Bill Ramsey (born 17 April 1931 in Cincinnati, Ohio; actually William McCreery Ramsey ) is German - American jazz and pop singer, journalist and actor. Famous for his German-language hits.[1][2]
Contents |
William McGreery Ramsey, called Bill, son of a teacher and an advertising manager of the Procter & Gamble company, sang in his youth in a college dance band. He began to study sociology and business from 1949 to 1951 at Yale - university in New Haven and sang jazz, Swing and Blues in the evenings. His idols were Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington and Louis Jordan. Due to the Korean War, compulsory military service was again introduced in the USA the and Bill Ramsey did service with the Air Force in Germany. During this time period, he appeared in clubs like Jazz Cellar in Frankfurt/Main and was discovered by an employee of AFN and hired to entertain troops. There Ramsey advanced to executive producer and had, although still in service, more time for appearances at festivals. As of 1953, he appeared with among Ernst Mosch, Paul Kuhn, Kurt Edelhagen and James Last. The jazz pianist and music producer Heinz Gietz organized an appearance with Hessischer Rundfunk for Bill Ramsey in 1955. There he did Playback – recordings for the musical film love, dance and 1000 hits with Peter Alexander and Caterina Valente. Upon his discharge from the military he continued his studies in America and returning in 1957, in Frankfurt.
Producer Heinz Gietz took Ramsey under contract in 1958 and in the same year his first Single with Polydor was released. It was a small but respectable success and launched the style, with which ”the man with the black voice” would land hits in the future. The music was oriented on the hits of that period anglo American pop music. Among Ramsey’s hits published in the 1950s and 1960s were German-language cover versions of Hank Ballard, The Beatles, Fats Domino, Ivory Joe Hunter, Roger Miller, Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rodgers, Andy Williams, Sheb Wooley and others. In addition, numerous originals, which were composed almost exclusively by Heinz Gietz. The ironical texts of Kurt Feltz or Hans Bradtke often commented current events. Ramsey and Gietz signed to Columbia label EMI Group in 1962, where they would continue their success. Amid the 1960s as Beatmusik changed the market, Bill Ramsey was a regular in the German Charts. His popularity provided numerous appearances in film and television, where he was seen as a singer and in comedy roles. In the second half of the 1960s Ramsey took up predominantly English-language songs and dedicated himself again to jazz and blues. In this musically varied decade he presented Operette, Musical and Beat songs as well as a LP with Children’s songs. Ramsey changed to Heinz Gietz’ record company Cornet in 1966, and later in the same year to Polydor. He appeared on different labels in the 1970s.
Ramsey had innumerable television appearances, played in 28 films and toured through Europe, the USA, and North Africa. He moderated the television broadcasts Hits for Schlappohren (1971) and Talent Shed (1974 to 1980), among others. He was a lecturer for many years at Hamburg University for Music and Performing Arts. Ramsey appears regularly as pop and jazz singer, mostly in duet with the guitarist Juraj Galan, with whom it released several albums. The duo's LP Live in the House of Commons won the German record critics prize. Bill Ramsey is a commentator every Friday on Radio HR2’s Swingtime.[3] In 2008 and 2009 he was on tour with Max Greger and Hugo Strasser as Swing legends. Ramsey lived occasionally in Zurich, later in Wiesbaden and since 1991 with his fourth wife Petra in Hamburg. He is a German citizen as of 17 October 1984. His wife is a doctor, and works as his Manager.
