Horst Jankowski
Encyclopedia
Horst Jankowski was a classically trained German pianist
, most famous for his internationally successful easy listening
music.
, Jankowski studied at the Berlin Music Conservatory and played jazz
in Germany in the 1950s, serving as bandleader for singer Caterina Valente
. Jankowski's fame as a composer of easy listening pop peaked in 1965 with his tune "Eine Schwarzwaldfahrt", released in English
as "A Walk in the Black Forest". The tune became a pop hit, reaching #1 on the US easy listening chart, #12 on the US Billboard Hot 100
, and #3 on the UK Singles Chart
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
. The track was featured on the BBC
's review of the 1960s music scene, Pop Go The Sixties
, broadcast on BBC One
and ZDF
, on January 1, 1970. The Genius of Jankowski album, released in 1965, was also a million seller.
The instrumental tune was covered by many artists including Herb Alpert and Peter Nero.
Jankowski went on to score a string of successful album
s, but moved on in the 1970s to concentrate more on jazz, including covers
of pop and rock hits. Between 1989 and 1994 Jankowski composed and performed easy listening music for Sonoton
, Germany.
Jankowski died of lung cancer
in 1998, at the age of 62.
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, most famous for his internationally successful easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music.
Biography
Born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Jankowski studied at the Berlin Music Conservatory and played jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
in Germany in the 1950s, serving as bandleader for singer Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente is a singer, dancer, and actress. She was born into an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown...
. Jankowski's fame as a composer of easy listening pop peaked in 1965 with his tune "Eine Schwarzwaldfahrt", released in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as "A Walk in the Black Forest". The tune became a pop hit, reaching #1 on the US easy listening chart, #12 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and #3 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. The track was featured on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's review of the 1960s music scene, Pop Go The Sixties
Pop Go The Sixties
Pop Go The Sixties! was a one-off, seventy five-minute TV special originally broadcast in colour on 31 December 1969, to celebrate the major pop hits of the 1960s. The show was a co-production between the United Kingdom's BBC and Germany's ZDF broadcasters...
, broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
, on January 1, 1970. The Genius of Jankowski album, released in 1965, was also a million seller.
The instrumental tune was covered by many artists including Herb Alpert and Peter Nero.
Jankowski went on to score a string of successful album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, but moved on in the 1970s to concentrate more on jazz, including covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of pop and rock hits. Between 1989 and 1994 Jankowski composed and performed easy listening music for Sonoton
Sonoton
Sonoton claims to be the world's largest independently owned Production Music Library. Formed 1965 by Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz in Munich , the company owns the copyrights of over 130.000 compositions and musical recordings of all genres...
, Germany.
Jankowski died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1998, at the age of 62.
Discography
- Traumklang und Rhythmus (1965; Mercury Records)
- Encore (1965; Mercury Records)
- The Genius of Jankowski (1965; Mercury Records) US #18
- More Genius of Jankowski (1966; Mercury Records) US #65
- Sing mit Horst (1966; Mercury Records)
- Still More Genius of Jankowski (1967; Mercury Records) US #107
- The Horst Jankowski Scene (1967; Mercury Records)
- And We Got Love (1967; Mercury Records)
- Baby, But Grand (1967; Mercury Records)
- So What's New?So What's New?So What's New? is an album by Horst Jankowski, released in 1966 . All tracks are instrumentals. The album features the humorous piano ballad "So What's New?", which, due to its arrangements of the wind section, can be regarded a Christmas song...
(1968; Mercury Records) - Play Some More, lieber Horst (1968; Mercury Records)
- The Many Moods of Jankowski (1968; Mercury Records)
- Piano Affairs (1968; Mercury Records)
- Jankowski Plays Jankowski (1969; Mercury Records)
- Jankowski Meets Beethoven (1969, Mercury Records)
- A Walk in the Evergreens (1969; Mercury Records)
- Piano on the Rocks (1970; Mercury Records)
- Jankowskingsize – For Nightpeople Only (1970; MPS)
- Jankowskinetik (1970; MSP)
- Jankowskeynotes (1970; MPS)
- Follow Me (1972; Intercord)
- International (1973; Intercord)
- Jankowskyline (1973; Intercord)
- Happy Blue Piano (1982; SonotonSonotonSonoton claims to be the world's largest independently owned Production Music Library. Formed 1965 by Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz in Munich , the company owns the copyrights of over 130.000 compositions and musical recordings of all genres...
/ Intersound) - The Best of Mr. Black Forest (1989; SonotonSonotonSonoton claims to be the world's largest independently owned Production Music Library. Formed 1965 by Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz in Munich , the company owns the copyrights of over 130.000 compositions and musical recordings of all genres...
/ Intersound) - Piano Interlude (1994; SonotonSonotonSonoton claims to be the world's largest independently owned Production Music Library. Formed 1965 by Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz in Munich , the company owns the copyrights of over 130.000 compositions and musical recordings of all genres...
/ Intersound) - Black Forest Explosion! (1997; Motor MusicMotor MusicMotor Music is an independent record label located in Berlin, Germany dealing mainly with rock music. It was founded in 1994 and until 2004 was a subsidiary of Universal Music Group....
) - Eine Schwarzwaldfahrt (1998; Mercury Records)
- Jankowskinetik (2003; UniversalVivendiVivendi SA is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet, and video games. It is headquartered in Paris.- History :...
) - Jankowskeynotes (2004; Universal)