A website dedicated to the Eurovision orchestra and the 346 musicians who conducted it between the first contest in 1956 and the last live orchestra edition in 1998. By using the various indexes, a wealth of interviews with, and biographical information about musicians from all corners of Europe can be accessed - as well as backgrounds about the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, the San Remo Festival, and the Nordring Radio Prize. Feel free to roam around!
The following article is an overview of the career of Austrian pianist, composer, and arranger Hans Hammerschmid. The main source of information is an email exchange with Mr Hammerschmid, conducted by Bas Tukker in the first half of 2010. The article below is subdivided into two main parts; a general career overview (part 3) and a part dedicated to Hans Hammerschmid's Eurovision involvement (part 4).
Hans Hammerschmid is one of the conductors in the Eurovision Song Contest who, although having participated on only one occasion, were part of the winning team nevertheless. Hammerschmid produced, arranged, and conducted ‘Merci chérie’, with which Udo Jürgens clinched the victory for Austria in 1966.
BIOGRAPHY
Johann ‘Hans’ Hammerschmid (occasionally working under the pseudonym Henry Stuck) studied the piano as well as percussion, composition, and conducting at the Viennese Music Academy; there, he was awarded with the Mozart Prize in 1947. Mainly thanks to this prize, Hammerschmid had the opportunity to work in the Paramount Pictures studios in Los Angeles on the music of a film with Bob Hope (1952). Although most of his subsequent career was spent in West Germany, Hammerschmid occasionally returned to the United States to write and record film music. Much later, in 1984, he was the conductor in a Carnegie Hall concert with Bob Hope and Kamahl. One year after that, he recorded the album ‘In Love’ with American soprano Julia Migenes Johnson.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Hammerschmid mainly worked as a pianist and arranger for many different jazz ensembles in Austria and West Germany. In Vienna, he played in the Johannes Fehring Big Band, where he first teamed up with a young vocalist by the name of Udo Jürgens. Moreover, Hammerschmid was a member of the Hans Koller Quintet as well as of the Südwestfunk-Tanzorchester in Baden-Baden; with this orchestra – at that time led by Eddy Sauter – he performed at the 1958 Jazz Festival in Frankfurt.
He wrote arrangements for Helmut Zacharias and performed on stage with such international jazz soloists as trumpeter Duško Gojković, saxophonists Stan Getz, Hans Koller, and Zoot Sims, guitarist Attila Zoller, and vocalist Helen Merrill. Later, Hammerschmid was appointed musical leader and conductor of the Entertainment Orchestra of the Saarländische Rundfunk (SR), while he was often invited to conduct other broadcasting orchestras in West Germany.
From the early 1960s onwards, Hammerschmid regularly composed and arranged pop songs. One of the first artists with whom he worked in the recording studio, were The Bambis, an Austrian band which had some hits in both Austria and West Germany in 1964 and 1965. After having produced and arranged Udo Jürgens’ Eurovision winner ‘Merci chérie’ in 1966, Hammerschmid regularly kept performing on stage with Jürgens, while he also co-composed his 1969 success ‘He’s Got The Whole World’.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Hammerschmid also recorded songs with Esther & Abi Ofarim, Klaus Sommer, Anneliese Rothenberger, and Margot Werner. He also stood at the cradle of disco, producing early attempts at this new genre by Donna Summer and Ian Cussick. With lyricist Miriam Frances, he created the parlando hit ‘Sechzig Jahre – und kein bisschen weise’ for Austrian actor Curd Jürgens in 1975.
During the recording of a TV show in late 1966, Hammerschmid made the acquaintance with German chansonnière and theatre personality Hildegard Knef. This led to a fruitful collaboration between 1967 and 1975, during which he produced and arranged no fewer than seven studio albums for Knef. Many of her songs were composed by Hammerschmid, including ‘Von nun an ging’s bergab’, ‘Ich brauch’ Tapetenwechsel’, and ‘Siebzehn Millimeter fehlten mir zum Glück’. On top of that, he also wrote the music to the remarkably voiced singer’s best-known song, ‘Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen’ (1968) – a melody which is still a classic in Germany and beyond. The lyrics to most of these compositions were penned by Knef herself. Many years later, in 1993, Knef and Hammerschmid teamed up once again to write ‘Marlene’, a song dedicated to Marlene Dietrich. Knef played the lead role in the musical in honour of Marlene Dietrich, ‘Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind’.
As a film composer, Hans Hammerschmid made his mark by writing the soundtracks of German cinema successes Die Funkstreife Gottes (1968), ‘Ein Käfer geht aufs Ganze’ (1971), and Die Reise nach Wien (1973). In addition to that, he composed the music to theatre productions, radio plays, and commercials.
From the 1960s onwards, Hammerschmid wrote the scores for television, mostly for West German public broadcaster ZDF. He wrote soundtracks to countless episodes of popular TV detectives, such as Das Kriminalmuseum, Tatort, Derrick, and Der Alte. His best-known composition as a film composer is 'Hallo Dr. B!', the signature melody of the popular ORF/ZDF drama series Die Schwarzwaldklinik, which ran for four seasons (1985-89, 70 episodes) and to which Hammerschmid wrote all music. Moreover, he composed the music to other ZDF drama series, amongst which Hotel Paradies (1990), Insel der Träume (1991), Das Traumschiff (1992-2000), and Flucht ins Paradies (1995). In 2001, he was responsible for the soundtrack to TV film Der Held an meiner Seite.
