation spot.
As an old middle aged white guy, I make no apologies for my love of easy listening music.
While I hadn’t completely embraced it until the last decade or so, the roots had been long set. I started life with a little record collection that included Bert Kaempfert’s 1964 Blue Midnight album, as well as his 1960 single “Wonderland by Night”.
Many times I have said that if my house caught on fire, after my wife and kids were saved, I would then try to rescue my copy of Blue Midnight.
I’ll never forget how astounded I was to first hear Bert’s name mentioned in the song “One Week”. (Tom Breihan infamously gave that song a 1.) Up to that point, I had pretty much assumed no one my age had ever heard of Kaempfert!
Admittedly, Bert Kaempfert isn’t quite the household name that he used to be.
But his legacy is woven into a lot of different parts of the tapestry of 1960s music.
AND!…speaking of music, let’s hear a few tunes:
Here’s the song that started his worldwide fame:
“Wonderland by Night.
It features that trumpet glissando that Barenaked Ladies sampled so prominently. (And get a load of that gorgeous 1960s Decca record label…one of my favorites).
Here’s “Swingin’ Safari:”
Billy Vaughn’s faithful cover became the theme song to The Match Game from 1962-1967.
Many Kaempfert tunes are not just easy listening, but are almost childlike in their simplicity.
Take this 1962 tune,“That Happy Feeling.” This must have been what Barney was listening to as a baby dinosaur.
(Please ignore the maniacally smiling woman suffocating that poor man on the album cover.)
By the mid-1960s, Bert had settled into a style that was unmistakably his own:
Tunes that had swing, but were polite enough for your grandmother.
They had wordless background singing, occasional strings, not many woodwinds, but a strong brass section.
Bert would often prominently featuring trumpeter Manfred Moch soloing and playing the melody.
There was strumming guitar, occasionally a quiet organ, and drums played with brushes. But the most obvious characteristic of a Kaempfert recording was the plucked bass.
Kaempfert used a stand up bass AND an electric bass playing together. The trademark sound was created by the bass players muting each note with their hands after plucking the string.
Here’s a few samples of that feel from his mid-60s era:
Here’s one of my all time favorites that I always share, “Treat for Trumpet.” This song is part of my DNA.
Here’s a lively Kaempfert song, “Mambo Mania:”
A driving Latin tune that really kinda “rocks!”
I don’t know if Bert tapped into the perfect formula of relaxing, beautiful music, or if it’s just what resonates so effectively with me.
But I can’t imagine a time that I would be unhappy to hear his music.
There are plenty of other kinds of great music out there that I love, but I can always come back to this “comfort food.”
One last thing…
Next time you’re suffering from insomnia… maybe your mind is busy with worry…
Just play this song:
“Good Night, Sweet Dreams…”
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Very interesting write-up, Link. I was going to say that “Swingin Safari” reminded me of the African folk songs “Skokiaan” and “Wimoweh,” and then realized that it was part of an album with both of those songs included. Good that he was not averse to playing “entartete musik.”
I try not to let an artists’ biography get in the way of their art. And on their own, these songs are pleasant, whimsical ear candy. But I can’t ignore the biographical details either, and his are certainly intriguing.
Apparently at age 16 he was playing in a band led by Hans Bush, a man who eventually fled Germany to escape the Nazis. Young Bert then volunteered to join the Navy, playing in support of the Nazi regime.
Was it youth that blinded him to what was happening? Did he not know why his old boss fled? Was he shielded from scenes of real horror? Or did he know about what was unfolding, and felt he couldn’t do anything?
One thing’s for certain: his music doesn’t do much to answer these questions! Given that backstory, his later dedication to the creation of easy listening music is a fascinating one.
What is it that leads one WW2 POW to create a somber and meditative “Quartet for the End of Time,” and another to create, as you call it, comfort food?
Do you know if Kaempfert ever spoke on this stuff? Surely the uncomfortably frank John Lennon must have asked him at some point…
I really wished that I would have found some comment of that Nazi topic somewhere in his history, but I found nothing. I do get the feeling that he was a friendly sort…but quiet. Definitely not much of a contentious fellow. (Musicians in his orchestra talked about how friendly he was as a conductor.) I wonder if he just avoided talking about it.
