Gitta Walther was a German singer and author. She released many recordings under the

pseudonyms A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...

Simone, Jackie Robinson and also Gitta McKay after her marriage to

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

musician Don McKay.

Background and life

Gitta Walter was born as the daughter of a baker during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and grew up in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

after the war. There, she first appeared on stage as a singer at the age of 14. At the age of 16, she emigrated to West Germany. Once in

Munich, West Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, she was discovered by

Werner Müller Werner Müller may refer to: * Werner Müller (ethnologist) (1907–1990), German ethnologist and symbologist * Werner Müller (musician) (1920–1998), German musician * Werner Müller (canoeist) (born 1922), Swiss canoeist * Werner Müller (pol ...

who accepted her into his orchestra. She went on to also sing in the orchestra of

Ambros Seelos Ambros Seelos (30 January 1935 – 3 August 2015) was a German music composer, singer, arranger, conductor, whose career lasted from the 1950s to the 2000s. Ambros Seelos was born in Töging am Inn. Seelos and his orchestra performed Big Band so ...

and Arno Flor. Since the mid-1960s, she was an active guest,

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

and

background singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

for numerous bands and acts. In 1969, she joined Love Generation, where she met her future husband,

Don Adams Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as bumbling Maxwell Smart (Secret Agent 86) in the television situa ...

. She was later one of the

session singer A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

s of the 1970s

Silver Convention Silver Convention were a German Euro disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention or Silver Bird. History The group was initiated in Munich, then West Germany, by producers and songwriters Michael Kun ...

disco group. The famous scream in fellow group member Penny McLean's

Lady Bump "Lady Bump" is a pop disco song by Austrian singer Penny McLean, released in 1975. It was a hit for McLean, who was formerly with Silver Convention. About the single The single backed with "The Lady Bumps On" was released on the Jupiter record lab ...

belongs to Walther. Further, she was one of the backing singers for

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

and

Joy Fleming Joy Fleming (born Erna Raad, 15 November 1944 – 27 September 2017) was a German singer. She is best known for her performance in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975. She performed the song "Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein" and was placed sevent ...

. She would work with

Fritz Muschler Fritz Muschler was a German musician, record producer, arranger and composer. He had success with his compositions and production during the 1970s and he later provided music for film. Background During the 1960s, Fritz Muschler was a member of T ...

, who also worked with disco group

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

who recorded "

Don't Boogie Mr. Tango Fritz Muschler was a German musician, record producer, arranger and composer. He had success with his compositions and production during the 1970s and he later provided music for film. Background During the 1960s, Fritz Muschler was a member of T ...

. As a solo musician, she released her album "I'm Different" in 1976 under the name ''Jackie Robinson''. It was a success in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and stayed on the Billboard Disco Charts for seven weeks. In 1980, she co-founded

The Hornettes ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

girl band, along with former Silver Convention singers

Lucy Neale Lucy Neale (also known as Lucy O'Day) is an Americans in Germany, American-German artist, notable for being one of the vocalists of the 1970s Silver Convention disco group. Life and career Neale was born January 24, 1948, in Cleveland, Ohio. Aft ...

Linda G. Thompson Silver Convention were a German Euro disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention or Silver Bird. History The group was initiated in Munich, then West Germany, by producers and songwriters Michael Kun ...

and Jackie Carter. The group was relatively successful.

Career as Jackie Robinson

Moving Like a Superstar

Jackie Robinson recorded the Jean-Luc Drion Jack Donder composition, "

Moving Like a Superstar "Moving Like a Superstar" was a 1976 single for Jackie Robinson. It became a hit for her the following year, charting in both the United States and Canada. Background The song was composed by Jean-Luc Drion and Jack Donde. Jackie Robinson recorde ...

" which was produced by

. Backed with "Let Me Be" it was released on

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international ...

89 749 XT in late 1975. On the week of 17 April 1976, "Movin Like a Superstar" was in five ''Billboard'' Disco Action charts. It was also announced that week in Tom Moulton's Disco Mix column that Ariola America was rush releasing her album then called ''Moving Like a Superstar''. On the week of 24 April, the single debuted at no. 25 in the ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' R&B Singles chart. It was also at no. 12 in the ''Record World'' Disco File Top 20, and on the Discotheque Hit Parade, Infinity New York playlist (DJ Bobby Guttadaro). On the week of 19 June, 1976. "Moving Like a Superstar" entered the ''RPM'' Top 100 singles chart at no. 100. It made it to no. 82 on the week of 3 July. In the US it would eventually make it to no. 10 on the Dance chart and no. 61 on the R&B chart.

Album

Her album ''I'm Different'' was produced by

and Paul Birmingham. Half of the songs on the album were composed by Muschler. It was reviewed in the 14 May 1977 issue of ''

RPM Weekly ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

''. With the successes that Birmingham and Muschler had in the past, the reviewer said that Robinson should be receiving a warm welcome in Canada.

Further activities

Robinson recorded "Warning - Danger" bw "Do You Really Wanna Go" which were released on single,

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

2001 827 in 1978. Both titles were composed and produced by Fritz Muschler and Paul Birmingham.

Later years

In her final years, she lived in her hometown of

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, in eastern Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea le ...

and sang locally.MusicBrainz
Gitta Walther
/ref>

References

External links

* Discogs
Jackie Robinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, Gitta 1944 births 2014 deaths 20th-century German women singers Silver Convention members Ariola Records artists RCA Victor artists Polydor Records artists