In 2008, Hammerschmid was honoured at the annual meeting of GEMA for his fifty years of membership of Germany's performance right organisation.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Hammerschmid was a conductor in the Eurovision Song Contest on one occasion. In 1966, he led the Luxembourg orchestra for Udo Jürgens, who represented Austria with ‘Merci chérie’. Hammerschmid wrote the arrangement himself. Jürgens, for whom it was the third Eurovision attempt, won the contest with it. In 1964 and 1965, the Austrian chansonnier had been accompanied by his former band leader Johannes Fehring (entry: ‘Warum, nur Warum?’) and Italian resident conductor Gianni Ferrio (entry: ‘Sag ihr, ich lass’ sie grüssen’) respectively - with both songs having an arrangement penned by Rudi Bauer. What was the reason Hammerschmid was called upon now to conduct ‘Merci chérie’ instead of Fehring?
Hammerschmid comments, “That's a difficult question. In fact, I am really surprised to hear Johannes Fehring conducted Udo Jürgens in a previous Eurovision Song Contest, because he hardly ever wrote arrangements and didn't work in the recording studio very often. However, at that time, he was very popular with ORF, the Austrian public broadcaster, and perhaps that is the reason why he was asked for the job in 1964."
"Whatever may be true of that, it was Udo’s publisher Hans Rudolf Beierlein who asked me to produce and arrange ‘Merci chérie’. It might very well have been the first time I did an arrangement for him. I wrote it after having talked it over with Udo and his lyricist Tommy Hörbiger; working with them was very pleasant. I had known Udo for many years already; for some time, I had been the pianist in Johannes Fehring’s big band, where Jürgens was the lead singer. We hit it off very well, playing rhythm and blues together during the breaks of performances with Fehring. Accompanied by me on the Hammond organ, he sang songs such as ‘Ol’ man river’ – and it was really swinging, I can assure you that!”
Having done the arrangement to 'Merci chérie', Hammerschmid also accompanied Udo Jürgens to the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg to conduct the orchestra for him.
“Going to Luxembourg was a totally relaxed experience," as Hammerschmid recalls. "The orchestra there was good and we had an excellent rehearsal – so we were well prepared and felt no stress at all. In the hotel, I shared an apartment with Udo, which turned out to be quite practical; there was a never-ending stream of young fans who were hoping to get him to sign his autograph. Remember, he already was an established artist in the German-speaking countries! Of course, I simply sent them away, which allowed Udo to enjoy some rest."
"On the night, there were many entries from other countries which were quite loud. Obviously, our song was exactly the opposite – really quiet – and that proved to be in our advantage. Winning the contest was a very important moment in the careers of both Udo Jürgens and myself. In Luxembourg, we celebrated until dawn. Many conductors from other countries asked me for a lead sheet of ‘Merci chérie’, because they really liked the melody.”
“Many versions of 'Merci chérie' were released in different countries; Udo even recorded a single of it in Japanese with the German version on the flipside. After the contest, I worked with Udo on many more occasions, both in the recording studio and on stage. When we did a concert, we often performed without having done a rehearsal! We have always maintained our friendship – until today.”
The following year, Hammerschmid was commissioned by Hans Rudolf Beierlein to write the arrangement to the entry submitted to the contest by West Germany, 'Anouschka', a composition by Hans Blum. Given that Blum himself also conducted the song at the contest, Hammerschmid himself could have been forgiven for not remembering 'Anouschka' when we asked him about it.
Songwriter Hans Blum later commented, “Yes, I was the conductor, but I wasn’t really that involved in this entry. I gave it a go and submitted a song – and the demo was really good. I can’t say I’m particularly proud of this piece, though; it’s nothing special and doesn’t rank among my best work. It was released on the label which had signed Inge Brück, Ariola; and the publishing rights went to Hans Rudolf Beierlein, who I usually didn’t work with either. (...) I wasn’t nervous about conducting in Eurovision. I had been a studio arranger for over a decade. You don’t need the education of a classical conductor to lead an orchestra for a song written by yourself and without any tempo changes; all you need is the flair to stand up and do it!”
When asked if the question of leaving the conducting job to Hammerschmid ever arose, Blum could not answer the question - simply because he did not remember. Many years later, in 1986, the same situation occurred, when Blum conducted his own composition 'Über die Brücke geh'n', although the arrangement had been done by Rainer Pietsch.
“Rainer was a very good musician, so I was happy that he did that part of the job. Still, it was my song and, after we had won the German final, I put my name forward to conduct the orchestra in Eurovision as I had done in the 1960s. Being the composer, I knew exactly what I wanted the orchestra to sound like."
Udo Jürgens celebrating his Eurovision victory in Luxembourg with the winner of the previous edition, France Gall
OTHER ARTISTS ABOUT HANS HAMMERSCHMID
So far, we have not gathered comments of other artists about Hans Hammerschmid.
The following article is an overview of the career of Luxembourgian pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor Jean Roderes. The main source of information are two interviews with Mr Roderes' widow, Mésy Bergamini, conducted by Bas Tukker in Bettembourg, Luxembourg, 2010. The article below is subdivided into two main parts; a general career overview (part 3) and a part dedicated to Jean Roderes' Eurovision involvement (part 4).
Died: June 20th, 1993, Luxembourg-Ville (Luxembourg)
Nationality: Luxembourgian
SHORT EUROVISION RECORD
Jean Roderes was the musical director of the 1962 and 1966 editions of the Eurovision Song Contest, when the event was held in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. On those occasions, Roderes not only conducted Luxembourg's entries, but some songs of other delegations who had not brought their own conductor – bringing his total to 5 participations as a conductor. Earlier on, he had tried his hand at competing in the contest as a composer, with ‘So laang we’s du do bast’, performed by Camillo Felgen in London in 1960. Lastly, in 1973, Roderes was the pianist in Pierre Cao’s orchestra which accompanied all entries in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest, also held in Luxembourg.
