Werner Lämmerhirt (17 March 1949 – 14 October 2016) was one of the most important German singer-songwriters and guitarists in the

contemporary folk music Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid-20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from trad ...

style. He sang and wrote in both German and English, in a recording career that spanned more than three decades.

Early life

Lämmerhirt was born in

Adlershof Adlershof (, literally "Eagle's Court") is a locality (') in the Boroughs of Berlin, borough (') Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany. Adlershof is home to the new City of Science, Technology and Media (WISTA), located on the southwestern edge of ...

, East Berlin. Following the arrest of his father for alleged spying in 1957, his mother fled to

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

with Werner and his two sisters. They eventually settled in Schlachtensee, Berlin. His father joined the family in West Berlin when Werner was 12 years old, but became violent and drunken; Lämmerhirt believed that experience gave him, in adult life, a strong aversion to violence and injustice which influenced his songwriting. He took up the harmonica and bought his first guitar – a 12 string – when he was 16. Rock and

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 ...

clubs were springing up over Berlin in the mid-1960s and Werner picked up playing tips in these. In 1967 he dropped out of school and, accompanied by just his guitar and a sleeping bag, set out to travel around

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, England and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. For 3 years he travelled around Europe, spending the winters back in Berlin, doing whatever work was available, to finance his next trip. His influences at this time were, to begin with, mainstream performers such as the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, and

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

. Later, influences were legendary blues artists such as

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

and

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Biography Early years John Hurt was born in Teoc,Cohen, Lawrence (1996). Liner notes to ''Av ...

. At the end of the 1960s, British-style

folk club A folk club is a regular event, permanent venue, or section of a venue devoted to folk music and traditional music. Folk clubs were primarily an urban phenomenon of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain and Ireland, and vital to the second British folk r ...

s had become very popular in Berlin, and Lämmerhirt decided to return to the city where he would spend the day busking in

S-bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

stations and the evening playing in folk clubs.

Early career

During this time he met

Hannes Wader Hannes Wader (born Hans Eckard Wader on 23 June 1942) is a German singer-songwriter ("Liedermacher"). He has been an important figure in German leftist circles since the 1970s, with his songs covering such themes as socialist, communist resistanc ...

, who invited him to collaborate with him in making an album, "Ich hatte mir noch so viel vorgenommen". The success of this album led to Lämmerhirt accompanying Wader on tours – his first assignment as a professional musician. Werner collaborated with Wader on three further albums.

Solo career

Lämmerhirt worked as a session musician at this time with artists such as

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

, Eddie and Finbar Furey and Alex Campbell. In the winter of 1973–74, Lämmerhirt was approached with a proposal to record his first solo album on a new label, Stockfisch Records. This album, ''Ten Thousand Miles,'' was successful and it led to further and larger live performances. Lämmerhirt began to write his own songs at this time, and his second solo album was released in 1975. Lämmerhirt continued to tour in Germany and released his most recent CD in 2007.

Discography

Solo LPs

* ''Ten Thousand Miles'' (Stockfisch, 1974) * ''With Friends—For Friends'' (Stockfisch, 1975) * ''Die Dritte'' (Stockfisch, 1976) * ''White Spots'' ( Froggy Records, 1978) * ''All Alone'' (Froggy Records, 1979) * '' Roll On River'' (with

Wizz Jones Raymond Ronald "Wizz" Jones (25 April 1939 – 27 April 2025) was an English acoustic guitarist, and singer-songwriter. He performed from the late 1950s and recorded from 1965 until 2025. He possessed what was described as "unparalleled virtuo ...

) ( Folk Freak, 1981) * ''Crossroads'' (Froggy Records, 1982) * ''Personal Favourites'' (Froggy Records, 1986) * ''White Water'' (Stockfisch, 1988)

Solo CDs

* ''Die frühen Jahre (The Early Years)'' (Stockfisch, 1991) * ''In Between Times'' (Stockfisch, 1992) * ''Collection I'' (Stockfisch, 1995) * ''Collection II'' (Stockfisch, 1995) * ''Mit Pauken und Trompeten (With Timpani and Trumpets)'' (Stockfisch, 1997) * ''SaitenZauber (Magic Strings)'' (Stockfisch, 1999) * ''Heimspiel (Home Game)'' ( Toca Records, 2003) * ''Harte Zeiten (Hard Times)'' (Toca Records, 2007)

Other recordings featuring Werner Lämmerhirt

* ''Hannes Wader: Ich hatte mir noch so viel vorgenommen'' (1971) * ''Hannes Wader: 7 Lieder'' (1972) * ''Alex Campbell: Life Is Just That Way'' (1972) * ''Folk-Pub Berlin'' ''(1972)'' * ''Guy & Candy Carawan: Sitting On Top Of The World'' (1973) * ''Acoustic Guitar Scene'' (1975) * ''Ingelheim Festival'' (1975) * ''Gitarre’76'' (1976) * ''Knut Kiesewetter: Fresenhoff'' (1976) * ''Folk Friends I'' (1978) * ''Acoustic Guitar Festival'' (1979) * ''Gitarrenspiele'' (1980) * ''Hannes Wader: Es ist an der Zeit'' (1980) * ''Folk Friends II'' (1981) * ''Hannes Wader: Liebeslieder'' (1985) * ''Hannes Wader: Nie mehr zurück'' '(1991) * ''Davey Arthur: The Big Easy'' (1996)

Songbooks

* ''Die frühen Jahre'' * ''Ein Liederbuch'' Published by Acoustic Music Records.

References

External links

Werner Lämmerhirt's official websiteAcoustic Music Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lammerhirt, Werner 1949 births 2016 deaths German guitarists German male guitarists Folk guitarists German male singers German male songwriters German male singer-songwriters German singer-songwriters Musicians from Berlin Stockfisch Records artists