The Bläck Fööss ( ) are a music group from

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany, started in 1970. From 1973 to 2003 Werner Dies was producer of the music group.

Name of the band

The band's name in Kölsch, a local dialect of Ripuarian, in which the group predominantly sings, means . In their early days the group would perform

barefoot Being barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead ...

, which was later given up mainly after several injuries from remains of broken glass on stages.

Repertoire

The band's style of music is a cross between Schlager and pop, but they also perform songs with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

styles. The group is famous for its

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

singing. Many of the band's songs are popular

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

songs, while others are covers of bands such as

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and ''mbube (genre), mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with American Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Grace ...

, (''Bütz mich'', cover of ''Hey baby'', 1990) Cologne music group ''De Vier Botze'' (''En d'r Kaygaß Nummere Null!'', 1975)

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

(''

When I'm Sixty-Four "When I'm Sixty-Four" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released on the 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was one of the first songs McCartney ...

'', ''

Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwr ...

'', 1989), Hollies or Willi Ostermann. In August 1985 the band got their biggest chart success, with the song "Frankreich, Frankreich" (English:

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, France) landing in at number 9 in the German charts, after the band had entered the German charts for the first time with the song "Katrin" in January 1985.

Band members

In their first 4 decades together, the Bläck Fööss only had a few changes in membership. Dieter „Joko“ Jaenisch (1970-1974, 1977–1980; died in 1998), Rolf Lammers (1974-1977) and Willy Schnitzler (1980-2005) played keyboard. In 1994, the band had its biggest split, with frontman Tommy Engel leaving for a solo career after so-called creative differences. * Karl Friedrich "Kafi" Biermann (born 1946): guitar, percussion, vocals (from 1995 to 2017) * Ralph Gusovius (born March 16, 1950): drums,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"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 (mou ...

, vocals (from 1995 to February 2023) * Günther "Bömmel" Lückerath (born June 20, 1948): guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, vocals (founding member, active until January 2023) * Hartmut Priess (born 19 August 1942 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

):bass, guitar, mandolin (founding member, active until 2018) * Peter Schütten (born 4 August 1943 in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

): guitar, singing, percussion (founding member, active until March 2017) * Erry Stoklosa (born 25 October 1947 in the former city Porz): guitar, percussion, vocals (founding member, active until January 2023) * Andreas Wegener (born 18 July 1956 in the former City Opladen): piano, synthesizer, accordion, vocals (since 2005) *Mirko Bäumer (born 30 September 1968 in

Hennef Hennef (Sieg) () is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg (river), Sieg, approx. south-east of Siegburg and east of Bonn. Hennef is the fourth-biggest town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis ...

): guitar, vocals (since 2017) *Pit Hupperten (born 1974): guitar, vocals (since 2017) *Hanz Thodam (born in Nippes, city part of Cologne): bass guitar, vocals (since 2019) *Christoph „Raudi“ Granderath: singer, guitar, mandoline (since 2021, 2019 and 2020 back-up musician) *Alex Vesper (born 27 June 1967 in Cologne): drums (since 2023) Willy Schnitzler left the band in 2005 after

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

of the

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...

rendered him unable to play. He died because of a car accident in 2019. He was succeeded by Andreas Wegener. In January 2017 Singer Kafi Biermann and founding member Peter Schütten left the band and were succeeded by Mirko Bäumer and Pit Hupperten. Hanz Thodam replaced bass player Hartmut Priess after the band's traditional New Year's Eve concert of 2018. File:Black Fooss aus Koeln - Biermann.jpg, Kafi Biermann File:Black Fooss aus Koeln - Gusovius.jpg, Ralph Gusovius File:Bläck Fööss - Priess und Lückerath - Kirchentag Köln (7105).jpg, Hartmut Priess and Günther Lückerath File:Bläck Fööss.jpg, Peter Schütten File:Black Fooss aus Koeln - Stoklosa.jpg, Erry Stoklosa File:Übergabe einer Bläck Fööss-Gondel an das Kölnische Stadtmuseum-4375-crop.jpg, Mirko Bäumer

Discography

Literature

* Matthias Becker: Bläck Fööss - schwatz op wiess: 124 Lieder in Wort und Bild; Texte, Hintergründe, Kommentare, Kölsch-Lexikon, Chronik, Diskografie. Gerig-Musikverlage, De Bläck-Fööss-Musikverlag,

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is east of the Rhine and abo ...

Bensberg, 2000, 152 Seiten, kartoniert,

External links

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Bläck-Fööss