BIOGRAPHY
Jean Roderes was born into a working-class family in the heavily industrialized southwestern region of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. Aged 6, he discovered the accordion. Two years later, his parents sent him to the City of Esch Music School, where he studied solfège and – from his 11th year – piano as well. From 1937 onwards, he was the pianist of a band which performed in café-concerts in the Maison du Peuple in Esch. One year later, he was invited to join a seven-man jazz ensemble, also including the likes of experienced radio musicians Theo Makowsky and Marcus Braun, which entertained the guests of Hôtel de la Poste in Esch.
Just before Jean’s final piano exams, the Germans invaded Luxembourg (May 1940). During the early years of World War II, he continued his studies with Jean Dax, who taught him harmony and counterpoint; around the same time, Roderes formed his first professional combo, mainly playing semi classical repertoire at the classy Hôtel International near the train station of Luxembourg-Ville. Amongst the members of that orchestra were Benny Hirtz, Sam Jackson, and the renowned Jewish concert violinist Casedan. Between 1941 and 1943, Roderes also worked as the pianist and arranger of the light-entertainment orchestra of Luxembourg radio (RL).
In 1943, Roderes had to cease all of his professional activities, being one of the Luxembourg males between 18 and 25 years old who were forced into the Wehrmacht. Thanks to his abilities as a pianist, Jean was not sent to the Russian front, being sent to Munich instead to entertain German soldiers and officers who were on leave. During a Frontabstellungsurlaub, a short holiday-spell, in Luxembourg in early 1944, he deserted and went into hiding until war’s end, frequently changing location to escape the feared Gestapo. Listening clandestinely to BBC Radio, he was instantly attracted to the American jazz music which he heard and started playing it himself on a worn-down guitar.
The aspiring musician - mid-1940s
In 1945, when Luxembourg was liberated, Jean Roderes was finally able to pass his piano exams in Esch, with the jury unanimously awarding him the Prix de Perfectionnement with the maximum score. At Radio Luxembourg, which had now passed into American hands, he was immediately invited to join the newly formed, yet short-lived new entertainment orchestra, for which he also wrote many arrangements. Moreover, he performed in a weekly classical radio concert with cellist Jean Join.
Simultaneously, he was commissioned to play in English-language music shows, where his star rose fast by virtue of his excellent sense of rhythm. Because of this, between 1945 and 1953, Roderes was invited to tour abroad; he performed for the US troops in West Germany and played at NTS Radio in Hilversum (Netherlands) as well as for American-controlled radio stations AFN in Wiesbaden and AFT in Frankfurt. Since it had always been his ambition to be a classical concert pianist, he took up studies at the Royal Music Conservatoire in Brussels, while financing the costs by writing arrangements for various orchestras in the Belgian capital. Unfortunately, severe inflammations in the muscles and tendons of both his hands forced him to give up his studies shortly before he was due to do his final exams; for the rest of his life, Jean Roderes was marred by nerve pains in his left hand.
Between 1945 and 1967, Roderes mainly worked as a band leader in bars in Luxembourg, most importantly Charly’s Bar, a posh nightclub, and – from 1956 onwards – in cabaret bar Chez Nous. His first combo at Charly’s Bar, apart from himself, consisted of Carlo Pignocchino (percussion), the Uruguayan Hector Gentile (guitar, bandoneon), and Ria Martin; Martin was a singer from Antwerp who specialized in singing American jazz standards. Another guitarist who regularly played in Roderes’ band was Teddy van Dongen.
Roderes and his musicians on their way to a TV performance, from left to right - René Klein, Edy Honken, Edy's brother who sometimes was a replacement guitarist with the band, Johnny Horne, and Jean Roderes (c. 1957)
In 1953, Roderes reformed his ensemble which from now on included Johnny Horne (or Hornemann in real life), a Dutchman from Rotterdam who studied at the Luxembourg Music Conservatoire after the war and played the double-bass; Edy Honken, who originally hailed from the Dutch East Indies and played the electrical guitar; René Klein, a percussionist and vibraphonist from Luxembourg; and of course Roderes himself at the piano. The quartet’s trademark was Polynesian folk music, often referred to as the Hawaii sound, with Roderes playing the ukulele and Edy Honken taking care of the Indonesian lyrics. In the Chez Nous, the ensemble frequently accompanied other artists who performed their acts, such as acrobats, dancers, and illusionists.
From 1955, when television in Luxembourg had just been introduced, broadcaster CLT started to invite Roderes regularly to accompany TV shows with his ensemble. These broadcasts included Rendez-vous à Luxembourg, for which French megastars such as Josephine Baker, Patachou, Tino Rossi, and Luis Mariano were invited; La Coupe de Télé-Luxembourg, a talent show presented by Zappy Max; and A vos ordres, in which Roderes’ band had to improvise playing the melodies suggested by TV viewers.
Generally acknowledged as a fine arranger, Roderes’ scores were commissioned by Parisian bandleaders such as Mario Cavellero and Raymond Legrand in the early 1950s. Reluctant to leave his family behind, however, Roderes never moved to the French capital, preferring to stay in Luxembourg. In spite of this, Jean’s unique style of play, which came to be known as Piano Relax, drew the attention of French record companies, resulting in a contract he signed with the Festival label. Up until 1960, Roderes – Jean Roderes et son piano – recorded no fewer 302 titles, of which some were chart successes in France, particularly ‘Concert d’automne’ and ‘Cigarettes and whisky’ (vocals: Johnny Horne). Moreover, Roderes’ band toured extensively in Belgium and France and even gave a concert in the Olympia Music-Hall in Paris.
