Albert Raisner

Albert Raisner
Albert Raisner and The Spotnicks in 1963
Background information
Born	(1922-09-30)30 September 1922 Apolda, Germany
Died	1 January 2011(2011-01-01) (aged 88) Paris, France
Instruments	Harmonica

Albert Raisner (30 September 1922 in Apolda, Germany – 1 January 2011 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France) was a French harmonica player, founder of the award-winning Trio Raisner and a TV and radio host and producer. He was the host of the hit show Age Tendre et Tetes de Bois, which aired from 1961 to 1967 and featured world-renowned artists including The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes and French singers Johnny Hallyday and Claude Francois. He is regarded as an icon and a pioneer of French television, sometimes compared to Ed Sullivan, and was knighted by the French president in 1977.

Early Life

Born in Thuringia of a French father and a German mother, Albert Raisner arrives in Paris at age 7. His socially modest family lives in Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement of the capital in a 400 square feet apartment. He has two brothers, one older, one younger.

His father, a sales representative and music enthusiast, teaches him violon, piano, trumpet, guitar and clarinet early on. Albert Raisner hereby acquires classical musical training; nevertheless, harmonica is his favorite instrument. His first audience will be that of the boy scouts of which he is a member. He plays during vigils around camp fire. Thereafter, he refines his talent along musician Charles Rodriguez (a gypsy guitarist, violinist, man band and harmonica pioneer in France). Until 1939, he participates in the activities of Studio Rodriguez (officially 'French Association for Musical Expansion') and becomes known in the entertainment world. He joins legendary gypsy guitarist Django Reinhartd on tour. Albert Raisner will also participate in the circus world, with Cirque Pinder, where he learns trapeze.

He studies at Colbert high school before spending a year at Ecole Normale d'Auteuil, both in Paris, and earning a Ph. D. in linguistics. A teenager during the Second World War, he experiences food rationing and the bombing of his street. He joins the Resistance in Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne in Correze in Free France.

During the war, Albert Raisner joins the semi-clandestine jazz underworld and creates the Club for Harmonica ('CHARM').

Le Trio Raisner (1943-1960)

With Sirio Rossi and Adrien Belin, Albert Raisner forms the Trio Raisner, which will become a regular feature of radio and TV programs. The Trio will be recruited to play during shows for the American Army in Europe. The Trio Raisner earns large-scale success upon D-Day and at Liberation with the American Special Service (an effort to provide entertainment for US-soldiers in Europe) in Frankfurt where he shares scene and airtime with Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Marlene Dietrich, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.

Thereafter, the Trio Raisner performs numerous, highly successful shows and tours in France. More than solely musicians, members of the trio are showmen, musical scene pioneers, mixing harmonica, songs, dances and humor. Soon after, the trio tours out of France including in countries such as Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Israel. It is also featured numerous times on international radio channels and in movies. Albert Raisner keeps composing his trio's songs, and in 1952 the Trio Raisner receives the 'Grand Prix du Disque' (Best Song of the Year award) for 'Le Canari'.

The Trio dissolves at the and of the 1950s, and Albert Raisner continues his harmonicist career as a solo artist. He will host the first part of Chuck Berry's Olympia concert. He also writes a book, 'Le Livre de l'Harmonica', in which he retraces the history of the musical instrument, his users, as well as his own history as a musician.

TV and Radio Host (1958-1983)

Le jeu des 1000 francs

Albert Raisner is among the first host of the 'Jeu des 1000 Francs', one of the longest-running French radio programs.

Âge tendre et tête de bois

Albert Raisner created in 1961 his signature show 'Age Tendre et Tete de Bois' which would become a staple of French TV and a legendary program. It is a music show on prime time, Saturday night, on France's unique TV channel, RTF. Even if created with modest means, the show meets with immediate, overwhelming success. Shows are filmed at the Golf-Drouot, at the Moulin de la Gallette and at the Cite Universitaire. Albert Raisner becomes the leading talent discoverer and is among the first to air rock'n'roll music. An iconic figure of the 'ye-ye' era (1960s), he introduces to France and supports many French, American and international artists including Ray Charles, Gene Vincent, Johnny Hallyday, The Beatles, Sheila, Claude Francois, Henri Salvador, the Beach Boys, Eddy Mitchell, Joan Baez, Dalida, Salvatore Adamo, Michel Polnareff, Stevie Wonder, Gigiola Cinquietti, Enrico Macias, Sylvie Vartan, Francois Hardy and Adriano Celentano. The show is remembered for its jovial, high energy style, its duplexes and mutliplexes with artists around the world, the close proximity between the audience and the stars, and the prohibition of play-back. Albert Raisner also designed the show's mascot, the 'Bonhomme Tete de Bois', to his image.

