Karl Heinz Schwab (16 August 1924 – 1 September 2014), known professionally as Ralf Bendix, was a German Schlager singer, music producer, composer and songwriter.

Biography

Early on, Ralf Bendix played the modern music of his time in bands, both as a soldier and in American custody. He began his studies - which he financed as a guitarist at the venue of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

- in order to become a lawyer and economist, and graduated in 1952. He was then appointed head of the Düsseldorf office of

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

. He held that position until 1962, although he had been already active as a Schlager singer for seven years. His artistic career began with a performance as a singer in a regional television show in the American city of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1955. In the same year, he was also discovered in a young talent competition for the German music market. His successful performance was rewarded with a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with Paul Kuhn at

Electrola Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano. History On 8 May 1925, the British Gramophone Com ...

. The engagement of the

record company "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

quickly paid off, when in June 1956, Ralf Bendix, now confirmed as his stage name, was noticed for the first time when the title "She was called Mary-Ann" - a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Rosewood, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliffie Stone ...

" with German text by - was recorded and rose to the second place of the German hit singles chart. In 1958, he played a part along Fred Bertelmann in the music film ' in which he performed the hit song "Die Sonne von Andalucia". In addition, Ralf Bendix appeared under the pseudonym "Johnny Guitar" and published a total of four more singles on Electrola. Altogether, in the following years, 24 of his songs, mostly German versions of Italian and American hits, were placed in the German hit lists. His most successful interpretation was the self - produced German cover of the " Babysitter-Boogie", which, after it was issued in April 1961, stayed five weeks at No. 1, and earned him a Golden Record. The original, " Baby Sittin' Boogie", had been issued in the US in January 1961 by Buzz Clifford and received a German text by . Even the baby voices were newly recorded, "Klein Elisabeth" being the daughter of Electrola producer Hans Bertram. With this upbeat tune, he had a lasting success until 1964. Ralf Bendix displayed a more serious side of his activity with the Germanisation of American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

songs and new spiritual songs; His attempt to create a new dance genre with "Tumba Tumbala" in 1972, however, was not successful. Other activities were more successful: From the end of the 1960s onwards, Ralf Bendix made a name for himself as a producer and talent maker. His discoveries included Heino, who was also produced by Bendix. After he retired from

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

, Ralf Bendix lived in Monaco and Florida and then in Switzerland, where he died on 1 September 2014 aged 90.Arno Ehring
''Heino trauert um seinen Entdecker.''
In: ''

Express Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * ''The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Expre ...

.'' 7. September 2014 (accessdate 8 November 2016).

Discography

Hit records (singles)

( Musikmarkt Top 30/50) * Airplay Top 50

Films

* 1958: ' * 1959: ' * 1959: ''Haus Vaterland (Tausend Sterne leuchten)'' * 1961: ''

What Is Father Doing in Italy? ''What Is Father Doing in Italy?'' () is a 1961 West German musical comedy film directed by and starring Willy Fritsch, Gerhard Riedmann and Peter Kraus.Bock & Bergfelder p.442 It was shot in Agfacolor Agfa-Farbenplatte of Bad Kreuznach, Ge ...

'' * 1961: '

Television

* 1985: ''WWF-Club'' (TV series) * 1970: ' (TV series) * 1966:–1970 ''Die Drehscheibe'' (TV series) * 1970: '' Star Parade'' (TV series) * 1969: ' (TV series) * 1967–1974: '' Haifischbar'' (TV series) * 1966: ''Ab morgen haben wir Humor'' (TV film) * 1966: ' (TV series) * 1966: ''Der nächste Urlaub kommt bestimmt'' (TV series) * 1965: several appearances in ' (EWG, Quiz series) * 1965: ''Vom Ersten das Beste'' (TV film) * 1965: ''Deutsche Schlagerfestspiele 1965'' (TV film) * 1965: ''Gala 65'' (TV film) * 1964: ''Show hin – Schau her'' (TV film) * 1963: ''Strandgeflüster'' (TV film) * 1962: ''Deutsche Schlagerfestspiele 1962'' (TV film)

References

Bibliography

* Frank Laufenberg: ''Rock & Pop Lexikon''. Econ Taschenbuch Verlag 1998, , Volume 1, p. 127. * : ''Hitbilanz Deutsche Chart Singles 1956–1980.'' Taurus Press 1987, .

External links

*
Ralf Bendix bei steffi-line.de

Ralf Bendix bei memoryradio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bendix, Ralf German schlager musicians German male singers German comedy musicians German record producers Musicians from Dortmund 1924 births 2014 deaths