Klaus Meine (born 25 May 1948) is a German singer and songwriter, best known as the longtime frontman of the hard rock band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

. Meine and guitarist

Rudolf Schenker Rudolf Schenker (born 31 August 1948) is a German guitarist and founder of the hard rock band Scorpions. He is the rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter and longest-serving original member of the band. He is also the CEO/owner-manager of the Sco ...

are the only two members of the group to appear on every Scorpions album, though he did not join the band until 1969, four years after its founding. Meine placed at No. 22 on

Hit Parader ''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...

's 'Top Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time' list in 2006.

Biography

Meine wrote most of the lyrics to Scorpions' songs. He and former Scorpions drummer

Herman Rarebell Herman Rarebell (born 18 November 1949 as Hermann Josef Erbel) is a German musician, best known as the drummer for the hard rock band Scorpions from 1977 to 1995, during which time he played on eight studio albums. Aside from playing drums, Rare ...

also shared lyrical authorship on some songs, including the major hit "

Rock You Like a Hurricane "Rock You Like a Hurricane" is a song by the German hard rock band Scorpions, considered their signature song. The song was released as the lead single from their ninth studio album, '' Love at First Sting'' (1984). It was written by Klaus Meine, ...

". Meine composed some songs alone like " Wind of Change", " You and I", "But the Best for You", "Does Anyone Know", "A Moment in a Million Years", "Moment of Glory", "I Wanted to Cry", "Back to You", "My City, My Town", "Follow Your Heart", "Rock'n' Roll Band", "The World We Used to Know" and "Who We Are". He has played guitar on two Scorpions songs: "Coast to Coast" and "Follow Your Heart". After a 1981 world tour and during the recording of the '' Blackout'' album, Meine lost his voice to the extent that he could not even speak properly. He was advised by his doctor to consider another profession. However, Scorpions stuck together and, after therapy and two vocal cord surgeries, Meine's voice recovered. Meine performed on the '' Live in Berlin'' rendition of

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

' "The Wall" in 1990. He was a featured singer during the performance. Meine was awarded the city of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

plaque in 2000. as well as the Cross of Merit First Class (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) of the

Lower Saxony Order of Merit The Lower Saxony Order of Merit (german: Niedersächsischer Verdienstorden) is a civil order of merit, of the German State of Lower Saxony. The order was established 27 March 1961. The order is presented in three classes, the highest is the Gra ...

. Dommenget released a Klaus Meine signature guitar that was given to him on his 60th birthday in 2008, which he used on the

Humanity World Tour Humanity most commonly refers to: * Humankind the total population of humans * Humanity (virtue) Humanity may also refer to: Literature * ''Humanity'' (journal), an academic journal that focuses on human rights * ''Humanity: A Moral History of ...

and the

Get Your Sting and Blackout World Tour Scorpions are a German rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock, heavy metal and glam metal to soft rock. The lineup from 1978 to 1992 was the m ...

. Klaus' beyond-Scorpions collaborations include "Bridge to Heaven" with

Uli Jon Roth Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...

, " Send Me an Angel", "Bigger than Life", "Keep the World Safe" and "Jerusalem of Gold" with Israeli singer

Liel Kolet Liel Kolet ( he, ליאל קולט;) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and a peace advocate. Biography Liel Kolet is an international singer, songwriter and a peace advocate. Born on 11 July 1989 to Jewish Israeli parents on Kibbutz Kinneret, she ...

, "Bis wohin reicht mein Leben" from ''Rilke Projekt'', "Wind of Change" with the tenor

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...

, and the song "Dying for an Angel" from the album ''

The Wicked Symphony ''The Wicked Symphony'' is the fourth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German rock opera project Avantasia, released on 3 April 2010, parallel with ''Angel of Babylon''. ''The Wicked Symphony'' was released both as part of a box set, with the t ...

'' by

Avantasia Avantasia is a German supergroup metal opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy. It has been characterized as a rock opera, as it features the contributions of various vocalists and musicians and it consists of concept ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meine, Klaus Scorpions (band) members German heavy metal singers German rock singers 1948 births Living people Musicians from Hanover German tenors English-language singers from Germany 20th-century German male singers 21st-century German male singers Glam metal musicians