Gustav Frands Wilzeck Winckler (13 October 1925 – 20 January 1979) was a popular

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

singer, composer and music publisher. He grew up in the Nørrebro district of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and started his career as a decorator. In 1948 as a young man he won a talent competition at National Scala Theatre in Copenhagen, as well as many others in Copenhagen. He was often compared to Bing Crosby. He finally broke through in 1950 with engagements, regular appearances on

Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

and his first professional recording. Through the 1950s he recorded and toured in Denmark, Germany (under the name Gunnar Winkler) and England (under the name Sam Payne). In 1957 after qualifying in the

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (), also known as Melodi Grand Prix or simply DMGP, is an annual music competition organised by the Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) since 1957, which determines the for the Eurovision Song Contest. The fes ...

to represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest, he participated in

Eurovision Song Contest 1957 The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the second edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (HR) on behalf of ARD, the contest, originally known as the (English: Euro ...

, where he sang " Skibet skal sejle i nat" "Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat" ("The ship is leaving tonight") with

Birthe Wilke Birthe Wilke (born 19 March 1936) is a popular Danish singer. She grew up in a musical family in Copenhagen's Vesterbro area. Career When Wilke was in her teens, she won a talent competition at the National Scala Theatre in Copenhagen, san ...

. They ranked number 3, and stunned television audiences with a 13-second-long kiss at the end of their performance. He participated in the Danish Melodi Grand Prix twice afterwards, in 1964 with "Ugler i mosen" and then in 1966 with "Salami". He died in a car crash in 1979. His brother Jørgen Winckler also recorded songs in the 1950s and early 1960s.

References

Literature

* Laursen, Carsten Michael (1999). 'Top-Pop: Navne i dansk pop 1950-2000''"' ("Top-Pop: Names in Danish Pop 1950-2000"). L&R Fakta. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Winckler, Gustav 1925 births 1979 deaths Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Denmark Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1957 Danish songwriters 20th-century Danish male singers Danish record producers Road incident deaths in Denmark Sonet Records artists