| Year | Title | Chartposition (DE) | Label/Catalogue no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Yes, Fanny, ich tu das So ein Stroll in Tirol |
Polydor NH 23 738 | |
| 1958 | Wumba-Tumba Schokoladeneisverkäufer Casa Bambu |
4 | Polydor NH 23 883 |
| 1959 | Er war vom konstantinopelitanischen Gesangsverein Cecilia |
Polydor NH 24 002 | |
| 1959 | Souvenirs Mach keinen Heck-Meck |
1 | Polydor NH 24 037 |
| 1959 | Caldonia Big Fat Mama |
Columbia C 21 261 | |
| 1959 | Hier könn' Matrosen vor Anker geh'n Go Man Go |
Polydor NH 24 090 | |
| 1960 | Go Man Go (englisch) Rockin' Mountain |
Polydor NH 66 812 | |
| 1960 | Telefon aus Paris Gina, Gina |
39 | Polydor NH 24 211 |
| 1960 | Jeden Tag 'ne andre Party Die Welt ist rund |
Polydor NH 24 330 | |
| 1961 | Pigalle (Die große Mausefalle) Café Oriental |
6 | Polydor NH 24 428 |
| 1961 | Telefon fra Paris (dänisch) Pigalle (dänisch) |
Polydor NH 22 974 | |
| 1961 | Immer zieht es mich zu ihr (mit Peter Alexander) Missouri Cowboy (mit Peter Alexander) |
10 | Polydor NH 24 437 |
| 1961 | Zuckerpuppe (aus der Bauchtanz-Truppe) Das Mädchen mit dem aufregenden Gang |
5 | Polydor NH 24 553 |
| 1961 | Das Leben ist doll Ich habe beides ausprobiert – kein Vergleich |
45 | Polydor NH 24 616 |
| 1962 | Nichts gegen die Weiber (mit Bibi Johns) Mach ein Foto davon |
25 | Polydor NH 24 663 |
| 1962 | Old Jonny war ein Wunderkind Hilly Billy Banjo Bill |
47 | Polydor NH 24 774 |
| 1962 | Brauner Señor Mexicano (mit Peter Alexander) Keine Zeit und kein Geld (mit Peter Alexander) |
Polydor NH 24 915 | |
| 1962 | Ohne Krimi geht die Mimi nie ins Bett Flotter Dampfer |
3 | Columbia C 22 197 |
| 1962 | Mimi Needs A Thriller When She Goes To Bed Sailors Need A Girl In Every Port |
Columbia F 4948 | |
| 1963 | Maskenball bei Scotland Yard Hallo, Boss, Hallo |
8 | Columbia C 22 333 |
| 1963 | Sagst du alles deiner Frau? (mit Chris Howland) Zwei alte Freunde (mit Chris Howland) |
Columbia C 22 397 | |
| 1963 | Parlez-vous Francais? Canary-Blues |
51 | Columbia C 22 456 |
| 1963 | Molly Feuerwasser und Liebe |
Columbia C 22 512 | |
| 1963 | Es gibt doch immer wieder Ärger (mit Peter Weck) Na na, nanu? (nur Peter Weck) |
Electrola E 22 515 | |
| 1964 | Bossa Nova Baby Wer heißt hier Jonny? |
14 | Columbia C 22 635 |
| 1964 | Ein bequemer Arbeitnehmer bin ich nicht Käpt'n Brown von Clipper 107 |
Columbia C 22 689 | |
| 1964 | Ein Student aus Heidelberg Schöne Mädchen haben's gerne |
21 | Columbia C 22 701 |
| 1964 | Zicke Zacke Hoi Wenn ich Geigen hör', muß ich weinen |
Columbia C 22 842 | |
| 1965 | Chug-a-lug Was kann denn ich dafür |
Columbia C 22 884 | |
| 1965 | Bin nur ein Tramp Kiss me Candy |
Columbia C 22 888 | |
| 1965 | Crazy Cowboy Grand Hotel Unter Wasser |
Columbia C 23 012 | |
| 1966 | Fat Man (& The Jay Five) What You Gonna Do Now Girl (& The Jay Five) |
Cornet 3012 | |
| 1966 | Hollywood-Schaukellied Le Tour de France |
Polydor 52 699 | |
| 1966 | Yellow Submarine Such dir was Liebes |
Polydor 52 725 | |
| 1967 | Limonade wär' besser gewesen Wenn die großen Krokodile nicken |
Polydor 52 770 | |
| 1967 | Body Building Bill aus Boston No, no – nicht so! |
Polydor 52 874 | |
| 1968 | Otto ist auf Frauen scharf Verlieb' dich nicht in ein Hippie-Mädchen |
Polydor 53 043 | |
| 1968 | Piccadilly Circus Die Welt, die ist kaputt |
Polydor 53 066 | |
| ca. 1968 | Blue-Eyed Lady (& The Jay Five with Bruno Spoerri) Early in the Morning (& The Jay Five with Bruno Spoerri) |
Heco S 45 007 | |
| 1969 | Gesellschaftsspiele (als William Ramsey III.) Ein zauberhafter Sommer (als William Ramsey III.) |
Polydor 53 130 | |
| 1969 | Sing ein kleines Lied vom Frieden (als William Ramsey III.) Bye, bye, Sadie (als William Ramsey III.) |
Polydor 53 155 | |
| 1970 | Haschisch Halef Omar High And Happy |
Cornet 3165 | |
| 1993 | Probier's mal mit Gemütlichkeit (Dschungelbuch Groove) Probier's mal mit Gemütlichkeit (Dschungelbuch Groove Jungle Club Mix) Theme from Panic At The Jungle |
ZYX Music 706012 |