Roberto Zerquera Blanco (born 7 June 1937 in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

) is a German schlager singer, actor, and entertainer of Afro-Cuban origin. He is one of the most successful entertainers of all time in German-speaking countries.

Early life

Blanco is the son of Cuban folklorist and artist Alfonso Zerquera and his wife Mercedes Blanco. He grew up in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. When Roberto was two, his mother died. After finishing school he began to study medicine in Madrid, but quit after two semesters.

Career

In 1957, Blanco played a role in the movie '' Der Stern von Afrika'' (The Star of Africa). His singing career began with

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

. In the 1960s, he became a hit star in his own right and appeared in various films – among them Johannes Mario Simmel penned '' All People Will Be Brothers'' and the Erich Kästner adaptation '' Three Men in the Snow''. In 1969, Blanco won the German "Schlager-Festspiele" with his song "Heute so, morgen so" (Today like this, tomorrow like that). Following that, Blanco recorded a number of hit albums. His music career peaked in 1972 with the song "Ein bisschen Spass muss sein" (A little fun is a must) and "Der Puppenspieler von Mexiko" (The Puppeteer of Mexico). Since then he has appeared on numerous music and variety TV shows, most frequently on ZDF's '' Hitparade''.

Singles

*1957 – "Jesebell" *1957 – "Ob schwarz, ob weiß" *1963 – "Twistin' mit Monika" *1968 – "Tschumbala-Bey" *1968 – "Jennifer" *1969 – "Heute so, morgen so" *1969 – "Auf Liebe gibt es keine Garantie" *1970 – "Auf dem Kurfürstendam sagt man "Liebe"" *1970 – "San Bernadino" *1971 – " Las Vegas" *1972 – " Ich komm' zurück nach Amarillo" *1972 – "Der Puppenspieler von Mexiko" *1972 – "Ein bisschen Spaß muss sein" *1973 – "Ich bin ein glücklicher Mann" *1973 – "Pappi, lauf doch nicht so schnell" *1974 – "In El Paso" *1976 – "Bye Bye, Fräulein" *1977 – "Morgen sind wir reich" *1978 – "Porompompom" *1978 – "Hey Mama Ho" *1978 – "Viva Maria" *1978 – "Wer trinkt schon gern den Wein allein" *1979 – "Der Clap Clap Song" *1979 – "Samba si! Arbeit no!" *1979 – "Am Tag, als es kein Benzin mehr gab" *1980 – "Rock 'n' Roll ist gut für die Figur" *1981 – "Humanaho (Alle Menschen sind Brüder)" *1990 – "Resi bring Bier" (duet with Tony Marshall) *1992 – "Limbo auf Jamaika" (duet with Tony Marshall) *1996 – "Da ist die Tür" (feat. Lotto King Karl) *1999 – " Last Christmas" (with Frank Luis y su traditional Habana Orchester) *2001 – " Born to Be Alive" (with The Disco Boys) *2004 – "Ein bisschen Spaß muss sein" (new version with Captain Jack)

Selected filmography

* '' The Bloody Vultures of Alaska'' (1973)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Roberto 1937 births Living people Entertainers from Tunis Spanish emigrants to Germany German male singers German people of Cuban descent Spanish-language singers of Germany