Heino - Because We Need Him Now More Than Ever

[Teasing the Korean]

I am starting a thread devoted to the great Heino, to avoid any further hijacking of the Japanese Jazz thread.

This is arguably the greatest album cover ever:

Edited May 18, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[Dub Modal]

Is he like the German Lee Greenwood, only with a more successful career? 

[Gheorghe]

You might wonder, why I aswer to this, since I´m strictly jazz and an absolute "nobody" if it´s about other genres of music. 

But "Heino" is cool. 

Once when I was a teenager, my then girlfriend an me took a cheap ticket for a bus to Southern Tirol (former Austria, now Italia) and we were the only youngsters, all the others were older people past 60,65 years and the bus driver had some cassetes to play music during the trip, and there were tons of melodies by Heino. It was a strange atmosphere, a young teenie couple and old old folks, and hours and hours of "Heino". 
"Blau Blau Blau blüht der Enzian"
"Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss"
"Oh Du schöner Westerwald". 

It was so "square" that it was "cool" again. 

He knows his stuff and has a great voice doin´ it. 

Hope he will live long and it´s really moving how much he and his nice wife are so much in love. 
The only strange thing was, when some years ago he tried to go "modern" and dressed in some leather outfit, something like "Heino goes Rock", and this really did not fit to him.

It seems that he has returned to his act again. 

[Niko]

I thought his "rock" episode was reasonably successful - the music doesn't hurt anyone and the costumes, well... they do teach you that the golden age of rock music is over.... wikipedia says Heino is now performing classical music... hmm

 

that said, it's nice that you have those fond memories of when you were young - but Heino is not "cool" and never was... the music is what it is ... plus: the music would have to be pretty amazing to compensate for things like regular tours through Apartheid South Africa in the 80s...

[Rabshakeh]

Yeah. That "rock" album is strangely good. Certainly better than the Pat Boone equivalent.

I have been YouTubeing Heino quite bit since yesterday. I am actually and in all seriousness enjoying myself.

[Dub Modal]

3 hours ago, Niko said:

the music would have to be pretty amazing to compensate for things like regular tours through Apartheid South Africa in the 80s...

Ouch. So basically Greenwood-ish. And I'd be willing to bet that in typical fashion these tours were used as cover for smuggling ops, etc. 

[Teasing the Korean]

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, when I was really starting to get into oddball music, there was one retailer that had a huge selection of international records.  They had numerous Heino LPs, including multiple copies of several titles, all for very cheap. 

I had somehow gathered - or was explicitly told - that I would not like the music, but I was totally captivated by the album covers.  I bought one copy of each, and since then, I have never passed up a Heino album for picture sleeve 45 at a thrift store or flea market.  

While I have never really warmed to Heino's teutonic baritone warblings, there are a few songs that I kind of like, including "In Einer Bar en Mexico" and "Die Schwarze Barbara."  Maybe I should start investigating the music further, I dunno.

It still bugs me that I have never found a cheap copy of Liebe Mutter, pictured in the first post, arguably the greatest album cover of all time. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[Bluesnik]

5 hours ago, Niko said:

but Heino is not "cool" and never was...

That's my understanding as well. Even contrary. At least when I was growing up he was considered the most anticool persona out there. And he sang that horrible Schlager-music. I remember he was the aim of our bitter jokes.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Bluesnik

[Teasing the Korean]

13 minutes ago, Bluesnik said:

That's my understanding as well. Even contrary. At least when I was growing up he was considered the most anticool persona out there. And he sang that horrible Schlager-music.

What is un-cool becomes cool, and vice-versa.

"Cool" is fluid, and is largely determined by how something is generally viewed according to dominant cultural norms.  This is always changing. 

[Bluesnik]

1 minute ago, Teasing the Korean said:

What is un-cool becomes cool, and vice-versa.

"Cool" is fluid, and is largely determined by how something is generally viewed according to dominant cultural norms.  This is always changing. 

There you are very right. And what I was speaking about was in the late 70s-early 80s.

[Teasing the Korean]

1 minute ago, Bluesnik said:

There you are very right. And what I was speaking about was in the late 70s-early 80s.

Understood.

[Rabshakeh]

49 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I had somehow gathered - or was explicitly told - that I would not like the music, but I was totally captivated by the album covers.  I bought one copy of each, and since then, I have never passed up a Heino album for picture sleeve 45 at a thrift store or flea market.  

While I have never really warmed to Heino's teutonic baritone warblings, there are a few songs that I kind of like, including "In Einer Bar en Mexico" and "Die Schwarze Barbara."  Maybe I should start investigating the music further, I dunno. 

I don't get it. Do you not even like Heino's music, then?

[Teasing the Korean]

22 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

I don't get it. Do you not even like Heino's music, then?

I LOVE the album covers, which is why I have snapped up as many as I can find for a buck or so.

