Curtis Cress (born 11 August 1952), known by his stage name Curt Cress, is a German musician, singer and songwriter.

Life and work

Curt Cress began his career in 1965 in

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

with the band Load. Later also in Hanau he played with the bands Inspiration Six and most recently in 1969 Orange Peel, which was officially disbanded again the very next year, but comes together for occasional appearances. He has taken part in about 12,000 published recordings sold on at least 400 million records. He worked as a member of several bands including

Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger (born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. Life and work Doldinger was born in Berlin, Germany, and entered a Düsse ...

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

, Atlantis,

Spliff A joint (), also commonly referred to as a "doobie" or "doob", is a rolled cannabis cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, the user ordinarily hand-rolls joints with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled ...

Milli Vanilli Milli Vanilli were a German-French R&B duo from Munich. The group was founded by Frank Farian in 1988 and consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. Their debut album, '' All or Nothing'' in Europe, reconfigured as ''Girl You Know It's True'' in ...

and

Snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be a large ...

, Curt Cress Clan, and as a guest on numerous studio recordings and live performances with German and international artists, e.g. Falco,

Peter Maffay Peter Alexander Makkay (born 30 August 1949), known as Peter Maffay (), is a Romanian-born German musician, singer, and composer. Early life Born in Braşov (german: link=no, Kronstadt), Romania, the son of a German (Transylvanian Saxon), h ...

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

. In 1977, he replaced original drummer and cofounder

Hans Bathelt Hans Bathelt is a German drummer, percussionist and lyricist who played with the German progressive rock band Triumvirat between 1970 and 1976. He left because of musical differences between him and the keyboardist Hans Jürgen Fritz, the record c ...

in the german band

Triumvirat Triumvirat was a West German progressive rock band from Cologne in then-West Germany. They became, during the 1970s, a key figure in Eurock, the progressive rock of continental Europe whose German variant is called krautrock. The name Triumvira ...

, for their album ''

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

'', but because of temporary legal quarrels between the keyboardist Hans-Jürgen Fritz and the drummer Hans Bathelt, concerning the name of the group, it was presented as ''New Triumvirat Presents Pompeii''. Cress is also known as a producer, most notably for

Uwe Ochsenknecht Uwe Adam Ochsenknecht (; born 7 January 1956) is a German actor and singer. Career Films Ochsenknecht has starred in include '' Das Boot'' (1981), ''Schtonk!'' (1992), and the TV miniseries '' Frank Herbert's Dune'' (2000). In the early 1990 ...

, Claudia Cane, Heiner Pudelko,

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same ye ...

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the Punk subculture, punk and New wave music, new wave movements in the late 1970s a ...

and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. He continued to work as a studio musician, as for

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

Hubert Kah Hubert Kah is a German synthpop band, led by Hubert Kemmler (born 22 March 1961 in Reutlingen). Kemmler is a German musician, composer, songwriter and producer. Biography Kemmler's career began as a member of a trio named Hubert Kah, consist ...

Michael Cretu Michael Cretu ( ro, Mihai Crețu, ; born 18 May 1957) is a Romanian-German musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He gained worldwide fame as the founder and musician behind the musical project Enigma, which he formed in 1990. Cretu ...

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, Alphaville,

BAP BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a type of bread roll * Bap (rice dish), a Korean food Music * BAP (Basque band), a hardcore punk group (formed 1984) * BAP (German band), a Colognian rock group (formed 1976) * B.A.P (South Korean ban ...

, Inga and

Annette Humpe Annette Humpe (born 28 October 1950) is a German singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her band Ideal was one of the most important and seminal representatives of the Neue Deutsche Welle. In 2004, she returned as a singer with the project Ich ...

, Peter Cornelius,

Marianne Rosenberg Marianne Rosenberg (born 10 March 1955) is a German Schlager music singer and songwriter. Personal background Rosenberg is of Roma and Sinti background. Her father, Otto, an Auschwitz death camp survivor, was an activist on Roma and Sinti ...

Stefan Waggershausen Stefan Waggershausen (born 20 February 1949) is a German singer, composer, and songwriter. Waggershausen was born in Friedrichshafen, at Lake Constance. In 1974 he produced his first record as singer. In 1980, he had his first big success with t ...

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and

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

('' Mr. Bad Guy''). Cress also made himself a name as a TV and film music composer. He composed the music for the series ''

SK Kölsch ''SK Kölsch'' was German television series produced in Cologne, which was broadcast on Sat.1 from 1999 to 2006. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama ...

'', ''

The Red Mile The Red Mile is a horse racing track located in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. The track hosts harness racing, a type of horse racing in which the horses must pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies while racing. It is one of harness racing' ...

'', ''

HeliCops – Einsatz über Berlin ''HeliCops – Einsatz über Berlin'' is a German television series. External links * 1998 German television series debuts 2001 German television series endings 1990s crime television series 1990s German police procedural television ser ...

'' and for the telenovelas ''

Bianca – Wege zum Glück ''Bianca – Wege zum Glück (Bianca – Ways to Happiness)'' was the first German telenovela, developed by the TV production company Grundy UFA. It started on 1 November 2004 and ran until 5 October 2005 on the ZDF. The main characters were ...

'' and ''

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''. Cress is one of the composer's music scene for the series ''Love in Berlin''. He also worked for ''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by ...

