Pop anthology (126): Don't ask stupid questions

There are great and touching moments in pop music.

Think of “Blackstar”, David Bowie's last album, which was released exactly two days before his death.

With their song "Auf Wiedersehen, my dear", the Comedian Harmonists celebrate their farewell to their fans, to each other and - at least for half of the formation - to Germany. On their last tour of the country, they sang a piece that is melancholy and catchy. Although or precisely because it seems too fast for a punk, it stands for the turbulent times in which it worked and emotionally picks up on what is in store for the musicians: three of the six musicians will emigrate shortly, the others will try to get along with the Arrange conditions in the Third Reich - and ultimately fail. Text and music from “Auf Wiedersehen, my dear” combine with the upcoming events to form a painful unity for admirers and artists.

They looked good, had a perfectly formed appearance and were magically harmonious - even though the sextet couldn't have been more different in origin and socialization. But maybe that's why. Harry Frommermann, third tenor and founder of the group, was a Berlin-born scion of a German-Russian family of Jewish faith; the second tenor, Erich A. Collin, who joined in 1929, was also a Berliner with Jewish roots. The first tenor Ari Leschnikoff was Bulgarian, while the baritone Roman Cycowski came from Poland and was a devout Jew. Pianist Erwin Bootz and the bass voice Robert Biberti were considered "thoroughbred Germans". In order to understand the fate of the Comedian Harmonists and the last concerts of the group, this classification is important.It will have a massive impact on the life plans of the musicians and the career of the formation.

Today one would say that the Comedian Harmonists brought - besides their enormous ability - a remarkable diversity to their singing. The charm, the melancholy, their wit, but also the warmth amazed the contemporaries. Compared to the model of the Harmonists, the American Revelers, you can hear how awesome they were (music from both formations can be found on YouTube and on the streaming services). Frommermann came to “his” group via newspaper advertisement: On December 18, 1927, the “Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger” read: “Attention. Rarely. Tenor, bass (professional singer, not over 25), very musical, beautiful-sounding voices, wanted for a unique ensemble, specifying the daily available time. Ej. 25 Scherl branch, Friedrichstr. 136. “That he actually found fellow campaigners and was able to keep them was astonishing.Because at first he couldn't pay his colleagues. For this reason, say Peter Czada and Günter Große in their book “Comedian Harmonists. A vocal ensemble is conquering the world, ”Johannes Heesters hadn't been able to make up his mind to take part. So you had to have a bit of a vision to join the ensemble. On Comedian-harmonists.net you can read that Biberti was reluctant to respond to the ad: “I didn't think much of this ad. I remember, however, that my mother said: 'Oh God, just write down there, maybe this is something for you.' "So you had to have a bit of a vision to join the ensemble. On Comedian-harmonists.net you can read that Biberti was reluctant to respond to the ad: “I didn't think much of this ad. I remember, however, that my mother said: 'Oh God, just write down there, maybe this is something for you.' "So you had to have a bit of a vision to join the ensemble. On Comedian-harmonists.net you can read that Biberti was reluctant to respond to the ad: “I didn't think much of this ad. I remember, however, that my mother said: 'Oh God, just write down there, maybe this is something for you.' "