Heintje turns 50

According to a radio documentary I just heard on German public radio, a little boy was born in rural Germany 50 years ago on August 12.  Flash forward to 1967.  Heintje (a Dutch diminutive: "our little Henry"), for that is his name, loves to entertain the guests in his parent's restaurant with his versions of hit tunes.  He loved to sing.  His voice itself was, you could say, a penetrating falsetto.  But "spine-cracking metallic falsetto" comes closer. 

Heintje wants to perform on the national star-search show Der goldene Schuss ("The Golden Shot").  His father, bemused, tells him he's really got no chance.  People aren't interested in the bathetically sentimental songs about Mommy that Heintje sings.  They're into those crazy Beatles, and those decidedly unwholesome Rolling Stones.  Surely some pale German imitation of these bands will win the contest.  But he lets Heintje perform anyway, wary of crushing the young boy's dreams.

So Heintje performs his bathetically sentimental ode to a Mother's love, titled simply "Mommy",  on Der goldene Schuss.  The lyrics are so ghastly that I refuse to translate them into English.  It could lead to a diplomatic incident. 

So who wins the show: Heintje, with his voice like a colony of enraged wasps stinging the listener's eardrum into pulp, or some more modern "beat" performer? 

Dear reader, do I even have to tell you?  If you are German, or if you know the tastes of a certain sector of German society, you know already.  Heintje wins, hands-down.  He then records an entire album, and receives payment in the form of a pony.  His records eventually make him a millionaire; the second-best selling recording artist in Germany -- right after the Beatles.  Then follows the usual child-star story; complete with a serious brush with the law. (No, not drugs, something to do, oddly enough, with a videocassette-pirating scheme).

The Heintje phenomenon eventually becomes impossible even for Germany's stuffiest newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) to ignore.  The paper usually maintains a dignified silence toward anything that has to do with popular culture in Germany, which is confined to the tabloid ghetto.  The FAZ, in 1970, eventually describes Heintje thus: "People just love him.  His voice spans three octaves, he can really belt it out and bring a song to life.  He sings utter garbage, but he knows how to draw his audience in."  After the reunification of East and West Germany, Heintje even enjoys yet another "mini-boom," caused by older East Germans using their new-found capitalist freedom to treat themselves to his innocent, eardrum-torturing melodies.

So, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, here's to Heintje, and here's to the fact that nobody in the English-speaking world will ever have to hear him sing!

Comments

[H Brink]

Well , I was born on August , the 11, same year as Heintje, and we all still love his songs

The best ever!

[Expat Dutchie]

What a shame that not all the info is correct. Heintje is born in Holland and not in germany. He was born in Limburg.

[Malcolm]

Hello All:
Well I must admit thyat is really fasinating. I grew up in Guyana and we had a DJ on the radio(Matthew Allen) who played "MAMA" by Heintje EVERY morning at 8.15a.m
The song bacame a signature tune and I have been searching for it ecery since. I am getting married in Nov and I would love to get a copy of the English version. It would be the tune I would dance with my Mum whi is 75 and still going strong.
One of the most memorable songs. It always brings tears of joy to me.

[Michele M ( S.Australia. )]

I remember my Year 7 teacher, Mr. Mc Guire, at LOCKLEYS NORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL in SOUTH AUSTRALIA, introducing us to the Beauuuuuuuuutiful voice of Heintje in the 70's. My parents bought me his LP album " You are the Best Of All " and i still have it today. Unfortunately, i havent been able to play it for about 18 or so years as i dont have a record player. I'd like to hunt down a CD so i can again listen and sing along to his addictive songs. I dont know what it is about them or his voice that has stayed with me for some 33 years or so, no other artist during my childhood or teens left me with the impact even today, that he did. He reminds me of the Pied Piper. Thankyou Mr. Mc Guire for introducing your students to a truly memorable voice and to learn an appreciation of music of a very different genre than what we were surrounded with.
Michele M.

[Helen]

For anyone interested in his music. Just checked it out on "E-BAY" So glad I found it myself. Truly sings beautiful, and it would be a treasure and pleasure to have it in my collection.
Is he still alive, and does he still sing? Does anyone have any information on him? Just wondering, if his voice has changed, and how it sounds no.