'' and composed, among others, the theme songs of the ARD sports show and '' Wetten, dass..?''. For the feature film ''

Bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

'' Cress was hired as playback drummer. Since 2009 he records along with Chris Weller and Manuel Mayer for the music of the ZDF telenovela '' Alisa - Follow your heart.'' Since 2006, Cress has been a professor at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater; he has taught there since 2004. His company CC HOLDING GmbH produces media products for music, film, and television. The holding company has F.A.M.E. company Recordings Publishing GmbH, F.A.M.E. Artist Recordings GmbH, CRESS PUBLISHING GmbH, and pilot Tonstudio GmbH.

Personal life

Curt Cress is married and has three children.

Discography

Solo work

*1975: ''Curt Cress Clan'' (LP) *1983: ''Avanti'' (LP: WEA 24.0133; CD: WEA 240 133-2) *1987: ''Sing'' (LP) *1992: ''Bäng'' (CD) *1998: ''Trip'' (CD: WEA arner3984-21825-2)

With other musicians

*1972: Atlantis – ''Atlantis'' *1973: – ''Arbeit macht frei'' (LP: Bluff Records, BF 1010) *1973: Passport – ''Hand Made '' *1973: Passport – ''Looking Thru'' *1974: ''Doldinger Jubilee Concert'' *1975: Passport – ''Cross-Collateral'' *1976: Lucifer’s Friend – ''Mind Exploding'' (LP: Vertigo) *1977: Passport – ''Iguaçu'' *1977: New Triumvirat – ''New Triumvirat Presents Pompeii'' *1978: Snowball – ''Defroster'' *1979: Snowball – ''Cold Heat'' *1979: Jack-Knife – '' I Wish You Would'' *1980: Snowball – ''Follow the White Line'' *1981: Mike Batt – ''Six Days In Berlin'' *1982: Passport – ''earthborn'' *1983:

Peter Schilling Peter Schilling (born Pierre Michael Schilling; 28 January 1956) is a German synthpop musician whose songs often feature science-fiction themes like aliens, astronauts and catastrophes. He is best-known for his 1983 hit single "Major Tom (Comin ...

- '' Error in the System'' *1984: Alphaville - '' Forever Young'' *1984:

Skiantos Skiantos is an Italian comedy punk band formed in Bologna in 1975. They have released ten studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums. They participated in the Gods of Demential festival on January 12, 2007. Roberto “Freak” A ...

- ''Ti Spalmo la Crema'' *1985:

- '' Mr. Bad Guy'' *1985:

Far Corporation Far Corporation were a multi-national band created by German record producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cov ...

- ''Division One'' *1985: Passport - ''Running in Real Time'' *1986:

- ''

Blind Before I Stop ''Blind Before I Stop'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Meat Loaf, released in September 1986. The album was produced in Germany by Frank Farian and was the first to fully embrace the '80s sound. Critics were concerned about the album ...

'' *1987:

- '' Wildest Dreams'' *1988: Rick Springfield - ''Rock Of Life'' *1988–1990:

*1989: Saga - '' The Beginner's Guide to Throwing Shapes'' *1989:

Elio e Le Storie Tese Elio e le Storie Tese (; literally "Elio and the Troubled Stories"), often abbreviated EelST, was an Italian comedy rock band from Milan, formed in 1980. Its leader was Stefano Belisari, better known as Elio. They announced their split on 17 Oct ...

- '' Elio Samaga Hukapan Kariyana Turu'' *1989:

- ''

The Los Sri Lanka Parakramabahu Brothers Featuring Elio e le Storie Tese ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' *1990: Alex Gunia – ''Alex Gunia’s Groove Cut'' *1990–1992:

The Real Milli Vanilli The Real Milli Vanilli was a pop music group that consisted of some of the original singers from Milli Vanilli, Brad Howell and John Davis, as well as new singers Gina Mohammed and Ray Horton and several "special guests," including Tammy T, Icy ...

*1996:

– '' Pure Instinct'' *1998: John Wetton and

Richard Palmer-James Richard William Palmer-James (born 11 June 1947) is an English guitarist, songwriter and lyricist. He may be best known as one of the founder members of Supertramp (playing guitar and songwriter); writing lyrics for several songs by the prog ...

– '' Monkey Business 1972–1997''

Awards

* 15 times Drummer of the Year (journal) * Record Prize of the German Phono Academy * Gold records, and A. for '' Bandits '', '' BAP '', '' Münchener Freiheit ''

Literature

Martin Kunzler Martin Kunzler (born 29 April 1947) is a German jazz bassist and music journalist. He gained particular fame through his ''rororo Jazz-Lexikon'' published by Rowohlt Verlag, which is now considered the standard German-language work on this music ...

: ''Jazz Encyclopedia''. Rowohlt, Reinbek 2002

References

External links

* *
Interview auf sueddeutsche.de

Interview auf comeunited.com

Prof. Curt Cress beim Popkurs Hamburg

Offizielle Website von Curt Cress Plattenfirma "Fame Recordings"

Interview mit Curt Cress vom 28. Juni 2011 aus der Sendung ''Mensch Theile'' (Podcast)

Podcast des Interviews ''Eins zu Eins'' auf Bayern 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cress, Curt 1952 births Living people German drummers Male drummers German male musicians German film score composers German male composers Male film score composers