Heinz Georg Kramm (born 13 December 1938), known professionally as Heino, is a German singer of
Schlager and traditional
Volksmusik
Alpine folk music (german: Alpenländische Volksmusik; German's ''Volksmusik'' means "people's music" or as a Germanic connotative translation, "folk's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk m ...
. Having sold a total of over 50 million records, he is one of the most successful German musicians of all time.
Heino is known for his baritone voice and trademark combination of light blond hair and dark sunglasses (which he wears due to
exophthalmos
Exophthalmos (also called exophthalmus, exophthalmia, proptosis, or exorbitism) is a bulging of the eye anteriorly out of the orbit. Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (as is often seen in Graves' disease) or unilateral (as is often seen in ...
). He lives in the town of
Bad Münstereifel
Bad Münstereifel () is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen, Germany, with about 17,000 inhabitants, situated in the far southwest of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The little town is one of only a few historical tow ...
, where he owned a
café
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
until June 2012. His interest in music started when his mother gave him an
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
in 1948, although his family could barely afford it.
Early life
Heino was born on 13 December 1938 in
Düsseldorf-Oberbilk
Oberbilk is an inner-city urban quarter in the south-east of the German city of Düsseldorf. The back exit of the Central Station leads to Oberbilk. The new District Court of Düsseldorf is located in Oberbilk since 2010, as is the main office o ...
, Germany, to Heinrich and Franziska Kramm. His father was a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
dentist, his mother a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
. His grandfather was the
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
at the Cathedral of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. He also had two cousins who were Catholic priests. Heino's father was drafted into the German army during World War II, and was killed on 2 August 1941 during the invasion of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Until 1945, Heino lived with his mother and his older sister Hannelore in Pomerania. In 1945 he began school in
Großenhain
Großenhain (also written as Grossenhain; hsb, Wulki Hojn) is a Große Kreisstadt (German for major district town) in the district of Meissen, Saxony, Germany. It was originally known as Hayne. The current name simply means "big Hayne"
History
...
(
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
). After 1952 he went to Düsseldorf where he initially trained as a baker and
confectioner
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
.
Career
![HeinoSittard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/HeinoSittard.jpg)
His stage name comes from his sister Hannelore's difficulty pronouncing his given name "Heinz Georg".
In 1961, he first appeared in the trio OK Singers. Heino achieved fame in the mid-1960s and has charted numerous times since then in the
German music charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
. He also appeared regularly in German television shows such as ''
ZDF-Hitparade
The ''ZDF-Hitparade'', or ''Hitparade'' for short, by German TV channel ZDF, was one of the most popular and most well-known music television series presenting mostly German Schlager. From 1969 to 1984 the presenter was Dieter Thomas Heck. The ...
'', ''
Musikantenstadl
Musikantenstadl is a live television entertainment program broadcast in the German language throughout Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. It features Austrian, Swiss, and German popular folk music ( Schlager, Volkstümliche Musik), international ...
'' and ''
ZDF-Fernsehgarten
''ZDF-Fernsehgarten'' (English: ''ZDF Television garden'') is a German entertainment TV show broadcast live from the grounds of the ZDF broadcasting centre at Mainz. It is a seasonal live programme which airs only during the summer months with 16 ...
''. Most of his recordings were pop versions of traditional folk songs; for example in "Blau blüht der Enzian" (''"Blue Blooms the Gentian"''), one of his signature songs and an adaptation of the folk song "Das Schweizermädel" (''"The Swiss Maiden"'').
In February 2013, Heino released a new album, called "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" (''Yours sincerely''), which topped the German album charts. It was the first Number-one-album for him in Germany. The record is a collection of cover versions of popular German songs from
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte (; ) is a German rock band from Berlin. The band has released 14 studio albums. The group consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and perform their songs.
History Ea ...
,
Peter Fox,
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
and others. It is as such a Pop-Rock/Metal-record instead of Heino's typical Schlager and Volksmusik style. The album earned Gold for being sold over 100,000 times.
In December 2014, Heino released a new album, "Schwarz blüht der Enzian" (''Black blooms the
Gentian
''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...
