45 RPMs 50: Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night

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Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night

 45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

 

 

Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert, 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including  Moon Over Naples, which was sung by Al Martino, and Strangers in the Night, which was used in the score for the movie A Man Could Get Killed (which starred James Garner and Melina Mercouri) and was made famous and became a major hit for Frank Sinatra in 1966.                

 

 

 

Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night

 45 RPM record in sleeve

photo by Styrous®

 

Wonderland By Night (German title Wunderland bei Nacht), with its haunting solo trumpet by Charles Tabor, muted brass, and lush strings, topped the American pop charts and turned Kaempfert and his Orchestra into international stars. Tabor was an Austrian jazz trumpeter, born 5 January 1919 in Vienna, Austria, died 29 July 1999 in Griesstätt, Bavaria, Germany.          

 

 

Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night

 45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

Wonderland By Night was written by Klaus Günter Neumann with English lyrics by Lincoln Chase who wrote, Jim Dandy, which was recorded by American R&B singer, LaVern Baker.     

A cover, recorded and released by Louis Prima, also charted in the same year, reaching #15 on the Billboard charts. A vocal version by Anita Bryant, which included orchestrations by Lew Douglas, reached #18 on the US Pop Chart. Engelbert Humperdinck and Johnny Mathis also recorded vocal versions, while Floyd Cramer did a great cover on piano, with his "Nashville sound", of course.     

 

 

Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night

 45 RPM record label

photo by Styrous®

 

 

Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany. He was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra, before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band and toured with them,       

 

His first hit with his orchestra was Wonderland By Night. Recorded in July 1959, the song could not get released in Germany, so he took the track to Decca Records in New York, which released it in America in the fall of 1960.       

Wonderland By Night was a Billboard number one hit for three weeks, starting January 9, 1961. It was recorded in July 1959.     

       

Bert Kaempfert ~ Dreaming the Blues

 45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

 

In his capacity as record producer, Kaempfert played a part in the rise of The Beatles. In 1961, he hired the Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on an album called My Bonnie. Sheridan had been performing in Hamburg, and needed to recruit a band to play behind him on the proposed tracks. Kaempfert auditioned and signed the Beatles, and recorded two tracks with them during his sessions for Sheridan: Ain't She Sweet (sung by rhythm guitarist John Lennon) and Cry for a Shadow (an instrumental written by Lennon and lead guitarist George Harrison). The album and its singles, released by Polydor Records, were the Beatles' first commercially-released recordings.

On October 28, 1961, a man walked into the Liverpool music store owned by Brian Epstein and asked for a copy of My Bonnie, a song recorded by the Beatles but credited to Tony Sheridan. The store did not have it, but Epstein noted the request. He was so intrigued by the idea of a Liverpool band releasing a record that he investigated. That event led to his discovery of the Beatles and, through his efforts, their signing by George Martin to Parlophone Records after Kaempfert helped them avoid any contractual claim from Polydor.    

           

 

 

The "B" side, Dreaming the Blues, is a languid, New Orleans, ragtime, tune that is a perfect vamp song! I used it for one of the girls at the Hungy i on Broadway (link below).

 

 

 

Bert Kaempfert ~ Dreaming the Blues

 45 RPM record

photos by Styrous®

 

 

I have always enjoyed reading the artists who recorded for a label that were advertised on the record sleeves: I'd count to see which were the ones listed I had.     

 

Bert Kaempfert died suddenly on June 22, 1980, at the age of 56, following a stroke at his home in Majorca, the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain.            

 

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Kaempfert among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.        

 

   

 

           

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Wonderland By Night (Wunderland Bei Nacht), written by Klaus Gunter-Neumann* - 3:12

Side 2:

B - Dreaming The Blues, written by Bert Kaempfert - 3:00

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Decca Records, Inc.
    Published By – Roosevelt Music Co., Inc.
    Pressed By – Decca Records Pressing Plant, Gloversville

Credits:

    Soloist [Trumpet] – Charly Tabor

Notes:

Recorded in Europe by Deutsche Grammophon/Polydor (R) Series
 

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Pressing Plant ID (B side label): ✤
    Matrix / Runout (A side matrix code - label): (DGG 24 086 A)
    Matrix / Runout (B side matrix code - label): (DGG 24 086 B)✤
    Matrix / Runout (A side matrix code - runout (stamped)): 45 DGG24086A 7
    Matrix / Runout (B side matrix code - runout (stamped)): 45 DGG24086B 3
    Matrix / Runout (A side matrix code (variation 1) - runout (stamped)): 45 DGG24086A 2
    Matrix / Runout (B side matrix code (variation 1) - runout (stamped)): 45 DGG24086B 5
    Matrix / Runout (A side matrix code (variation 2) - runout (stamped)): 45 DGG24086A 10
    Matrix / Runout (B side matrix code (variation 2) - runout (stamped)): 45 DGG24086B 2
    Rights Society: BMI

Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra* ‎– Wonderland By Night (Wunderland Bei Nacht)
Label: Decca ‎– 9-31141
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Gloversville Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1960
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Big Band, Easy Listening

       

  

Viewfinder links:       

         

all things Beatles          

Anita Bryant       

Engelbert Humperdinck        

Pillow (She-Beast) & The Hungry i       
Frank Sinatra        
     
Net links:       

         

Stereogum ~ Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night (review)        

Way Back Attack ~ Wonderland by Night (review)      

     
YouTube links:                 

             

Anita Bryant ~ Wonderland By Night       

Floyd Cramer ~ Wonderland By Night       

Engelbert Humperdinck ~ Wonderland By Night       

Bert Kaempfert ~ Dreaming the Blues        
Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night         

Johnny Mathis ~ Wonderland By Night       
        
              

      

Styrous® ~ Friday, October 16, 2020

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