[P. Hoppe]

I grew up listening to Heintje in the 70s. My mom just loved him so we all had to listen as well and I have to say how utterly rude the above story about Heintje turning 50 is. Just because you don't like someone's singing style is no reason to insult someone. If you can't stand his singing so much, why bother even saying anything at all about him? I personally don't think he was all that bad. When my mother passed away, I "inherited" his self titled Heintje album and her old German radio and I throw the record on every so often to reminisce. Brings back a flood of memories.

[Linda]

Anyone in Australia who wants to buy Heintje CDs, can do so at Fishpond.com.au also Freddie Quinn and Peter Alexander. My husband loves all those songs, reminds him of growing up in Germany.

[Don]

Nederlands isn't a province of Germany, prof? How astonishing!

The Germany - it is a province of France, right? Or was it a province of Spain? Greece?

[Don]

Nederlands isn't a province of Germany, prof? How astonishing!

The Germany - it is a province of France, right? Or was it a province of Spain? Greece?

[profesorul]

Heintje was not born "in rural Germany"! He is DUTCH, born in Kerkrade.
Netherlands is a country, not a german province.

[Bob]

Hi to everyone. I found this site when I was searching infos about Heintje. I saw him for the 1st time in 1990 in an old German film (i think at SAT 1). I am from Slovakia, but we had a comunism so we hadn ´t a chance to hear aro see whatever from a "capitalist" world. But when I saw him for a first time, I was wondering about his wonderfull voice. And now I try to find some albums with him.

[paula williams]

I also remember listening to heintje, my dad was in the armed forces and was stationed in minden germany in the early 70s.
My mum used to put the old german radio gramm/record player on for my sister and i and we would sit for hours listening to heintje.
We had 3 albums and he sang in german then english.
sadley we only have one album left and my sister has it who lives in middlesbrough,shes the only one with a record player!
I still love listening to his music on youtube.

[Mary Lou Pratt]

I'm a 54 year-old American, and I discovered a Heinje album in a bin of miscellaneous albums and bought it out of curiosity . . . back in about 1972. I loved his voice and his music. I've always adored child singers of every kind. For the next few years, I searched the world trying to find more Heinje records (remember how hard that was to do before The Internet).
The story I remember uncovering in my research indicated that a talent scout had heard him singing in the restaurant where his mother was a waitress. Allegedly, people would put money in a jukebox to hear him sing along. The scout was supposedly the one that suggested he sing in the contest. I've never been able to get any Heinje VHS or DVD's that work on American format players, so I'm happy to see people posting videos of his on the web.
Mary Lou Pratt (United States)

[Frances]

I remember Heintje when my children were small 1960s and he is not forgotten here in New Zealand. Each week-end a local radio station plays
music for our hospital patients and the people of Timaru. New Zealand. Requests are phoned in and you would be surprised how often Heintje is requested and is played. The most popular one is "I'm Your Little Boy"
I am in my 70s now and my children in their late 40s and early 50s. Have never heard him singing as an adult as a rumour circulated years ago that he had committed suicide. Just goes to show one can't believe everything one hears.
Cheers Heintje fans

[Desert Rose]

Well, I am happy to report that we know of Heintje in Guyana, South America. A country with a population of just 750,000 folks. I grew up hearing the album You are the best. I would love to find this album for my Mom and Aunt who are in their 70's. Mom will be 75 in 2008. So if anyone can tell me, including Mr. Simons, quite a few people in Guyana would be happy.

Cheers

[poopsie]

Hi. It is interesting how Heintje is remembered by people from different parts of the world. I am from the Philippines...yes, Philippines. As a child, I fondly remember watching a movie of Heintje and had a deep crush for him that I carried for a long time. Now I remember to search him on the internet and as I read all these sentiments that you have, I break into a soft smile and reminisce the sweet innocence of childhood :) Belated birthday wishes to him wherever he may be and I wish him luck and all the best.

[Budi Rahardjo]

You'll be surprised how populer Heintje was. I was a little boy, here in Indonesia (yes ... Indonesia), when Heintje was so popular. His movie was also popular back then. Heck I was still in elementary school, but I even wanted to become Heintje. Interesting, isn't it?

[Marietjie]

ek is n groot bewonderaar van Heintje, en sal graag van sy dvds/cd's wil bekom. Waar kan ek dit in Namibie opspoor asseblief

[kenneth thompson]

i have recently found two LP's by heintje in london both in very good condition which i asked my mother in-law about all i need now is a record player to listen to them on !!

