Episode 440. Black Expat Baritones
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As the penultimate episode in my 2026 Black History Month series, I revisit the stories of African American performers who, for a variety of reasons, including seeking to improve their increase their opportunities as artists of color, made their way to Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Today the focus is on the low-voiced males, baritones, bass-baritones, and basses, in a variety of musical genres, who found success overseas. Surely the most famous of these is the great operatic baritone Lawrence Winters, who leads off the episode, but there were many others as well, some in opera, some in pop music, and some in that magical and confusing world in between, who also experienced life in its fullness, not just in Germany, but in Austria, Italy, and Norway as well. A few of these singers, among them Kenneth Spencer and Thomas Carey, are still somewhat remembered today. Far too many others are virtually forgotten. Among those we also discuss William Ray, Owen Williams, Henry Wright, William Pearson, George Goodman, and Allan Evans. The musical selections are primarily focused on pop music and crossover, with some fascinating exceptions. Even within this somewhat circumscribed musical palette, however, there is much variety to be experienced, and celebrated.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Hans Arno Simon: Einsamer Seemann. Lawrence Winters, Begleitorchester [late 1950s]
Hans Arno Simon: Du weißes Schiff der großen Sehnsucht. Lawrence Winters, Begleitorchester [late 1950s]
Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II: Shall We Dance (The King and I). William Ray, Felicia Weathers, Richard Müller-Lampertz, Musical Studio Orchestra [1969]
Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson: September Song (Knickerbocker Holiday) [sung in German]. William Ray, Orchester Harry Pleva, arrangements by Ernst Simon [ca. 1969]
Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II; Edelweiss (The Sound of Music) [sung in German]. William Ray, Orchester Harry Pleva, Arrangements by Ernst Simon [late 1960s]
Danpa [Dante Panzuti], Reg Fulton: Paris in the Rain. Henry Wright, Orchestra Augusto Martelli [1962]
Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler: Stormy Weather. Henry Wright, Len Mercer Orchestra [1959]
George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Du Bose Heyward: A Woman Is a Sometime Thing (Porgy and Bess). William Pearson, Franz Allers, Nürnberger-Symphoniker, Knabenchor des Dürer-Gymnasiums Nürnberg [mid-1960s]
Hans Werner Henze, Hans Magnus Enzensberger [after Esteban Montajo]: Die Welt [excerpt] (El Cimarrón). William Pearson, Karlheinz Zöller, Leo Brouwer, Stomu Yamash’ta, Hans Werner Henze [1971]
Traditional German: Du, du liegst mir im Herzen. Kenneth Spencer, Orchester unter der Leitung von Adalbert Lutter [early 1960s]
Manuel Álvarez Maciste, Andrés Eloy Blanco: Angelitos negros [sung in German as Schwarze Engel]. Kenneth Spencer, Eduard Martini [live 1960s]
Horst Roos, Joe Glazer: Automation. Kenneth Spencer, Trio Hans Jürgens [1964]
Fred Gordoni [Otto Demler], Joachim Relin [Hans Joachim Balke]: Auf dem Weg nach Haus. Kenneth Spencer, mit Chor und Orchester [1963]
Stephen Foster: Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair. George Goodman [1968]
Agustín Lara, Dorothy Dodd: Granada. George Goodman mit Orchesterbegleitung [1970]
Vasily Solovyov-Sedoy, arr. Bert Loska [Heribert Thusek], Stefan Laube [Horst Ackermann]: Midnight in Moscow. George Goodman, Alexej Michailow and His Original-Balalaika-Orchester [1968]
Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse [German version by Mischa Mleinek]: Was für ein Narr ich bin [What Kind of Fool Am I?] (Stop the World – I Want to Get Off). Owen Williams, Panorama-Sound-Orchester [1966]
Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart: Falling in Love with Love (The Boys from Syracuse). Owen Williams [released 1969]
Alex North, Hy Zaret [German words by Ralph Maria Siegel]: Komm’ ins Land der Liebe [Unchained Melody]. Owen Williams [1969]
Georges Boulanger, Carlos Gomez Barrera, Jimmy Kennedy: My Prayer. Allan Evans [1976]
Werner Scharfenberger, Joachim Relin: Diese Stadt hat tausend Augen. Allan Evans, Orchester Werner Scharfenberger, produced by Gerhard Mendelson [1975]
Stephen Foster, orchestrated Paul Huber: Nelly Bly. Thomas Carey, Urs Schneider, Nürnberger Symphoniker [1970]
George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Du Bose Heyward: Summertime (Porgy and Bess). Thomas Carey, Benson Sound Musicians [1982]
Alexander Gretchaninov, Mikhail Lermontov: Sleep, My Darling [Lullaby], Op. 1/5 [sung in English]. Thomas Carey, Blane Smith, Robert McCanne [1982]