Hans Blum (23 May 1928 – 15 March 2024), also known as Henry Valentino, was a German singer-songwriter known for his distinctive musical style, which has been the inspiration of a generation of German musicians. His recordings include the hit single "Im Wagen vor mir."

Career

He wrote and conducted three entries that represented

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

: " Anouschka" (performed by Inge Brück in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

), "

Primaballerina "Primaballerina" (from Italian for " first ballerina" – the second highest female ballet dancer) is a 1969 song performed in German by Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist and written by Hans Blum. It was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 196 ...

" (performed by

Siw Malmkvist Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany (today's Germany). She represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 and West Germany in the Eurovi ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

), and " Über die Brücke geh'n" (performed by Ingrid Peters in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

). He had a hit in 1977 with " Im Wagen vor mir" which was a duet with Uschi. Tragically Uschi passed away and Valentino re-recorded the song with Daffi Cramer.

Death

Blum died on 15 March 2024, at the age of 95.

Discography

Major studio albums: * 1991: '' Im Wagen vor mir'' * 1997: '' ...Etwas für Liebhaber'' * 1999: '' Zu Zweit Macht's Mehr Spass'' * 2001: '' Henry Valentino's Hitbox'' * 2004: '' Ich Hab' Dein Knie Geseh'n'' * 2006: '' Eine Liebe Ist Wie ein Lied''

Influence

Hans Blum has been a major inspiration for a long range of German musicians and has enjoyed an extensive international recognition for the hit single "Im Wagen vor mir".

References

External links