Drafi Franz Richard Deutscher (9 May 1946 – 9 June 2006) was a German singer and songwriter of

Sinti The Sinti (masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintetsa, Sinta'') are a subgroup of the Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally Itinerant groups i ...

origin.

Biography

Early life and career

Deutscher was born in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, in the western zone of

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 ...

, Germany. Between 1964 and 1966, Deutscher had a string of hits in Germany, for example "Shake Hands" (1964 No. 1), "Keep Smiling" (1964 No. 7), "Cinderella Baby" (1965 No. 3), "Heute male ich dein Bild, Cindy-Lou" (1965 No. 1).

1965–1967: ''Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht'' and career peak

His best known song is the 1965 Schlager "Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht" (lit. "Marble, Stone and Iron Break"), which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a golden record. Nineteen-year-old Deutscher had ad-libbed the tune during an October 1965 audition at ''Musikverlag Edition Intro Gebrüder Meisel GmbH'' by humming the melody and only singing the characteristic chorus line of ''"Dum-Dum, Dum-dum"''; asked by present songwriter Christian Bruhn what he intended to do with it to turn it into a complete song, he replied, ''"Det machst du!'' ("That's done by you!"), so songwriter Günter Loose subsequently wrote the German lyrics to the melody. In the US, the song was released in 1966 under the title "Marble Breaks and Iron Bends" with English lyrics sung by Deutscher. This English version entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 1966, peaking at No. 80, and sparking a number of English cover versions by contemporary acts such as The Deejays (under the title "Dum Dum (Marble Breaks and Iron Bends)"), as well as by the two Australian acts Peter Fenton and Toni & Royce (aka Toni McCann and Royce Nicholas), none of which seem to have charted. The song later featured in the 2006 film ''

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'', during the

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

scene.

1967 to early 1980s: Trial, obscurity, and working under pseudonyms

After his 1965 hit "Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht", his career in Germany was in full swing, when it was shaken by a 1967 conviction for

public indecency Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

(''Erregung öffentlichen Ärgernisses'') after he had urinated from a balcony while drunk, in plain view of a group of schoolchildren watching him from street level. After his 1967 conviction for public indecency, he virtually disappeared from the public eye as a singer for more than a decade, writing and producing several worldwide

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

for Tina Rainford,

Boney M Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

Nino de Angelo Domenico Gerhard Gorgoglione (born 18 December 1963), known professionally as Nino de Angelo, is a German singer of Italian descent known for his 1983 chart-topper " Jenseits von Eden", and who participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 ...

and

Tony Christie Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician and singer. He is best known for his recording of " (Is This the Way to) Amarillo", a double UK chart success. Career 1960s to 1970s Bor ...

throughout the 1970s under a number of pen names. His few appearances included the song "United (

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

)" from 1971 in the show ''Disco'' on German television, and the duet "Alaska" with long time friend Tina Rainford in 1972, a song he wrote under the pseudonym 'Renate Vaplus' but produced under his real name. He also wrote and produced Rainford's hits "Silver Bird" and "Fly Away Pretty Flamingo" from 1976. In 1977, he performed as 'Mr. Walkie-Talkie' the song "Be My Boogie Woogie Baby", which was a hit in the Netherlands and Flanders, and peaked at number 62 in Australia. The accompanying album however did not have any impact. As 'Jack Goldbird' he performed as a country singer, often accompanying Tina Rainford as an anonymous supporting act. It took until the early 1980s for him to make media appearances as a singer again. In 1982, a biopic loosely inspired by Deutscher's life was released to German theaters under the title of his greatest hit, ''Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht'', in which he appeared in a small cameo role.

Mid-1980s and beyond: Comeback

Deutscher worked with Christopher Evans Ironside, collaborating with him on a project named Masquerade, and on their co-written 1984 hit, "

Guardian Angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...

", which was popular in many countries. Deutscher would enlist the assistance of two substitute performers from Hamburg, Germany, named Geunter Urban and Ole Olsen. These two men would dress up in white face paint and tuxedos, and lip sync (mime) to Deutscher's music. However, the majority of their live performances are of Guardian Angel, with only one performance of the hit song "Everyday Loser", appearing on the April 2, 1984 airing of the German television music program "Formel Eins". These two songs would be the only two to have live broadcast performances. Geunter and Olsen's first appearances would be on the German music program "Vorsicht Musik" in 1984. In late 1986, he achieved success with his duo, Mixed Emotions, together with Oliver Simon, and their single " You Want Love (Maria, Maria...)", a collaboration which sparked three more follow-up hit singles in a row by 1987, a TV theme hit in 1988 ("Running Wild", used for an episode of the crime series ''

Eurocops ''Eurocops'' is a European television crime TV-series produced between 1988 and 1992. It is a co-production between seven European TV stations in which each station produced a number of episodes which were then pooled, dubbed and otherwise adapte ...

''), and by its success finally inspired him to release his first new album under his real name in two decades, 1989's ''Über Grenzen geh'n'' (lit. "Crossing frontiers"). Deutscher's "Das 11. Gebot" got some airplay in 1989 on German radio.

Declining health and death

In November 1998, Deutscher suffered two strokes, followed by a breakdown in 1999 due to increasing diabetes. He nevertheless continued touring, celebrating his 40-year stage anniversary in 2003. Deutscher died from heart failure in 2006 in

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 ...

, at the age of 60.

Album discography

*''Shake Hands! Keep Smiling!'', 1964 *''Drafi!'', 1966 *''Weil ich Dich liebe'', 1971 *''Die Welt von heut'' (Group "Wir"), 1972 *''Gute Tage & schlechte Tage'', 1973 *''Happy Rummel Music'' (as "Mr. Walkie Talkie"), 1977 *''Lost in New York City'', 1981 *''Drafi'', 1982 (extended re-release of 1966 album) *''The Sound of Masquerade'' (as "Masquerade"), 1984 - AUS #91 *''Krieg der Herzen'', 1985 *''Gemischte Gefühle'', 1986 *''Deep From the Heart'' ( Mixed Emotions), 1987 *''Diesmal für immer'', 1987 *''Just For You'' (Mixed Emotions), 1988 *''Steinzart – Die besten Jahre'', 1988 *''Lost in New York City (remix)'', 1989 *''Über Grenzen geh'n'', 1989 *''Side by Side'' (with Andreas Martin as New Mixed Emotions), 1991 *''Wie Ebbe und Flut'', 1992 *''So viele Fragen'', 1996 *''Zukunft'', 1998 *''We Belong Together'' (Mixed Emotions), 1999 *''Wer war Schuld daran'', 2002 *''Diesseits von Eden – Die große Drafi Deutscher Hit-Collection'', 2006 *''The Last Mile'', 2007 *''Drafi'' (Re-release of the 1982 album with six bonus tracks), 2008

References

External links

Official fan page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deutscher, Drafi 1946 births 2006 deaths Musicians from Berlin English-language singers from Germany German composers 20th-century German male singers German Sinti people German male songwriters German schlager musicians Warner Music Sweden artists People from Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Romani singers