Europarty

In 1963, Raisner created a German-French co-production, 'Rendez-vous sur le Rhin', which will soon evolve to include 7 European countries to be renamed 'Europarty'. He would even twice set up a bilateral show in Moscow, aired in France and the USSR, live and in Russian -a unique achievement at the time of the Cold War.

Samedi et Compagnie

Starting 1968, Albert Raisner is the host for 'Samedi et Compagnie'. The shows changes name in 1971 to become 'Samedi et Vous'. Albert Raisner also hosts 'Point Chaud' which will star Isaac Hayes, Hugues Aufray and Many Dibango. He also travels several times to the United States and covers the Woodstock Festival for French TV. In 1973, he writes a book retracing the history of 1960 and 1970 music, 'L'Aventure Pop'.

Tremplin 80

After Point Chaud, Raisner creates music show Tremplin 80 and hosts it until 1983. He steps away from TV thereafter to raise his two sons, even though he continues to be present on radio shows and participates in tours and concerts in Europe.

1990-2000s

Albert Raisner makes a comeback on TV in 1990 with 'Age Tendre', on channel Antenne 2, which links artists from the 1960s to those of the 1990s. He will, among others, host Vanessa Paradis.

In the mid-1990s, he will host 'Salut Albert' on Radio Montmarte, before hosting a show on Europe 1 at the end of the 1990s. He also kept participating in tours including one on the Queen Elizabeth II boat with Petula Clark.

At age 88, he dies of respiratory insufficieny at hospital Ambroise Pare in Boulogne-Billancourt.

Personal life

Albert Raisner married Brigitte Konjovic, Miss France 1978. They had two sons, Richard and Remy Raisner. He was also a member of Mensa International, a social organization whose members are in the top 2% of intelligence as measured by an IQ test entrance exam.

Awards

Grand Prix du Disque (1952) Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite (1978) Médaille de la ville de Paris

Albert Raisner's Influence

A harmonica pioneer, he contributed to popularize his instrument in France. He is considered as one of the best harmonicists of all times. On television, he was among the firsts to create a TV show for teenagers. He launched countless artists who will go on to international success. He was also among the first TV hosts to become a producer as well. He thereby contributed to change in the entertainment industry's functioning. Always avant-gardist, he was one of the first host/producers to propose shooting live in other or simultaneous countries.

His TV shows' excerpts are nowadays oftentimes relayed by media. A widely successful tour featuring 1960s and 1970s French and international artists was named in his honor 'Age Tendre et Tetes de Bois'. A harmonica song he wrote and played is still, today, and after decades, the theme of a leading Japanese radio show.

List of Shows

TV

-Âge tendre et tête de bois

-Tête de bois et tendres années

-Rendez-vous sur le Rhin

-Europarty

-Samedi et compagnie

-Samedi et vous

-Point chaud

-Tremplin 80

-Âges tendres

Radio

-Le Jeu des 1000 francs

-Salut Albert

Books

-Le Livre de l'harmonica, Presses du Temps Présent, Paris, 1961, 223 p.

-Méthode générale pour l'harmonica, Hohner, 1966

-L’Aventure pop, Robert Laffont, Paris, 1973, 303 p.

-Harmonica diatonique et chromatique facile : 30 standards... (Facile), 1993

Albums

-Trio Raisner, Enregistrements originaux 1948-1953

-La Magia de la Armonica

-Trio Raisner, classique et danse

-Baile con Albert Raisner

-Le Roi de l'harmonica

-Harmonica parade

Movies

-1955: Les Évadés

-1959: Deux hommes dans Manhattan

-1961: Léon Morin, prêtre

-1963: L'Aîné des Ferchaux

References

External links

• Albert Raisner at the Internet Movie Database