First things first, what’s the correct pronunciation of “Kaempfert?”
Second, I had no idea about his use of two basses. At about the same time, country records used something called “tic tac bass,” which was an upright bass and a baritone guitar playing the same parts. Baritone guitars are tuned between a standard guitar and a bass. That gave the songs the full bottom end of the bass and a precise pluck that pierced through the mix. Check it out on “Walking After Midnight” by Patsy Cline and “Heartaches By The Numbers” by Ray Price.
Bill, it’s interesting that I think of that country music trend with Patsy Cline, who was on Decca Records, just like Bert. Coincidence? (probably)
I think Kaempfert is pronounced like Hemp-furt. pronouncenames.com sounds like that, but adds a German flavor causing the r to sound half-swallowed.
Danke schön Link. I didn’t know a lot about Bert, I was aware of the Beatles connection and his US #1 but not too much else. I instantly recognised Swinging Safari though, no idea where from but its one of those tunes that sounds familiar from adverts and tv.
Listening to the tracks they evoke a very particular time. I can easily imagine Mambo Mania soundtracking a 1960s newsreel of some fusty besuited reporter walking through Soho explaining swinging London.
I was surprised at you saying he was most popular in England. He only ever had one chart entry in his own name; Bye Bye Blues in 1965 #24, though Strangers In The Night topped the charts here as well.
The reach of TV variety shows in the 60s and 70s though meant that it would be possible to be a household name even if you weren’t a chart regular. I guess with his death it meant he disappeared from view quickly as the genre he worked in wasn’t considered a serious proposition. I don’t think there would be many under 50 here that know who he is. Though just about everyone that grew up in the 80s will have seen Ferris Bueller singing Danke Schoen.
Thanks for keeping his name alive.
I read an online biography of him that described his biggest concert draws being in England through his career, even through 1980. So that’s what I was going off of.
OK, let’s start with the fact that you just brought up one of my childhood memories with that “Swingin’ Safari.” WGN-AM used to use that as the background music when it did commercials for “HFC, Household Finance,” during Cubs play-by-play when I was a kid in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I never knew the song’s name but I could have hummed it easily for you … Thanks for putting that together for me.
The way you talk about growing up with Kaempfert’s music as part of your DNA reminds me of the way I grew up hearing Paul Mauriat’s “Puppet on a String” and “Love Is Blue” on his “Blooming Hits” collection (a fairly risque cover that I never realized at the time … I would suspect my parents felt it wouldn’t make an impact on “the kids,” and they were right about this kid. My straight brother might remember it differently…) 🙂
At any rate, I always loved both songs and felt the bridge of “Love Is Blue” pushed easy listening as close to rock as close as it could get without going over, as Bob Barker (RIP) might have said.
I’m glad the connection was made 50 years later! Yes, those songs we listened to in our single digits make quiet an impression on us.
That is certainly one of the signature sounds of the 60s (non-rock division). A lot of it sounds like it would be backing music for non-action sequences in the Thunderbirds TV series.
Any mention of Barenaked Ladies’ ‘One Week’ is contractually obligated to reference Tom’s, um, lushly opinionated review: https://www.stereogum.com/2190488/the-number-ones-barenaked-ladies-one-week/columns/the-number-ones/
TL;DR: ‘For decades, I have been unable to order orange chicken without some terrible part of my brain repeating “chickety-China, the Chinese chicken,” and I resent that enormously.’
There’s plenty more, all equally or surpassingly bitchy.
Finally, great read, Link! Kaempfert was also a part of my kidhood. I look forward to your Henry Mancini appreciation article.
It was today that I realized ‘One Week’ was not mentioning BERT CONVY having the mad hits (as in hit TV shows)! (What a silly goose I am.)
What a great article! (About two years ago, as an “old middle aged guy” I started listening to some Henry Mancini in a revisit of being 6 or 7 and listening to my parents’ easy-listening records as a kid.) I will now check out BK as well.
I’m not sure I’m qualified to write a Mancini appreciation article (I’m not sure I’m qualified to write anything), but there’s some Mancini that I really love.
Pik-Ass, you say?
https://youtu.be/3mbvWn1EY6g?si=iff8Zny2G6qaBLIx