Franz "Franzl" Lang (28 December 1930 – 6 December 2015), known as the ''Yodel King'' (german: Jodlerkönig), was an alpine yodeller from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Germany. Lang's

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

is German

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

; he typically sang in the Bavarian dialect of the rural Alpine regions.

Career

Raised in Munich, Lang trained as a toolmaker. He started playing his trademark accordion at the age of nine. His greatest hit was his 1968 recording of Karl Ganzer's composition "Das

Kufstein Kufstein (; Central Bavarian: ''Kufstoa'') is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 19,600 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The great ...

er Lied". Throughout the 1970s, he was a permanent feature of musical

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

s on

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

television, especially on the

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

program ''Lustige Musikanten''. Lang has sold more than 10 million recordings; he has earned 20 gold records and one platinum record within the German recording industry. On his 70th birthday, he performed for the final time.

Personal life & death

He was married to his wife Johanna since 1954; he had one son (Franz Herbert Lang, 1966–1995) and one daughter (Christl). He died at a Munich nursing home on 6 December 2015 from

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ (anatomy), organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medicine, medical intervention to achieve homeostasis. Although Irwin and Rippe cautioned in 2005 that the use of "multiple ...

. On January 11, 2016, he was buried in

Munich Waldfriedhof The Munich Waldfriedhof is one of 29 cemeteries of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is one of the larger and more famous burial sites of the city, known for its park-like design and tombs of notable personalities. The Waldfriedhof is considered the ...

, a forest cemetery, with multiple dedications from his family and friends.

Discography (Albums)

* 1970: Bergweihnacht (LP: Philips 63 883, Aufnahme: 1970) * 1977: Urlaub in den Bergen * 1979: Musik aus den Bergen * 1987: Schön ist’s auf der Welt * 1991: Mir geht’s guat * 1996: Freude am Leben * Alpen-Echo * Das original Kufsteiner Lied * Der Königsjodler * Die schönsten Volkslieder * Die schönsten Jodler der Welt * Echo der Berge * Freunde der Berge * Goldene Sonne, goldene Berge * Himmel, Harsch und Firn mit den Kaiserlich Böhmischen * Holladaratata * In Oberkrain * Jodlerkönig * Kameraden der Berge * Komm mit in die Berge * Lagerfeuer in den Bergen * Ski Heil * Stimmung beim Bier * Stimmung beim Jodlerwirt * Wir kommen von den Bergen * Zillertal, du bist mei Freud * Tirol Heimat der Berge * 10 Jahre Jubiläum beim Jodlerwirt * Im Wilden Westen * Grüß Gott in Bayern * Zünftig pfundig kreuzfidel * Das Bayernland * Der weißblaue Hammer

Filmography

* 1956: Salzburger Geschichten * 1961: Drei weiße Birken * 1961: Der Orgelbauer von St. Marien * 1961: Schlagerrevue 1962 * 1962:

Tanze mit mir in den Morgen ''Dance with Me Into the Morning'' (German: ''Tanze mit mir in den Morgen'') is a 1962 Austrian musical film directed by Peter Dörre and starring Gerhard Wendland, Guggi Löwinger and Rex Gildo.Von Dassanowsky p.184 The film's sets were designe ...

* 1962:

Drei Liebesbriefe aus Tirol ''Drei Liebesbriefe aus Tirol'' is a 1962 Austrian comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and starring Ann Smyrner, Trude Herr and Paul Hörbiger. Partial cast * Ann Smyrner - Linda Borg * Udo Jürgens - Martin Hinterkirchner * Hans Moser - Leop ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Franzl 1930 births 2015 deaths German accordionists German male guitarists Musicians from Munich Yodelers 20th-century German male singers 20th-century German male writers Deaths from multiple organ failure Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof