Bert Kaempfert appreciation thread (Mrs. Kaempfert sez: "Bert had a dark side")

Next up: a journey into the works of Lawrence Welk....

Except those fascinate me for entirely different reasons.... Most of all, anyone with the cojones to cover "Runaway" with a MOR straight face gets bonus points in my book for sheer audacity....forget "Calcutta" or "Yellow Bird," it's those 'little ones' that you live for...well, that I live for, have yet to get a GF horny for 'em, but hey, Jo Ann Castle was one hot mama if you remember her...

 

I love him. Wonderland By Night is sonic seduction.

 

Absolutely. A classy song...

Afrikaan Beat by Bert is an instro favorite of mine, but by a small margin, I'd give Billy Vaughn's version of A Swingin' Safari the edge.

 

Now all the chat group lemmings are gonna be clamoring for a SH remaster of "Danke Shon"..thanks, baby!

 

That's funny - I recently started investigating the Taragon label because I realized that there were several comps that I really liked done by this label. I found an almost complete discography of the cds they've released since 1995 (only about 100) and noticed that at least 20 of them were by Bert Kaempfert including many 2 on 1 issues of original albums. I thought it was kind of odd that they'd done so many reissues (relatively) of his stuff, as I was only aware of him through writing credits on a few of the hits you mentioned...I'll have to at least check out the GH. (www.taragon.com). Thanks for the tip. More info at http://www.spaceagepop.com/kaempfer.htm

 

IT'S HERE....http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi?cpid=1884417

 

Yep. It's the one I knew best as a kid as well. Billy did borrow much of the arrangement but made it a bit "snazzier."

 

I have included Bert's U.S. Top 40 hits on my recording project - essential...

Bob

 

Bert's music from his prime is great.

 

Great stuff! One of my musical pleasures I feel not one iota guilty about. The Taragon stuff should still be easy to find except for the now gone That Happy Feeling, big bucks everywhere but a good stereo Decca original will do, pre "division of MCA" on the lower back. Found years later that the title of, I'm thinking, That Happy Feeling was changed from An African Prayer?

 

Not a recognizable face for sure, but here's a picture of Bert.

 

...anytime at all.

 

Bert Kaempfert's music was really wonderful. I fell in love with Wonderland by Night when it first came out, and bought his music now and then right up to his death in about 1980 (as I recall).

Was Kaempfert the German Billy Vaughn, or was Vaughn the American Kaempfert?

There was one other German bandleader from the early 1960's who had a moderate instrumental hit in the USA, and that was Kurt Edelhagen's Berlin Melody. His band's usual output was a bit more in a jazz vein, modeled somewhat on Stan Kenton's.

That thumping and prominent bass and smooth trumpet solos were the certain trademark of Kaempfert's music just as the twin alto saxes identified Billy Vaughn. Call it elevator music if you will, but it was eminently listenable and it swung!!

Thanks, Steve, for a very welcome nostalgia trip!!

 

I see his stuff at Goodwill a lot. Unfortunately, they're always trashed!

 

That best-of from Taragon is the first CD I ever ordered over the Internet. NYC area forum members of a certain age will remember "That Happy Feeling" as the theme song to The Sandy Becker Show. For me, no song invokes more happy memories of childhood than that one!

"Bert Kaempfert's got the mad hits/You try to match wits/you try to hold me but I bust through..."
--Barenaked Ladies, "One Week"

 

I have lots of decent copies of many of his albums on original vinyl and one CD.

 

From her book Bert, I Hardly Knew Ye Swine, Mrs. Kaempfert says that she was startled to come home and find Bert lounging on the living room floor wearing her silk stalkings and garter belt. Beside him was a Munich hairdresser names Rolf who kept gazing into Bert's eyes while endlessly humming "Strangers in the Night." It gets worse:

I didn't know what to do, so I said, "Bert, wanna catch a movie?" but he just glared back at me and demanded I whip up a batch of my famous Swedish meatballs.

She then goes on to share a recipe:

Bert's Balls

Meatballs with this subtle spice flavor will disappear in minutes.
1 egg
1 c. soft bread crumbs (2 slices bread)
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. milk
Cooking oil Sour Cream Sauce

Blend ground beef, egg and bread crumbs thoroughly with brown sugar, salt, pepper, ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and milk. Form into 12 meatballs. Fry in hot oil, about 1-inch deep, until fully cooked, turning only once. Drain on paper towels. Prepare Sour Cream Sauce. Fold meatballs into sauce. Spoon into a chafing dish, stainless steel or enamel pan. Heat gently to serving temperature. Serve with boiled potatoes or hot noodles. Garnish with minced parsley. Makes 4 servings.

It's a very strange read.

 

I highly recommend the 1997 LP "Bert Kaempfert - A Collection Of 14 Unforgettable Master Recordings". Co-produced by the German HiFi Magazine "Image HiFi" and Speakers Corners.

Mastered by Willem Makkee at PolyGram, Hannover.

The original master tapes were used, some of them supplied by Mrs. Kaempfert.

 

My personal fave is his version of "Caravan." Used to get tons of airplay, yet isn't often mentioned, it seems to me. Love it!!

 

I remember hearing parts of Sinatra's "Trilogy" in the late '70's, and the song that impressed me the most was "You Turned My World Around" which I believe was written by Mr. Kaempfert.