The heyday of the Jean Roderes Orchestra, from left to right - Johnny Horne (bass), Edy Klein (guitar), Jean Roderes (piano), René Klein (drums), Jang Nimax (clarinet), René de Bernardi (accordion), and Jang Mora (sax) (c. 1959)
In the course of the 1960s, the number of CLT programmes which involved live music decreased; at the same time, the type of jazz entertainment which Roderes’ ensemble offered at the Chez Nous and Charly’s Bar, was ever less in demand with the arrival of the rock-‘n'-roll revolution. Moreover, two key figures, Johnny Horne (1964) and René Klein (1965) left his band; they were replaced by Bob Scholer and Fausti Cima respectively, both of whom left after a short spell only. In 1966-67, Roderes’ ensemble was the Kurorchester in the Luxembourg spa town Mondorf-les-Bains.
Apart from his activities as a music performer in Luxembourg, Jean Roderes also tried his hand at songwriting now and again. In 1967, a song he had co-composed with André Deboeur, 'De torens van Babel', was chosen to compete in Canzonissima, the pre-selection organised by Flemish broadcaster BRT in order to determine Belgium's Eurovision entry for that year. Roderes was entitled to taking part in the event due to his being a member of the Belgian Association of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (SABAM). Performed by a young crooner from Antwerp, Hugo Dellas, 'De torens van Babel', in spite of being disqualified from the selection process after the semi-final due to the song exceeding the time limit of 3 minutes, went on to climb the Flemish charts.
Also in 1967, Jean Roderes gave up being an orchestra leader altogether; the remainder of his band, which included Roderes himself as a pianist and arranger, was incorporated into the newly formed Luxembourg Singers. Its leader was Roderes’ trumpet-player, Tony Schuster, who had previously worked with the Max Greger Orchestra in West Germany. Consisting of 7 musicians, including Raymond Grommes, Roger Gaudina, and Gilbert Lucas, as well as two girl vocalists, Marcelle Wenner and Roderes’ second wife Mésy Faber, the Luxembourg Singers performed their mix of French chansons and German sing-along repertoire with great success in Luxembourg as well as West Germany.
Jean Roderes and three of his band members with French songstress Colette
Deréal (c. 1960)
In 1972, Jean Roderes left the Luxembourg Singers to found the Pop-Music-School, later renamed the Centre Audio-Visuel de l’Enseignement Musical (CAVEM) – the first music school in Luxembourg to teach the electric guitar, percussion, and other non-classical instruments. Roderes developed most of the audio-visual methods himself, as well as the obligatory solfège lessons. Although the courses were primarily intended to teach children to be good amateur musicians, some of Jean’s students became successful professionals in their own right, most notably guitar virtuoso and conservatory professor Cary Greisch. Later onwards, CAVEM, which originally resided in Luxembourg, set up branches in Esch-sur-Alzette and Ettelbrück as well. Roderes sold his school to René Wagener in 1983.
That same year, Jean Roderes, who was of such modesty that he always maintained he had lacked the genius to become a good jazz pianist, was honoured by SAMAM with the medaille d’honneur in recognition of his contribution to popular music.
Jean Roderes passed away in Luxembourg-Ville in 1993 at the age of 70. When the sad news became known, a local newspaper published this anonymous in memoriam, "One says it so easily, "Something like this will never happen again," but what Jean Roderes accomplished for light-entertainment as well as classical music will most probably never be repeated by anybody. His compositions and arrangements were so personal, that you could recognise Jean Roderes' timbre straightaway. As a singer, being accompanied by Jean Roderes, with his subtle way of phrasing, was something truly unique. He was the first in Luxembourg to record instruments with multitracks - and this at a time when technical possibilities were not the same as today. Jean Roderes achieved his goals with a lot of patience and perseverance. With his music school, he gave many youngsters the opportunity to improve their skills with the help of music cassettes, a system that he had devised himself. Along with me, I am sure that all music lovers, his students, and all of his fellow musicians will agree that they have lost a friend, the unforgettable Jean Roderes."
Jean Roderes as a pensioner with his wife, Mésy Bergamini (1925-2020)
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
In 1960, for the first time, Luxembourg was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest by a song performed in the Lëtzebuergesch language – the ballad ‘So laang we’s du do bast’ (or, as it would be spelled in Lëtzebuergesch today: ‘Sou laang wéi’s du do bas’) – and performed by an artist from Luxembourg, crooner Camillo Felgen. Lyrics and music were by the Rumelange church organist, Henri Mootz; Roderes helped Mootz by finishing the music and by additionally writing the orchestration to the song.
In the official programme book of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in London that year, Henri Mootz is not only credited as the co-composer of the song, but as its conductor as well; in the broadcast, however, it was English host conductor Eric Robinson who led the orchestra during Felgen’s performance, which failed to impress the European juries: ‘So laang we’s du do bast’ scored only one point and came last. It is unclear if Mootz was really booked as a conductor in London, but somehow got cold feet or could not come; or if his mention as a conductor in the BBC programme booklet was simply a mistake.
Camillo Felgen, Henri Mootz, and Jean Roderes. Pictures taken from the official Eurovision 1960 programme
Because in 1961 Jean-Claude Pascal had won the Eurovision Song Contest representing Luxembourg, the festival of 1962 was held in the Villa Louvigny in the Grand Duchy’s capital. Although Jean Roderes had no experience as a conductor at all, broadcaster CLT commissioned him to be the show’s musical director and lead the orchestra which accompanied all entries. Why was this difficult task entrusted to him?
