Silver Convention
Encyclopedia
Silver Convention was a German
euro disco
recording act
of the 1970s. The group
was originally named Silver Bird Convention, or Silver Bird.
by producers
and songwriter
s Sylvester Levay
and Michael Kunze
. The group was named after Levay, "Silver" being Levay's nickname
. Kunze had in the late 1960s been a pop lyricist who wrote protest songs in German; when these tunes went out of style, he began producing pop records and commercials. Levay had developed a taste for American music while growing up in Yugoslavia, eventually becoming a music arranger and lyricist.
Using female session
vocalists
for their first recordings
, they scored a successful
single
in the United Kingdom
in 1975 with the song "Save Me
", which peaked at #30. They were only a studio
group, and realized then that they would need to find professional entertainers for presentation to the public.
They recruited vocalists Linda Thompson (real name Linda Übelherr, who would be billed on her solo
records
as Linda G. Thompson, formerly a member of Les Humphries Singers
), Penny McLean (real name Gertrude Wirschinger) and Ramona Wulf (real name Ramona Kraft, born to a German mother and black American G.I. father). Their first production was the minor successful single named ironically "There Is Always Another Girl".
As Silver Convention they scored two major U.S.
and Canadian
hit singles. "Fly, Robin, Fly
," of which the complete lyrics
consisted of only six different words (Fly, Robin, Up, To, The, Sky), maintained three weeks at #1 in late November and early December 1975, and won the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A. in December 1975. Initially the song was titled "Run, Rabbit, Run", changed by the writers moments before the recording took place. Their next success "Get Up And Boogie", which also consisted of only six different words (Get, Up, And, Boogie, That's, Right), hit #1 in Canada on June 15, 1976, had 3 weeks at #2 in the U.S in June 1976 and also peaked at #7 in the UK, in May 1976. Their next release, "No No Joe," only scored #60 in September 1976. The further singles released by the trio
attempted to duplicate the sound that had made them successful briefly, but they were only minor successes. At this time, Linda G. Thompson left the group and was replaced by New York
er Rhonda Heath, who was chosen over other hopefuls at an open casting call to become the newest singer for the group.
Michael Kunze wrote the lyrics
on the first two album
s under the pseudonym Stephan Prager. During this time the three singers released their own solo work. McLean and Thompson achieved hit singles with "Lady Bump" and "1, 2, 3, 4 ... Fire!", and "Ooh What a Night" respectively. Wulf's solo effort was only a moderate success.
Silver Convention represented Germany
in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
with "Telegram", finishing eighth. The entry had only English
lyrics (with considerably more words than their past hits), but was allowed to enter in spite of the language rule being reintroduced this year, because the song was chosen to represent Germany before the reintroduction was announced. In 1994, Rhonda Heath returned to Eurovision, providing backing vocals and keyboards for the German entry "Wir Geben 'Ne Party
" performed in German
by Mekado
. This entry did better than Silver Convention's effort, finishing third out of the 25 entries in Dublin.
With a new producer (John Davis), and a revised line-up of singers (Suzie McClosky aka Zenda Jacks, Rhonda Heath and Ramona Wulf), Silver Convention was successful again during 1978 with the album Love in a Sleeper. The 12" single
release from the LP was "Spend the Night With Me" backed with "Mission To Venus".
Levay also worked with Giorgio Moroder
, and Kunze began work with Jim Steinman
. The solo careers of the three singers ended quickly and they left the music industry. Levay and Kunze later collaborated on the successful Vienna productions of the musicals
Elisabeth, Mozart! and Rebecca.
flautist Herbie Mann
recorded a cover version
of "Fly, Robin, Fly" for his 1976 album, Bird in a Silver Cage, which was co-produced and arranged by Sylvester Levay. The Australian/British string quartet Bond
also recorded a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" for their 2004 album, Classified. In 2003, German lifestyle company Apartment20 produced a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly," which featured Ramona Wulf on lead vocals and in the video for the song.
Silver Convention's hit, "Get Up and Boogie," was re-tooled for a 2009 commercial for the "Snuggie" (sleeved blanket
).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
euro disco
Euro disco
Euro disco is an all encompassing colloquial term used to describe a variety of European electronic dance music that first originated from disco in the 1970s; incorporating elements of pop, New Wave and rock into disco-like continuous dance atmosphere...
recording act
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
of the 1970s. The group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
was originally named Silver Bird Convention, or Silver Bird.