I have almost never listened to any of these albums, except for late-night party-clearing purposes or the occasional "let's check this out" spin.

But if you are into schlager, there is probably much to like here.  

 

 

[JSngry]

Those covers put me in mind of a science experiment to combine Elton John with Nana Mouskouri, and that kinda makes me wish that science would find something else to do with its time.

[Teasing the Korean]

In Einer Bar in Mexico:

 

Die Schwarze Barbara:

 

[rostasi]

I thought I'd get tired of listening to schlager while
driving thru small German villages on narrow winding roads,
but even the modern schlager (Die jungen Waldensteiner)
has a perverse joy to these ears.

[Teasing the Korean]

2 minutes ago, rostasi said:

I thought I'd get tired of listening to schlager while
driving thru small German villages on narrow winding roads,
but even the modern schlager (Die jungen Waldensteiner)
has a perverse joy to these ears.

It would make me want to drink beer, if I still drank beer, so instead it makes me want to drink Riesling! 

[rostasi]

For some people, just being in Germany makes them want to drink beer.

[randyhersom]

4 hours ago, rostasi said:

For some people, just being in Germany makes them want to drink beer.

For some people, just being makes them want to drink beer.

[rostasi]

42 minutes ago, randyhersom said:

For some people, just being makes them want to drink beer.

[B. Clugston]

On 5/18/2021 at 9:06 AM, Teasing the Korean said:

I am starting a thread devoted to the great Heino, to avoid any further hijacking of the Japanese Jazz thread.

This is arguably the greatest album cover ever:

I owned this record at one point. When I bought it at the record store, the clerk was talking about how cool Heino is, but I quickly realized he was mixed him up with Haino, as in Keiji Haino, the equally distinct looking Japanese loud guitarist. Letterman used to have these funny segments about Heino. 

[Gheorghe]

14 hours ago, Bluesnik said:

That's my understanding as well. Even contrary. At least when I was growing up he was considered the most anticool persona out there. And he sang that horrible Schlager-music. I remember he was the aim of our bitter jokes.

Well jokes, yes, and parody: There was a great parody on german comedian Otto Waalkes "Otto, der Film" with "Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss" mixed with some Michael Jackson stuff. I think, Heine was not amused at all, and tried to sue Otto. Well, yeah, that´s a bit uncool. And yeah, maybe "cool" was the wrong expression I chose. It´s funny for people like me, I don´t take it so serious as shlager-Fans. 

Sometimes my wife and me do some little fun and play it loud in the garden. Wonder what the neighbours think about us at just a moment 

[Teasing the Korean]

5 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Well jokes, yes, and parody: There was a great parody on german comedian Otto Waalkes "Otto, der Film" with "Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss" mixed with some Michael Jackson stuff. I think, Heine was not amused at all, and tried to sue Otto. Well, yeah, that´s a bit uncool. And yeah, maybe "cool" was the wrong expression I chose. It´s funny for people like me, I don´t take it so serious as shlager-Fans. 

Sometimes my wife and me do some little fun and play it loud in the garden. Wonder what the neighbours think about us at just a moment 

I believe that Heino also sued a German heavy Metal band who modeled their look after him.  Supposedly,  in the courtroom, a bunch of the band's fans appeared dressed as Heino!

7 hours ago, B. Clugston said:

I owned this record at one point. When I bought it at the record store, the clerk was talking about how cool Heino is, but I quickly realized he was mixed him up with Haino, as in Keiji Haino, the equally distinct looking Japanese loud guitarist. Letterman used to have these funny segments about Heino. 

Didn't know that about Letterman!  Was that part of "Dave's Record Collection?"

[Niko]

this is the guy he sued (a friend of a popular punk band)... kind of understandably I guess... the other guy called himself "Der wahre Heino" (The true Heino), and e.g. published press releases claiming that after the most recent South African tour Heino had quit his major label deal to start his own label "White Terror"... this picture is the backcover of one of the other guy's records, collecting clippings from the court proceedings, the typewritten text says something to the effect of "By a court order we are not allowed to mention the name of the artist on this record. We wish to explicitly point out that the record is not by Heinz-Georg Kramm [Heino's real name]."

some pictures around that incident

[Teasing the Korean]

12 minutes ago, Niko said:

this is the guy he sued (a friend of a popular punk band)... kind of understandably I guess... the other guy called himself "Der wahre Heino" (The true Heino), and e.g. published press releases claiming that after the most recent South African tour Heino had quit his major label deal to start his own label "White Terror"... this picture is the backcover of one of the other guy's records, collecting clippings from the court proceedings, the typewritten text says something to the effect of "By a court order we are not allowed to mention the name of the artist on this record. We wish to explicitly point out that the record is not by Heinz-Georg Kramm [Heino's real name]."

Thanks for clarifying!