When asked about this, Bob Scholer, who played in Roderes’ ensemble in 1965 and 1966, comments, “Jean was a classically trained pianist, an able musician. Of course, he was primarily a bandleader and an exceptional piano player. His skills as a conductor would not have been sufficient for classical music, but when it came to entertainment music – no matter if it was with a small combo or a grand orchestra – there was no question that he was the right man for the job. After all, he was really talented; you only have to listen to the work he recorded to realise that.”
Other reasons which may have played a part in choosing for Roderes, were his experience as an arranger of entertainment music and the fact that he was very experienced in musically accompanying international artists by virtue of the contribution of his ensemble to the weekly CLT show Rendez-vous à Luxembourg.
Its own entertainment orchestra having been disbanded shortly after World War II, CLT did not have a suitable ensemble at its disposal to accompany the artists in an international contest. For the occasion, Roderes was called upon to form a freelance orchestra, for which he chose the members of his own band to form the rhythm section. The string and brass players were recruited from the RTL Grand Symphony Orchestra, to which some classical musicians from Paris were added.
Jean Roderes rehearsing with his Eurovision orchestra - Villa Louvigny, Luxembourg (1962)
In the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, 16 countries took part; the eventual winner was the French entry, ‘Un premier amour’ by Isabelle Aubret. Roderes did not only conduct Luxembourg's entry ‘Petit bonhomme’, which was Camillo Felgen’s second participation in the contest, but the Spanish song ‘Llámame’ by Victor Balaguer as well. Listening to the recording of the 1962 contest now, it cannot be denied that the orchestra gave a flawless performance.
Four years later, in 1966, the Eurovision Song Contest was again held in Luxembourg following the victory of France Gall with ‘Poupée de cire, poupée de son’. Once more, Jean Roderes was the musical director of the festival, leading an orchestra which had been put together in the same way as in 1962. At that time, Bob Scholer was the bass-player in Roderes’ band and, thus, he was a part of the orchestra that year.
“Our band was the rhythm section for all jazzy, pop, and rock oriented elements in the arrangements," Scholer recalls. "It was somehow difficult to harmonise with the musicians in the string and brass sections, because classically trained musicians have a different feeling of tempo and are not used to playing to the beat. We always felt they were lagging behind us. There was also another problem of a more practical nature for myself during the rehearsals and the live broadcast, which was the oppressive heat in the studio. I was at the back of the orchestra, in the upper part of the scene, directly under these enormous spotlights, which were needed at that time because the cameras of those days were not as powerful as today. Due to the high temperatures, my double-bass’ tune was constantly getting lower and lower. I had to fine-tune it all the time. Every time the lights were switched off after one of the rehearsals, I had to release the cords of my bass immediately, because, otherwise, it could have cracked or even exploded! After all, a double-bass is very susceptible to sudden changes of temperature. I did not have one minute of relaxation back in those days!”
Another of the musicians of Roderes’ original band who was in the Eurovision orchestra in 1966 was drummer Fausti Cima. Cima remembers some other technical inconveniences, “Like Bob, I sat at the back of the orchestra. Behind us, there was this beautiful see-through plastic wall adorned with flowers... no seriously, I hated it! This wall around us caused an annoying echo: the sound which was produced by strings and woodwind sections of the orchestra reached our ears with a considerable delay. For us, the rhythm group, this was a nuisance, to say the least. We decided to file a protest. As a result, most of us were given headphones which were connected to the sound system, but, unfortunately, there were not enough available and I was unlucky enough to have to play without the phones on."
A moment of relaxation in between rehearsals at the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest
"This week of rehearsing was hard work, starting at 10 am and continuing all afternoon," Cima continues. "After such a day full of rehearsals, Jean, I, and the other members of his band rushed to Charly’s Bar, where we had to play until after 3 am, because our contract obliged us to do so! Nevertheless, I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity of being part of a Eurovision orchestra. This surely was a special occasion.”
Roderes’ orchestra played the music to 17 of the 18 entries in the contest – originally, Domenico Modugno’s ‘Dio come ti amo’, the Italian entry, was to be played with the orchestra under the direction of maestro Angelo Giacomazzi, but eventually, the singer himself decided otherwise. Bob Scholer remembers this episode well.
“Modugno was quite arrogant, behaving as the star of the show and refusing to perform with our grand orchestra. He simply said we were not good enough and did not play his song correctly. That is why a trio of musicians was flown in from Italy to accompany him in the live broadcast. As you will understand, when Modugno did not even get one single point in the voting and finished last, all of us orchestra musicians were really gloating and satisfied!”
Jean Roderes himself conducted no fewer than 3 songs in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest; of course there was the Luxembourg entry ‘Ce soir je t’attendais’, interpreted by Michèle Torr; but additionally, he was also called upon to take the honours for Belgium (‘Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel’, performed by Tonia) and Switzerland (‘Ne vois-tu pas’, Madeleine Pascal). Neither Belgium nor Switzerland had brought along a guest conductor, which meant that Roderes himself had to jump in. Given that Roderes spoke French and Dutch fluently, he would have had no problems communicating with Belgian soloist Tonia and her entourage. In retrospect, though, it is very odd that Switzerland's song was not conducted by its arranger Alain Goraguer, who was present on the night to conduct the Monegasque entry! Eventually, the 1966 contest was won by Austria, with Udo Jürgens singing his self-penned ‘Merci chérie’, which afterwards was a hit record in many European countries.
Design of the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest stage. Drawing taken from the official Eurovision 1966 programme
Roderes was involved in the Eurovision Song Contest in various guises. After having participated as a composer in 1960 and as the musical director in 1962 and 1966, he made a new appearance on the festival stage in 1973, when the contest was held in Luxembourg for a third time; on this occasion, Roderes was the pianist in the orchestra which was now led by another musical director, Pierre Cao, a classical conductor and a personal friend of his.
