Rolf Zuckowski (born 12 May 1947) is a German singer-songwriter. He has written and composed music especially for children, [1] but his songs are very popular among adults, too. His compositions involve children in music throughout their childhood and accompany their daily life. Meanwhile, many of his songs have attained the status of Folk songs. [2]
Zuckowski was born in Hamburg, Germany, and attended the Albrecht-Thaer-Gymnasium, where he completed his abitur. [3] He gained his first skills and experience as a musician in school at the age of 18. He was part of the school band "The BeAthovens," where he played the guitar and sang. In 1967, he released his first album, "Happy to be happy," and began to study Economics at Hamburg University. [3] After his graduation in 1972, Zuckowski worked for the music publishing firm International Music Publishers Hans Sikorski.
As a producer, composer and conductor, Zuckowski composed songs for several artists, such as the Swiss music group Peter, Sue & Marc. Together, they, repeatedly, took part in the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 1978, he released his first record for children, "Rolfs Vogelhochzeit" (Rolf's Wedding of the Birds) which is a German singspiel. In this record, he sings and tells the story of a bird couple that marries, builds a nest, and cares for offspring. Many songs followed, and Zuckowski's popularity increased. In 1979, Zuckowski published the album "Rolfs Schulweg-Hitparade," which promotes road safety to children in a musical manner. The album is a cooperation with the German aid agencies Ein Herz für Kinder (A Heart for Children) and "Kind und Verkehr."
Zuckowski became popular on the radio and gained international recognition with the song "Du da im Radio," the LP/MC "Radio Lollipop," and the radio-series "Hallo du da." He gained more recognition through several television appearances: In the German television series ZDF-Hitparade, he achieved the first place with his song "...und ganz doll mich." In 1982, he was invited to perform his songs "...und ganz doll mich" and, in 1987, "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei" (In the Christmas bakery) [4] in the entertainment television show Wetten, dass? (German for "Wanna Bet That...?").
In 1983, Zuckowski made the drafts for the album Tabaluga, for which he also composed various songs. The album turned into a great success. One year later, he developed the television show "Große Show für kleine Leute." In 1990, "Rolfs Vogelhochzeit" was shown on the German TV channel ZDF. Two years later, his song cycle "die Jahresuhr" and the new "Schulweg-Hitparade" were published as videos. In 1994, he set up his own company under the umbrella of the Universal Music Group. In 1999, he published the children's musical Der kleine Tag .
The hit theme song "We are the children of the Suderhof" from the popular children's TV show Neues vom Süderhof was composed by Zuckowski. [5]
Zuckowski has released 45 studio albums, 1 audio play, 2 live albums, 8 Christmas albums, 9 video albums, 14 compilations, 1 boxset, and 45 singles. [6]
Some of Zuckowski's other famous works are the songs "Wie schön, dass du geboren bist" (How wonderful it is that you were born), "Stups, der kleine Osterhase," and "Kommt wir woll’n Laterne laufen." He also writes songs for adults and sees himself as a singer songwriter for the whole family.
Dieter Bohlen is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of the pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German and international artists. He is also a judge on casting shows Deutschland sucht den Superstar and Das Supertalent.
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Helen Schneider is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany.
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Andrea Ferber, known professionally as Andrea Berg, is a German schlager singer. She performed at carnivals as a child and began her career in 1992 after being discovered by record producer Eugen Römer. While she released her first studio album Du bist frei that same year, her commercial breakthrough took place with its follow-up Gefühle, released in 1995. The collaboration between Berg and Römer spawned a string of commercially successful albums, with her albums Machtlos (2003), Du (2004), Splitternackt (2006), and Zwischen Himmel & Erde (2009) topping the German charts. Her compilation album Best Of, released in 2001, is the album that spent the most weeks on the charts in Germany and Austria. Between 2010 and 2018, Berg worked with Dieter Bohlen, who produced her albums Schwerelos (2010), Abenteuer (2011), Atlantis (2013), and Seelenbeben (2016), all of which topped the German and Austrian album charts.
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The Goldene Stimmgabel was an annual prize awarded within the German music scene from 1981 to 2007.
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Oliver Michael Dittrich is a German television personality, comedian, actor, and musician.
Neues vom Süderhof is a German children's television series. The heart of the series is the five Brendel children who live on the Süderhof farm. Dr. Günther Brendel is a veterinarian, and his wife Sonia is an author who is writing a book about parenting. They live with their two daughters, Bimbo and Molle, and next-door live Grandma and Grandpa Brendel. After Günther's brother and sister-in-law are killed in a plane crash, Sonia and Günther adopt their children, Dany, Peggy, and Benny. Thus, the series chronicles the experiences of these five children and their lives on the Süderhof farm.
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Dieter Thomas Heck was a German television presenter, singer and actor. He is known as the presenter of the popular TV program ZDF-Hitparade, featuring German Schlager music, from 1969 to 1984, reaching millions of people. As an actor, he starred in the TV play Das Millionenspiel in 1970.
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Gerd Günther Grabowski, better known by his stage name G. G. Anderson, is a German Schlager singer, composer, and music producer.
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