Career
The group was initiated in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
by producers
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s Sylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay is a Hungarian composer. He was born 16 May 1945 in Subotica , in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia ; his name is pronounced in English similarly to "lave-ah-ee."...
and Michael Kunze
Michael Kunze (writer)
Michael Kunze is a German musical theater lyricist and librettist.He is best known for the hit musicals Elisabeth , Dance of the Vampires , Mozart! , and Rebecca ....
. The group was named after Levay, "Silver" being Levay's nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
. Kunze had in the late 1960s been a pop lyricist who wrote protest songs in German; when these tunes went out of style, he began producing pop records and commercials. Levay had developed a taste for American music while growing up in Yugoslavia, eventually becoming a music arranger and lyricist.
Using female session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
vocalists
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
for their first recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, they scored a successful
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1975 with the song "Save Me
Save Me (Silver Convention song)
"Save Me" is a 1975 single by Silver Convention, which became a hit in Germany. It also was heavily played in disco clubs in many countries. Silver Convention later re-recorded the song as Save Me '77. Today the original version of the song has appeared on several 70s disco compilations, as well as...
", which peaked at #30. They were only a studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
group, and realized then that they would need to find professional entertainers for presentation to the public.
They recruited vocalists Linda Thompson (real name Linda Übelherr, who would be billed on her solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
as Linda G. Thompson, formerly a member of Les Humphries Singers
Les Humphries Singers
The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s musical group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969 by the English born Les Humphries , who had been inspired to do his own version of the Edwin Hawkins Singers.The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end of the...
), Penny McLean (real name Gertrude Wirschinger) and Ramona Wulf (real name Ramona Kraft, born to a German mother and black American G.I. father). Their first production was the minor successful single named ironically "There Is Always Another Girl".
As Silver Convention they scored two major U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
hit singles. "Fly, Robin, Fly
Fly, Robin, Fly
"Fly, Robin, Fly" is a 1975 record by the German group Silver Convention. The song was released as a single from their 1975 album Save Me. In the United States, it rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975, staying there for three weeks. The single also was #1 on the soul singles chart...
," of which the complete lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
consisted of only six different words (Fly, Robin, Up, To, The, Sky), maintained three weeks at #1 in late November and early December 1975, and won the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance
Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance was awarded from 1970 to 1990 and in 1993. The award had several minor name changes:*From 1970 to 1985 the award was known as Best R&B Instrumental Performance...
. 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,...
by the R.I.A.A. in December 1975. Initially the song was titled "Run, Rabbit, Run", changed by the writers moments before the recording took place. Their next success "Get Up And Boogie", which also consisted of only six different words (Get, Up, And, Boogie, That's, Right), hit #1 in Canada on June 15, 1976, had 3 weeks at #2 in the U.S in June 1976 and also peaked at #7 in the UK, in May 1976. Their next release, "No No Joe," only scored #60 in September 1976. The further singles released by the trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
attempted to duplicate the sound that had made them successful briefly, but they were only minor successes. At this time, Linda G. Thompson left the group and was replaced by New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
er Rhonda Heath, who was chosen over other hopefuls at an open casting call to become the newest singer for the group.
Michael Kunze wrote the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
on the first two 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 under the pseudonym Stephan Prager. During this time the three singers released their own solo work. McLean and Thompson achieved hit singles with "Lady Bump" and "1, 2, 3, 4 ... Fire!", and "Ooh What a Night" respectively. Wulf's solo effort was only a moderate success.
Silver Convention represented Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition series, and was held on 7 May 1977 in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest was won by Marie Myriam who represented France, with her song "L'oiseau et l'enfant" . This was France's fifth victory, a record, which was equalled...
with "Telegram", finishing eighth. The entry had only 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...
lyrics (with considerably more words than their past hits), but was allowed to enter in spite of the language rule being reintroduced this year, because the song was chosen to represent Germany before the reintroduction was announced. In 1994, Rhonda Heath returned to Eurovision, providing backing vocals and keyboards for the German entry "Wir Geben 'Ne Party
Wir Geben 'Ne Party
"Wir geben 'ne Party" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, performed in German by Mekado...