When asked about the 1973 contest, Cao was a bit embarrassed that he was chosen to do the job of musical director instead of Roderes, because it was a decision made on financial grounds more than anything else. Cao was the assistant-conductor of Louis de Froment's RTL Grand Symphony Orchestra - thus on the payroll of Luxembourg's broadcaster.
“Jean Roderes was a specialist of light entertainment music, so he was the right man for the job," Cao states. "(...) For RTL, I was the cheapest option; as I was an employee of the broadcaster, they did not have to pay me extra wages for a gig such as the Eurovision Song Contest. Jean was no RTL employee and they would have had to pay him to lead the orchestra. He was there in 1973, however, as the pianist of the orchestra. He was by far the best pianist available in Luxembourg, so not asking him for the job was simply impossible! I was very proud to have him. I would not have blamed Jean if he felt a little unhappy about the situation, because, in reality, he would have made a far more suitable conductor than me, because I am not the expert of pop and jazz music that he was.”
Jean Roderes easily recognisable (dressed in orange) at the piano for the rehearsal of the Netherlands' entry in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, 'De oude muzikant', performed by Ben Cramer with conductor Harry van Hoof
Also in 1973, some of the musicians in the orchestra were recruited from Paris. As Pierre Cao's testimony proves, Roderes, in spite of his advancing age, was still able to keep up with the other musicians in the rhythm group.
"For this festival, several great musicians from other fields of music were added to the orchestra," Cao explains. "(...) André Arpino from Paris on drums… and there was this marvellous electrical guitarist Francis Darizcuren! Darizcuren was the solo violinist of the Orchestra of the Republican Guard in Paris at that time, but he was a genius on the guitar as well. We also recruited the first trumpeter and some saxophonists from elsewhere. Especially the rhythm section with Roderes, Arpino, and Darizcuren was fantastic, but for many of the classical musicians in the orchestra it was very hard to keep up with the straight rhythmical tempo to which they were not used at all. For them, it sounded like a machine!”
The 1973 Eurovision Song Contest was Jean Roderes' last involvement in the event. In 1984, when the festival returned to Luxembourg, and Pierre Cao was again the event's musical director, he was no longer working as a performing musician, thus ruling him out from being recruited as a pianist again.
Roderes at the piano in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest
OTHER ARTISTS ABOUT JEAN RODERES
In 1965-66, Bob Scholer was the double-bass player in Jean Roderes ensemble, “Jean – or ‘Jang’, as we used to call him in Luxembourg – was a kind man, who exactly knew what he wanted and who was sometimes too inclined to drinking, like many of us in those days. He had the advantage of many international contacts in Paris, Strasbourg, and Belgium. At heart he never was a jazz musician, but a classical pianist. As he was blessed with a great technique, he always chose the repertoire which allowed him to use his skills at the piano to the full. Moreover, he was a hard-working man and wrote most of the music for the band, including the arrangements for all instruments. The result of this was that our sound was really professional, but there also was a downside: there was hardly any room left for us musicians to make our own choices and improvise. That was the main reason why I left the band in 1966.” (2008)
Percussionist Fausti Cima was another young musician who joined Roderes’ band in the mid-1960s, “For me, Jean is the best musician Luxembourg has ever known… a very intelligent man, who spoke English and Dutch to perfection. By virtue of his intelligence, he naturally dominated all other musicians in any band he played in. It took me a long time before I managed to stop calling him monsieur. Although he was a gentleman, he did not shrink from telling others his opinion in all frankness. That was exactly what I needed at that time, because I was a young guy and somewhat spoiled because of the universal praise for my drum solos. Thanks to Jean, I was introduced to the world of studio recording. Without him, I would not have met producer Rudolf Strassner from Saarbrücken, who contracted me in 1969 and helped me landing a hit in West Germany with my first recording as a singer, ‘Pretty Belinda’.” (2008)
Roderes’ band in Mondorf-les-Bains, 1965; behind Roderes, from left to right - Tony Schuster, Fausti Cima, Gilbert Lucas, and Bob Scholer
Bas Tukker interviewed Jean’s companion Mésy Bergamini (better known in Luxembourg under her stage name Mésy Faber) at her home in Bettembourg (August & October 2010). Thanks to Mésy for providing us with lots of information about Jean Roderes, as well as several newspaper articles
Thanks to Bob Scholer, Pierre Cao, and Fausti Cima for sharing with us their memories of working with Jean Roderes
Thanks to Danielle Kies of the CAVEM music school for providing us with some valuable information about the history of the music school as well as for guiding us towards Mésy Bergamini
A very informative documentary film about Luxembourg entertainment music in the 1950s and 1960s by director Andy Bausch, “Entrée d’artistes. Swing, Musetten a Fuesmusik” (in Lëtzebuergisch with French subtitles). In the 80-minute-documentary, chapters have been dedicated to both Jean Roderes and his bass-player Johnny Horne
A book containing biographies of Luxembourg musicians: Roger Spautz, “Luxemburgs Pioniere der leichten Muse”, RTL: Luxembourg 1983
A work which was published simultaneously by the same author, Roger Spautz, “Die Entertainer der Nationallotterie. Vortragskünstler und Kabarettisten”, RTL: Luxembourg 1983
Another book with extensive information about the Luxembourg light entertainment scene during and after World War II: Armando Bausch, “Rido”, Saint-Paul: Luxembourg 1998
Pictures courtesy of Mésy Bergamini, Bob Scholer, Dick Schallies, and Ferry van der Zant
In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview
BIOGRAPHY
As a young boy, Arne Lamberth played the church organ in the village where he grew up and studied the violin, but he gave all of that up for the trumpet. He became a member of the Södermanlands Regemente military music band in Strängnäs. Just after the war, in 1946, he was contracted by ‘Valencia’, a restaurant-dancing in Copenhagen, to be a musician in their band. Lamberth stayed there for only three months, but he did not return to Sweden afterwards.