''), referring to one of his greatest hits "Blau blüht der Enzian" (''Blue Blooms the Gentian'') and to the Rock-/Metal style of the record in which some of his own songs and traditional German
Volksmusik
Alpine folk music (german: Alpenländische Volksmusik; German's ''Volksmusik'' means "people's music" or as a Germanic connotative translation, "folk's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk m ...
are covered.
In November 2016, Heino announced the release of his new Christmas album, "Mit weihnachtlichen Grüßen" (''With Christmas greetings''), which includes a duet with fellow singer Sarah Jane Scott.
After a 50-year career, Heino announced on 30 September 2018 his final tour in 2019 and the release of his final album "...und Tschüss, das letzte Album" (''...and bye, the final album''). The album consists of 36 songs which are mainly his traditional German folk songs which made him famous. However, he later announced a tour for the autumn of 2020 in which he performs classic music.
Personal life
![Heino und Hannelore Kramm im Heino-Fanshop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Heino_und_Hannelore_Kramm_im_Heino-Fanshop.jpg)
In June 1959 he married 18-year-old Henriette Heppner. They had one son, Uwe, born in 1962, and subsequently divorced. He married his second wife, Lilo Kramm, in 1965; their marriage ended in divorce in 1978. Lilo died of cancer on 28 January 2010.
In 1968, he became the father of an illegitimate daughter named Petra after an affair with a woman named Karin. Petra had schizophrenia, for which she received treatment in."She was trapped in her own world and could no longer participate in normal life." She committed suicide by suffocation in 2003, as her mother had in 1988.
Heino met his third wife,
Hannelore Auersperg, in 1972 at the Miss Austria contest in Kitzbühel. They were married in April 1979, and she became his manager. The couple lives in Bad Münstereifel. In 2004, Hannelore suffered a heart attack, which was one reason Heino curtailed his career.
Heino has noticeable
exophthalmos
Exophthalmos (also called exophthalmus, exophthalmia, proptosis, or exorbitism) is a bulging of the eye anteriorly out of the orbit. Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (as is often seen in Graves' disease) or unilateral (as is often seen in ...
due to
Graves' disease
Graves' disease (german: Morbus Basedow), also known as toxic diffuse goiter, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It also often results in an enlarged thyr ...
. For this reason, he always wears very dark glasses in public, which have become part of his trademark appearance. In a 2014 German newspaper story Heino was quoted as saying that he feels "naked" without them and that he had put in his will that he was to be buried with them on. Due to his light hair and skin, some initially believed he wore the glasses due to
albinism
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
.
Select list of songs
* "Jenseits des Tales"
[This originally was a ]ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, composed, with a slightly different text, about 1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
by the German poet Börries von Münchhausen
Börries Albrecht Conon August Heinrich Freiherr von Münchhausen (20 March 1874 – 16 March 1945) was a German poet and Nazi activist.
Biography
He was born in Hildesheim, the eldest child of Kammerherr Börries von Münchhausen and his ...
, who became a nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
later.(1966)
* "Wenn die bunten Fahnen wehen" (1967)
* "Wir lieben die Stürme" (1968)
* "Zu der Ponderosa reiten wir" (1968)
* "Bergvagabunden" (1969)
* "Bier her, oder ich fall um" (1969)
* "Wenn die Kraniche zieh'n" (1969)
* "Karamba, Karacho, ein Whisky" (1969)
* "In einer Bar in Mexico" (1970)
* "Hey Capello" (1970)
* "Mohikana Shalali" (1971)
* "Blau blüht der Enzian" (1972)
* "Carneval in Rio" (1972)
* "Tampico" (1973)
* "La Montanara" (1973)
* "Edelweiß" (1973)
* "Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss"
* "Das Polenmädchen" (1974)
* "Die schwarze Barbara" (1975)
* "Komm in meinen Wigwam" (1976)
* "Bier, Bier, Bier" (1980)
* "Junge" (
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte (; ) is a German rock band from Berlin. The band has released 14 studio albums. The group consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and perform their songs.
History Ea ...
cover, 2013)
* "
Sonne" (
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
cover, 2013)
* "Schwarz Blüht der Enzian" (2014)
References
External links
Heino's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heino
1938 births
Living people
Musicians from Düsseldorf
People from the Rhine Province
German pop singers
German male singers
German folk singers
Schlager musicians