[Judith Pryer]

Hi Heintje fans

Heintje cds can be found on www.amazon.co.uk.

I have been trying to find a dvd of his film "Ich sing ein lied fur dich" which I saw at the cinema in Hong Kong in 1970.

Does anybody know where I can find one?

Judith

[Stelios Rouchotas]

Als ich ein Knabe war,gab mir meine Deutschlehrerin Wilma (eine deutsch-sprachige Slowenin) Heitjes Schallplatte mit diesem so lieben Stück "Mama" als Geschenk,noch heute,40 Jahre später bewahre ich noch die Schallplatte und höre sie von Zeit zu Zeit--die Interpretation Heintjes war wirklich so einzigartig! Schade dass man heutzutage solche Musik weder singt noch macht...

[Einsteinway]

just tonight, i saw heintje's very classical film HEINTJE einmal wird die Sonne scheinen. his voice as bright as the sunshine and the story as beautiful as all those "once upon a time. it's wunderbar! and the fortunate thing is that there are still many people listening to him now, pity is that his cds and lps are no longer so easy to collect.

[doug miller]

I must have heard Heitje on the Mike Douglas or Merv Griffin shows in the early 70s. We bought 2 albums, played them to death, and, just recently, I bought a record player and played the Mama album for the first time in 30 years. His voice is still amazing. I too have wondered how to find a CD of it since the record is very scratchy.

[Linda Stouffer]

There are no Heintje CD's that I know of in English.... but there are several LP's on ebay. Some in english, some german and some dutch. I love my old LP from the 70's... and play it a lot. Looking to get more on ebay. All my family loves Hentje.

[SUSAN WENZEL]

HI, I'M SO GLAD I FINALLY FOUND INFO ABOUT
HEINTJE! ANYONE I'VE EVER ASK DOESEN'T KNOW
HIM OR ABOUT HIS MUSIC, AND I'M ON A MISSION SERIOUSLY. SEEMS AS THOUGH ONLY OUR FAMILY KNOWS OF HIM BECAUSE WE GREW UP LISTENING TO HIS WONDERFUL ALBUM "MAMA" (ENGLISH VERSION) YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS VERY LITTLE MY FATHER HEARD HIM ON HIS RADIO STATION (WGN-CHICAGO,IL) HE SEARCHED
FOR HIS ALBUM FOUND IT, PLAYED IT OVER AND OVER. I STILL REMEMBER THE LYRICS... JUST BEAUTIFUL! I ALSO REMEMBER THE TEARS MY DAD AND MY AUNT SHED AT TIMES ON HOLIDAYS, I TOOK THE ALBUM HOME WITH ME AFTER I MOVED OUT. SO.... LATE NIGHT HOLIDAYS WOULDN'T BE MY DAUGHTERS FOGGY SAD MEMORIES AS AT A YOUNG AGE AS SHE WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND OR APPRECIATE AS I DID, AND DO NOW. BUT, SOMEONE STOLED THE ALBUM FROM ME ONE HOLIDAY, NOBODY KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO IT 20 YEARS LATER. SO IM STILL LOOKING FOR HEINTJE'S MAMA CD, ALBUM ETC.
LAST WEEKEND WHILE CUTTING ROSE BUSHES AND PULLING WEEDS I FOUND MYSELF SINGING WHAT I COULD REMEMBER. I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY FATHER OF WHOM I MISS VERY MUCH-I THINK HE INSPIRED MY NEW MISSION. I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE HEINTJE'S MAMA CD (ENGLISH VERSION I REMEMBER SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL SONGS WERE SONG IN BOTH GERMAN AND ENGLISH)
I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE ALBUM COVER HEINTJA WAS WEARING A BLACK SUIT ALBUM COVER TOO WAS BLACK BUT THE BRIGHT LIGHT SHINED ON HIM LIKE AN ANGEL. I CAN STILL HEAR MY DAD BRAGGING ABOUT HIM, AND THE STORY OF WHEN HE HEARD HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME HE FINALLY FOUND IT, NOW IT'S MY TURN, FOR MY DAD, AND MY FAMILY. I KNOW MY DAUGHTER WOULD LOVE IT AS I DO, SHE'S 25 NOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND IT. SUE W.