He started working as a trumpet player for the Radio Orchestra (Underholdningsorkester) of Danish public broadcaster DR, which, from 1951 onwards, was under the baton of Kai Mortensen. Somewhat later, Lamberth started arranging and occasionally conducting this ensemble as well. Meanwhile, Lamberth recorded instrumentals which climbed the Danish charts, for example ‘Oh mein Papa’ and ‘En natt i Moskva’. In the late 1960s, Lamberth decided to return to Sweden and worked as a music teacher at the Kungsgårdsskolan in Ängelholm until his untimely death.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Arne Lamberth wrote many orchestrations for the DR Orchestra, including the winning Eurovision entry 'Dansevise' by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann (1963). When Kai Mortensen withdrew from the contest after it had been held in Copenhagen in 1964, Arne Lamberth took over as the Danish conductor. He accompanied Birgit Brüel (‘For din skyld’) to Naples in 1965 and Ulla Pia (‘Stop, mens legen er go’) to Luxembourg in the following year. After that, DR decided to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest, only to return in 1978.
Died: May 21st, 1979, Frankfurt am Main (West Germany)
Nationality: German
Below, a medium-length article detailing the life and works of Willy Berking can be found. Hopefully, in due course, it can be extended to a full-fledged biography
BIOGRAPHY
Destined to become one of the most famous German orchestra leaders, Willy Berking studied classical piano and composition in his home town Düsseldorf and, subsequently, in Berlin. He was taught to play the trombone, vibraphone, and double bass as well. From a young age onwards, Berking was drawn towards jazz music; at 18, he formed his first big band.
Jazz, however, was anathema to the Nazi regime and more specifically its propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who wanted to create a German brand of popular music, purged from Anglo-Saxon and 'Negro' influences. During the 1930s, Berking was much in demand as a trombonist in several government-approved ‘Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester’, amongst which Die Goldene Sieben and Heinz Wehner’s Telefunken-Swing-Orchester. Berking joined Wehner in 1934, when the latter moved his orchestra’s working terrain from the Ruhr to Berlin.
In 1939, Imperial Records contracted Berking as a conductor. He was commissioned to form a studio orchestra, often referred to as ‘Willy Berking und seine Solisten’. Between 1939 and 1943, Berking and his men produced a string of brilliant records, the so-called ‘Berking-Spitzenserie’, with dance repertoire, much of which the young conductor had composed himself. Well-known songs from this particular time include the fox ‘Regenschirm’ (1939, vocals: Iska Geri), ‘Denn ich bin zum Tanzen geboren’ (1940, vocals: Rudi Schuricke), the instrumental ‘Vielleicht ein andermal’ (1940), and the melancholic ‘Warum nur warum?’ (1942, vocals: Rudi Schuricke).
Whilst working with his orchestra in the studios, Berking was recruited to work in a propaganda big band, Charlie and His Orchestra (mockingly called the Mr. Goebbels Jazz Band), an anonymous radio band which played propaganda tunes and anti-American swing to keep up the spirits on the home front in an increasingly war-ravaged country. In 1942, he was transferred to the Deutsche Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester, a similar ensemble. The next year, however, due to Allied bombings on Berlin, this orchestra was evacuated to Prague, meaning that Berking had to cease working on his studio recordings for Imperial.
In the fall of 1946, Berking was appointed conductor of a new radio orchestra, the Tanzkapelle des Hessischen Rundfunks, composed of freelance musicians from the Frankfurt area. Later it was re-baptized the Grosse Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester des Hessischen Rundfunks. While for the musicians, initially, playing in this ensemble meant nothing more than some extra work next to performing in all kinds of jazz clubs for American soldiers, the HR orchestra quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the German music and amusement landscape.
During his years with HR (until 1972), Berking’s most important job was to arrange music for, and perform with his orchestra in countless radio broadcasts, such as the popular play Frankfurter Wecker, in which national and international singers and musicians participated. From 1953 onwards, this work was augmented by appearances in an endless list of amusement shows on HR television (Einer wird gewinnen, Zwei auf einem Pferd, Wer gegen wen, Schlager Express, etc.), which catapulted Willy Berking and his orchestra into nationwide fame.
Willy Berking remained active as a composer, too. His creations ‘Barbara Barbara (Komm mit mir nach Afrika)’ (1949, sung by Evelyn Künneke) and the waltz ‘Der Zauber von Paris’ (1951) are just two examples of his extremely popular compositions from the ‘Nachkriegszeit’. On top of that, he regularly worked with his orchestra in the recording studio, accompanying the likes of Maria Mucke, Mieke Telkamp, and trumpeter Horst Fischer. In 1957, Berking received a golden disc as a reward for the one million records sold during his career.
In 1972, a heart attack forced Willy Berking to give up conducting and working altogether. Heinz Schönberger succeeded him as the musical director of the HR Orchestra. Seven years later, Berking succumbed to an incurable disease.
