Episode 185. Black Pop Icons auf Deutsch (Black History Month 2023)
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There are advantages to being one’s own boss, and one of those is that when Frau Corona (AKA Madame Covid) comes to visit, one can reshuffle and recalibrate one’s plans to fit the exigencies of the moment. Hence today’s episode, a watered-down version of the larger topic (Black Emigré Pop Singers) which I intended to address today. Instead, I offer you many of your favorite Black pop artists of the 1950s and 1960s performing songs in German. Some of these are versions of chart toppers with new German words; some of them are songs specifically composed for these artists for the German market. The common variable of these songs, whether they are known or unknown, is that they are all delightful, and that one of those delights is seeing how these artists come to terms with the difficulties of the German language. Featured are jazz singers (Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald), pop groups (The Supremes, The Temptations) and solo artists (Nat King Cole, Marvin Gaye, Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt, and Dionne Warwick). Ms. Warwick is further featured in a number of less-familiar classics by the late Burt Bacharach which she recorded not only in German, but also in French and Italian. (Say it with me now: Geh’! Geh’!… Geh’! Geh’!)
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Holland-Dozier-Holland (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland; German lyric by Peter Puma): Baby, Baby, wo ist unsre Liebe [Where Did Our Love Go]. The Supremes (Diana Ross, Florence Birdsong, Mary Wilson) [1965]
Holland-Dozier-Holland (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland; German lyric by Kurt Feltz): Jonny und Joe [Come See About Me]. The Supremes (Diana Ross, Florence Birdsong, Mary Wilson) [1965]
Smokey Robinson, Ronald White (German lyric by Rudolf-Günter Loose): Mein Girl [My Girl]. The Temptations (Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, David Ruffin) [1965]
Holland-Dozier-Holland (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland; German lyric by Fini Busch): Wie schön das ist [How Sweet It Is]. Marvin Gaye [1964]
Bert Kaempfert, Milt Gabler: L-I-E-B-E [L-O-V-E]. Nat King Cole [1964]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David (German lyric by Tobby Lüth): Ich warte jeden Tag [You’ll Never Get to Heaven]. Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach und sein Orchester [1965]
Heinrich Frantzen, Traditional text: Es war einmal ein treuer Husar. August Batzem, Orchestra and Chorus [1929]
Heinrich Frantzen, arr. Louis Armstrong: Der treue Husar. Louis Armstrong und seine All-Stars [1955]
Lotar Olias, Hans Bradtke: Kisses in der Nacht (from the film Die Nacht vor der Premiere). Louis Armstrong und seine All-Stars [1959]
Gerhard Winkler, Fred Rauch (English lyric by Carl Sigman): Mütterlein [Answer Me]. Nat King Cole [1964]
Werner Scharfenberger, Fini Busch: Blue Bird. The Temptations (Eddie Kendricks, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, David Ruffin) [1965]
Johnny Bartels, Kurt Feltz: Sympatica. Marvin Gaye [1964]
Werner Scharfenberger, Fini Busch: Thank You Darling. The Supremes (Diana Ross, Florence Birdsong, Mary Wilson) [1965]
Werner Scharfenberger, Fini Busch: Moonlight and Kisses. The Supremes (Diana Ross, Florence Birdson, Mary Wilson) [1965]
Walter Donaldson (German lyric by Gilbert Obermair, arr. Conny Scheffel): Ich fühle mich crazy [You’re Driving Me Crazy]. Ella Fitzgerald, Knud Jörgensen, Jimmy Woode, William Schöpffe [1961]
Peter Kreuder: Die Regenbogenkinder. Joséphine Baker, Peter Kreuder [1959]
Peter Kreuder, Harry Hilm: Sag beim Abschied leise ‘Servus’ (from the film Burgtheater). Joséphine Baker, Jo Bouillon und sein Orchestra [1960]
Hans-Georg Moslener, Knut Kiesewetter: Ein Sommertraum. Eartha Kitt, Orchester und Chor Hans-Georg Moslener [1971]
Hans-Georg Moslener, Manfred Oberdörffer: Gib mir deine Hände. Eartha Kitt, Orchester und Chor Hans-Georg Moslener [1971]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David (Italian lyric by Franco Califano): La vita come va [The Windows of the World]. Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach e la sua Orchestra [1967]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David (Italian lyric by Franco Califano): Ogni donna che amerai [Walk, Little Dolly]. Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach e la sua Orchestra [1967]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David (French lyric unknown, probably by Ralph “Raffles” Bernet): L’amour s’oublie (sometimes incorrectly called Amour sublime) [Reach Out for Me] [1964]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David (French lyric unknown, probably by Ralph “Raffles” Bernet): Combien de jours malheureux [How Many Days of Sadness] [1964]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David (German lyric by Ernst Bader): Geh’ vorbei [Walk On By]. Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach und sein Orchester [1965]