Klaus Wunderlich (18 June 1931 – 28 October 1997) was a famous German

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

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 ...

Biography

Wunderlich was born in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

. He played the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

model C3 then mid 60s changed to model Hammond H100. Wunderlich also tried new sounds and released an album exclusively played on

Hohner Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...

instruments: model Planet T, Clavinet D6 and String Melody string synthesizer (also branded as Logan String Melody.) With the introduction of the first synthesizers, Wunderlich briefly used

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

and produced three albums with the instrument. He later combined the sound of a

model H 100 with a

Lowrey Organ The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named for its developer, Frederick C. Lowrey (1871–1955), a Chicago-based industrialist and entrepreneur. Lowrey's first commercially successful full-sized electronic organ, the Model S Spinet or ''B ...

Model H25-3 and

Wersi Wersi is a German manufacturer of electronic organs, keyboards and pianos (named after the communes of Werlau and Simmern in Rhineland-Palatinate). They were used by organists such as Franz Lambert and the late Klaus Wunderlich. Wersi's curren ...

model W248S which was called the "New Pop Organ Sound". Wunderlich switched to

organs permanently with the introduction of the Wersi Helios model in 1976, with which he created his own unique electronic sound. During the course of time, the Wersi Helios was not sufficient to keep up with current technology and trends so Wunderlich started to use Wersi Beta Dx400. The Beta was then combined with the Wersi Helios to again create a unique sound. The 1980s saw Wunderlich purchase the Wersi Pianostar electronic piano which he used for rhythm guitar effects only. In 1988, Wunderlich decided to part company with the Wersi Helios and Beta and purchased a new organ to replace both older models, the Wersi Spectra. Wunderlich also used a small Moog synthesizer

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

to replicate the sound of the Bass guitar on his recordings as well as in the latter half of his career playing the drums and percussion on his recordings. As a musician Wunderlich was open to different music styles and played classical, operetta,

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical, as well as popular music. He sold more than 20 million records globally, and received 13 golden albums as well as one golden cassette. Wunderlich died in

Engen Engen (延元) was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kenmu and before Kōkoku, lasting from February 1336 to April 1340.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Engen''" i ''Japan encyclop ...

from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, and was subsequently buried in the Alter Friedhof at

Sindelfingen Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the river Würm), and is home to a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant. History * 1155 � ...

. Some of his work was incorporated into the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

Nu Pogodi! ''Well, Just You Wait!'' (russian: Ну, погоди!, Nu, pogodi!, p=ˈnu pəɡɐˈdʲi) is a Soviet, later Russian, series of animated short films produced by Soyuzmultfilm. In the 2014 all-Russian poll, ''Well, Just You Wait!'' won by a ...

In 2017 a documentary film about Klaus Wunderlich was released by Duke Denver Film IVS calle
Wunderlich
The year after a sequel was released called Wunderlich Stories. Over the years his recordings have been sampled by a number of other artists. One of the most notable and unusual is the use of multiple elements, including the distinctive organ from his version of the Lynsey de Paul song "

Sugar Me "Sugar Me" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Green. The first version of this song to be released was recorded by de Paul as her first single on MAM Records in 1972. It was produced by Gordon Mills and the B-side was de Paul's versio ...

" that was sampled by

Guru (rapper) Keith Edward Elam (July 17, 1961April 19, 2010), better known by his stage name Guru (a backronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal), was an American rapper and record producer. He was a member of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ P ...

on track 5 on his 2000 album "Jazzmatazz Vol. 3: Streetsoul" called "Certified" performed by

Bilal (American singer) Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born August 23, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is an independent artist, noted for his wide vocal range, work across multiple genres, and intense live performances. Starting out at a majo ...

Discography (small selection)

Wunderlich released more than one hundred albums, of which thirteen LP's and one music cassette was credited with gold.Okey Magazine
Klaus Wunderlich (1931 – 1997) in einem Portrait von Ralf Hoffmann
/ref> In the following overview the chart positions in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are given:Chart listings
Duch Charts
/ref>

References

External links

Wunderlich's website
in German and English
Sunkit's page about Klaus Wunderlich
in Swedish
Klaus Wunderlich documentary films websiteWunderlich documentary film on IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wunderlich, Klaus 1931 births 1997 deaths People from Chemnitz German organists German male organists Easy listening musicians 20th-century German musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century German male musicians