Willy Berking conducting one of his 'Spitzenserie' studio recordings (early 1940s)
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
In 1957, the second ever Eurovision Song Contest was organized in the HR Studios in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany. All ten songs were accompanied by Willy Berking’s Grosse Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester des Hessischen Rundfunks. Obviously, the West German entry ‘Telefon Telefon’ was conducted by Berking himself. This novelty song, performed by Margot Hielscher with the hearer of a telephone in her hand, had won the German preselection, of which Berking had also been the musical director; in the field of ten international entries it finished in a shared fourth position. Three other countries had not sent a guest conductor along with their respective delegations; thus, Berking led his orchestra during the performances of Danièle Dupré (Luxembourg) and her melancholic ‘Tant de peine’, Bobbejaan Schoepen (Belgium) with ‘Straatdeuntje’, and 1956 winner Lys Assia (Switzerland), who finished a mere second-last this time around with ‘L’enfant que j’étais’.
In 1960, the German preselection was held in Wiesbaden, capital of Bundesland Hessen. Willy Berking’s orchestra accompanied all entries, amongst which the hot favourite ‘Wir wollen niemals auseinander gehen’, performed by Heidi Brühl. This song, however, was surprisingly beaten by ‘Bonne nuit, ma chérie’, a bolero composed by Franz Josef Breuer and sung by Wyn Hoop. In the international contest, it was not Berking, but Breuer who conducted the orchestra for this West German entry which did quite well, obtaining a shared fourth position.
In 1961, the HR again organized the West German heats for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was held in a spa town near Frankfurt, Bad Homburg. Naturally, Willy Berking was the musical director. Among the thirteen participating artists were Christa Williams, who had been the Swiss representative in 1959, and Dieter Thomas Heck. The show was won by Lale Andersen – the original singer of ‘Lili Marlene’ – with a song called ‘Einmal sehen wir uns wieder’. For reasons unclear, Willy Berking did not accompany Andersen to Cannes for the international Eurovision final. What is known, though, is that the singer arrived in Cannes on the day of the broadcast and performed her song without having rehearsed at all. This West German entry, conducted by the French home conductor Franck Pourcel, finished near the bottom of the table.
Two years later (1963), once again Willy Berking’s orchestra accompanied a West German ‘Vorentscheid’, this time from the HR studios in Frankfurt. Margot Eskens, who replaced the already chosen candidate Heidi Brühl – Brühl was ill at that time – sang five songs, from which viewers chose a jolly melody called ‘Marcel’, which had been brilliantly arranged by Heinz Alisch. Berking travelled to London with a now convalesced Heidi Brühl. With enthusiasm clearly visible on his face, he indicated the first notes to the BBC Orchestra. Brühl and Berking secured a modest ninth position for their performance.
One year later, in 1964, Berking returned as the musical director of the West German preselection, in which five contestants competed for first prize. Winner was a Bulgarian singer, Nora Nova, who sang ‘Man gewöhnt sich so schnell an das Schöne’. The orchestration of this upbeat song, with a dominant brass party, was written by bandleader Friedel Berlipp and must rank as one of the most spectacular ever to have been heard in a Eurovision Song Contest. For the second year in a row, Willy Berking conducted the German entry in the international festival, which, that year, was held in Copenhagen. The international juries remained unimpressed and did not award Nora Nova a single point, resulting in a joint-last position.
It was in 1966 that Willy Berking was involved in the international edition of the Eurovision Song Contest for the last time. He joined Margot Eskens to the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg, after an internal jury had chosen a suitable entry for West Germany, ‘Die Zeiger der Uhr’. This ballad, arranged by Werner Last – brother of James – was brilliantly performed by Eskens, but did not do very well with the international jurors, finishing tenth.
Before Berking’s forced retirement as leader of the HR Orchestra (1972), he conducted two more West German Eurovision preselections organized by HR, in 1970 and in 1971, both of which were won by Katja Ebstein. During the Eurovision finals, however, her songs, ‘Wunder gibt es immer wieder’ and ‘Diese Welt’, were conducted by the respective composers, Christian Bruhn and Dieter Zimmermann.
Berking conducting the HR Unterhaltungsorchester for the Swiss entry in the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest, Lys Assia's 'L'enfant que j'étais'
OTHER ARTISTS ABOUT WILLY BERKING
Kurt Bong became the percussionist of Berking’s HR Tanzorchester in 1969 and worked with Berking for three years. Between 1989 and 2000, Bong was chief conductor of the ensemble, renamed the HR Big Band. “In 1969, I was percussionist of the Max Greger Orchestra. After an entertainment broadcast on nationwide TV in 1969, Berking called me because he wanted me to audition for his Tanzorchester. This was the start of my thirty-year-stay at HR. Until 1972, I had the pleasure to work with him as my chef. I got along with him very well – which, admittedly, could not be said of all of my colleagues. Often, he tried to impose his authority quite rigidly, while, in reality, he was a gentle and understanding man. To my mind, he was a bit late in recognising that pop music had changed in the course of the 1960s and that, as a consequence, he needed to substitute some of his older musicians. All in all, however, Willy Berking possessed a band leader’s most important quality: he was good at working with vocalists; they felt very much at ease in his vicinity.” (2009)
One of the contestants of the 1957 contest in Frankfurt, Patricia Bredin from the UK, recalled how she liked singing with the HR Orchestra. “I had one band-call. I think the orchestra sounded like it was 180 strong… Oh, oh, oh, it was wonderful, like singing on clouds. After I sang my song at rehearsal, the orchestra applauded me… and being inexperienced, I didn’t know what to do, as tears of delight flowed down my face. I just loved singing with such a glorious orchestra… that was the most important thing for me”. (1997)
Lale Andersen performing in the 1961 West German Eurovision pre-selection in Bad Homburg. In the background, Willy Berking can be seen conducting his orchestra