" performed in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
by Mekado
Mekado
Mekado was a German girl group that represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with their song Wir Geben 'Ne Party. The group consisted of Melanie Bender, Kati Karney and Dorkas Kiefer....
. This entry did better than Silver Convention's effort, finishing third out of the 25 entries in Dublin.
With a new producer (John Davis), and a revised line-up of singers (Suzie McClosky aka Zenda Jacks, Rhonda Heath and Ramona Wulf), Silver Convention was successful again during 1978 with the album Love in a Sleeper. The 12" single
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
release from the LP was "Spend the Night With Me" backed with "Mission To Venus".
Levay also worked with Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, and Kunze began work with Jim Steinman
Jim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
. The solo careers of the three singers ended quickly and they left the music industry. Levay and Kunze later collaborated on the successful Vienna productions of the musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Elisabeth, Mozart! and Rebecca.
Cover versions
American jazzJazz
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...
flautist Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
recorded a cover version
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 "Fly, Robin, Fly" for his 1976 album, Bird in a Silver Cage, which was co-produced and arranged by Sylvester Levay. The Australian/British string quartet Bond
Bond (band)
Bond is an Australian/British string quartet that specialises in classical crossover music...
also recorded a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" for their 2004 album, Classified. In 2003, German lifestyle company Apartment20 produced a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly," which featured Ramona Wulf on lead vocals and in the video for the song.
Silver Convention's hit, "Get Up and Boogie," was re-tooled for a 2009 commercial for the "Snuggie" (sleeved blanket
Sleeved blanket
A sleeved blanket is a unisex body-length blanket with sleeves usually made of fleece or Velux material. It is similar in design to a bathrobe that is meant to be worn backwards...
).
Singles
- "Always Another Girl" (1974)
- "Fly, Robin, FlyFly, Robin, Fly"Fly, Robin, Fly" is a 1975 record by the German group Silver Convention. The song was released as a single from their 1975 album Save Me. In the United States, it rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975, staying there for three weeks. The single also was #1 on the soul singles chart...
" (1975) - "Tiger Baby" (1975)
- "Save MeSave Me (Silver Convention song)"Save Me" is a 1975 single by Silver Convention, which became a hit in Germany. It also was heavily played in disco clubs in many countries. Silver Convention later re-recorded the song as Save Me '77. Today the original version of the song has appeared on several 70s disco compilations, as well as...
" (1975) - "Get Up and Boogie" (1976)
- "No, No, Joe" (1976)
- "Dancing in the Aisles" (1976)
- "Everybody's Talking 'bout Love" (1976)
- "Boys from Liverpool" (1977)
- "Telegram" (1977)
- "Spend the Night with Me" (1978)
- "Café au Lait" (1979)
Albums
- Save MeSave Me (Silver Convention album)Save Me is the debut album of Silver Convention a disco group consisting of three female vocalists and two producers/songwriters .-Reception:...
(1975) - Get Up and BoogieGet Up and Boogie (album)Get Up and Boogie was the second album by German euro-disco group Silver Convention, and perhaps best known for including the song "Get Up and Boogie", which hit #1 on June 15, 1976 in Canada and charted in the top 5 in the United States. As with their previous album, the lyrics are minimalistic...
(alternate title for Silver Convention in some territories) (1976) - Silver Convention (alternate title for Get Up and Boogie in some territories) (1976)
- MadhouseMadhouse (Silver Convention album)Madhouse is a 1976 album by German euro-disco group Silver Convention, which at the time consisted of vocalists Penny McLean, Ramona Wolf and Rhonda Heath, along with producer-songwriters Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay. The album is considered to be "funkier" than their previous releases"...
(1976) - Summernights (alternate title for Golden Girls in some territories) (1977)
- Golden Girls (alternate title for Summernights in some territories) (1977)
- Greatest Hits (UK title) (1977)
- Best of Silver Convention (U.S. title; 2 LP set) (1978)
- Love in a Sleeper (1978)
- The Best of Silver Convention: Get Up and Boogie (1994)
- Get Up and Boogie with Silver Convention: Their Greatest Hits (2000)
See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart