A walk in the Black Forest

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: bubblyrat
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:11 PM

That"s a very interesting list, Manfred. I think that the actual tune used for " No Other Love Have I " was written by Richard Rodgers, & was from one of his War Suites, possibly Victory At Sea, while the tune of "Stranger in Paradise " was by ,I think , Rimsky Korsakov, or someone like that !!! A surprising number of well-known popular songs in the English language have borrowed heavily from classical composers--- One here a few years ago used the Troika from Prokofiev"s "Lieutenant Kije " to good effect.

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 12:00 PM

In the folk world there must be some examples too, Manfred.

One that springs to mind is the song by the Fureys (not sure if they wrote the lyrics?) about O'Carolan, set to one of his tunes (Planxty Irwin).

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Leadbelly
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 11:21 AM

Scrump- worldwide,there are a lot of examples:

Zambesi - Stargazers
Dance on - Kathy Kirby
Swinging Shephard Blues - Ella Fitzgerald
Faithful Hussar - Vera Lynn
Bluebell Polka - Alma Cogan
No other Love - Ronnie Hilton
Stranger in Paradise - Tony Bennett
Hot diggity - Perry Como
Stranger on the shore - as mentioned plus Bobby Rydell
Canadian Sunset - Andy Williams
Never on a sunday - Chordettes
Skokiaan - Four Lads
aso,aso.

Manfred

Could be an interesting new thread

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 09:46 AM

Can't say I'm impressed by the lyrics, although I would guess Salena Jones would make a good job of them.

There are a few other instrumental hits that had lesser known vocal versions. I can remember these for starters:

Stranger on the Shore (original instrumental version by Acker Bilk; vocal version by Michael London)

Spanish Flea (orig instr version by Herb Alpert; vocal version by Kathy Kirby)

Cast Your Fate To The Wind (orig instr Sounds Orchestral; vocal version Shelby Flint)

I think the last vocal version was a US hit but the other two didn't make the charts in the UK or US, unlike the original instrumental versions. Kathy Kirby charted with her vocal version of Dance On, but the Shadows' instrumental version (released about the same time) was a bigger hit (reached UK top 3).

Can anyone think of any more? (Sorry this is off topic, maybe I should have started a separate thread)

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Leadbelly
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 09:41 AM

Bubblyrat, is that true..A wok in...?

"It was just a nice ,jolly, lively, tune,with a rather evocative title !! How could it fail to seduce a sentimental nation like the British ?? You"ll never understand us, will you ? !!!!"
Apart from "never understanding british people" to which I do not agree to because I'm coming from Hamburg (known as most british feeling/minded town compared to total Germany)your statement seems to be reasonable.

Additionally, heavy rotation/playing by dj's on the radio could have been the rest of this successful story.

And last but not least, "Black Forest" by Horst was an instrumental, i.e. without any words. If he would have included some singing e.g. by himself I would doubt any success in the UK. Apart from Heinz (Just like Eddie)and some sidemen in groups I cannot remember any german artist who has had a smash hit in your country. Am I right?

Manfred

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: bubblyrat
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 08:26 AM

The piece even enjoyed some success in the Orient, I believe, where it was used as the theme tune for a Chinese cookery programme, and was known as " A Wok In The Black Forest ".

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: GUEST,Mark Dowding at work
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 08:06 AM

JennyO

The episode of the Goodies is called "Radio Goodies":

(from Wikipedia)

The Goodies want to start a radio station, but Tim's and Bill's dreams of 'groupie girls', and also Graeme's only line in their jingle – "BOM!" – are soon put on hold; their application is delayed in the post, so they miss out on a licence to broadcast from the BBC. The trio decide to start a pirate radio station and, based on a disgruntled suggestion from Tim about the postal service, Graeme is inspired to start a pirate post office at the same time.

'Radio Goodies' is later launched from a huge submarine, with entry through a hatch which, working on the ice berg principle, has been disguised as a small rowing boat called "The Saucy Gibbon" with the words "Not a Pirate Radio Station" painted on the side.

Unfortunately, things are not off to a great start when Tim discovers that they only have one record ("A Walk in the Black Forest"), because Bill has not had enough money to buy any other records for their radio station....

This was the last episode in series 1 broadcast on Dec 20th 1970.

Cheers
Mark

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: GUEST,Mark Dowding at work
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 08:02 AM

I didn't realise that this had words to it! Just found them after a google.

Why certain tunes/songs become hits can be a bit of a mystery - Terry Wogan's abysmal performance of "The Floral Dance" left a lot to be desired but it reached no 27 in the charts.

Air play by certain DJs have given songs a boost that they wouldn't normally have and once they hit the charts I think there's a requirement to put them on the playlist (may be wrong here - don't quote me)- Chart placing would almost certainly guarantee an appearance on TV progs like "Top of the Pops". I'm sure Jasper Carrott and Mike Harding wouldn't disagree with that. I gather "Funky Moped" by Carrott charted because of the record being bought for the "B" side - "Magic Roundabout" rather than the "A" side.

Richard Clayderman had a hit with "Ballade pour Adeline" which made his name - never heard of him before then!

Cheers
Mark

A Walk in the Black Forest*
Words & Music by Kal Mann & Horst Jankowsky
Recorded by Horst Jankowski, 1965 (#12)
Vocal recorded by Salena Jones, 1966


      A          D9    Bm7-5      A
The trees join hands and say, "Hello,"

Fdim A       D9   Cdim    A
And suddenly ev'rywhere we go

Edim D9 Bm7-5 E7 Cm7-5   E7   Fdim A   F#m D9 E7
The sun          beams through in fun.


Fdim A          D9      Bm7-5    A
The leaves form patterns like a heart

Fdim A       D9   Cdim    A
And whisper forever "Never part."

Edim D9 Bm7-5 E7 Cm7-5 E7 Fdim A    C#7
Be true,       'cause I love you.


Bridge:

A9      Am       A9    Am Bm7-5 Am7 Cdim Am   E7
Shadows    write words of love   a - cross our path;

F#7 Gdim F#7   
Birds sing,

    C#7 Gdim D9   Bm7-5 E   Cdim   E   D9    A    E7
"How luck - y those whose love just grows to - geth - er."


A         D9       Bm7-5    A
Blades of grass stand on and on

Fdim A       D9   Cdim   A
And chatter together in a calm

C#m7-5 D9 Bm7-5 E7 Cm7-5 E7 Fdim F#7
That's green         and   so ser - ene,

Edim E7    D9 E7 D9 Bm7-5 E7/6 A
A   mem - 'ry of our walk   of love.



A      D9    Bm7-5       A
In a dream, a stream goes by

Fdim   A            D9    Cdim    A
Re - flec - ting a message from the sky

Edim D9 Bm7-5 E7 Cm7-5   E7   Fdim A   F#m D9 E7
A - bove

Fdim A       D9      Bm7-5 A
And here and there we look around

Fdim A       D9   Cdim       A
To see other lovers who have found

Edim D9 Bm7-5 E7 Cm7-5 E7 Fdim A    C#7
Their way.


Bridge 2:

A9          Am A9   Am Bm7-5 Am7 Cdim Am E7
Crick - ets tap out their sym - pho - ny in code;

F#7 Gdim F#7   
Rab - bits

C#7 Gdim D9 Bm7-5    E Cdim    E   D9    A   E7
Run hel - ter skel - ter find - ing shel - ter here.


    A       D9   Bm7-5    A
And flowers swaying in the breeze

Fdim A         D9    Cdim    A
Look up to the branches of the trees

C#m7-5 D9 Bm7-5 E7 Cm7-5 E7   Fdim F#7
And sing            as birds take wing --

Edim E7 D9 E Edim E7   D9 Bm7-5 E7/6 A
All this is true       'cause I   love you.



*Originally titled "Schwarzwaldenfahrt," this song has also been recorded as "I Walk With You." Dual attribution on performer is more than appropriate here, as is dual attribution of the title. Jankowski's instrumental version even now is certainly the best-remembered of the two; but Jones' version, though much less well-known, is one of the few I've found that actually includes a vocal. Officially, this melody has two titles (both shown above in the title area) because only the version named "I Walk With You" actually has lyrics.

From www.theguitarguy.com/awalkint.htm

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: JennyO
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 06:39 AM

Anyone remember "The Goodies"? There was an episode where "A Walk in the Black Forest" was played over and over and over and over again - ad nauseam. Don't remember much else about that episode really.

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 06:30 AM

I must admit, at the time, thinking back, I was slightly puzzled why this tune was so popular. It's pleasant enough, but IMO not any better than many other tunes by other artists. And IIRC HJ never followed it up with any more hits. Maybe as Leadbelly says, it somehow got a lot of airplay or something? I can't recall when I first heard it, but it was probably already in the charts by then.

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: bubblyrat
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 06:15 AM

Manfred--- It was just a nice ,jolly, lively, tune,with a rather evocative title !! How could it fail to seduce a sentimental nation like the British ?? You"ll never understand us, will you ? !!!!

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Leadbelly
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 05:34 AM

Thanks for your approaches to explain Horst's success, Hamish and Scrump. It's true that there was a more greater variety of music than in follow-up decades.
But nevertheless, I'm going on to believe in heavy promotion organized by the record company (Polydor ?) or another event which led to this success because I cannot remember chart entries by german artists with comparable success. Even Bert Kämpfert didn't manage to enter the top ten with his original orchestra. And he was much more "better" than one hit wonder Jankowski.
On the other hand it well can be that there was a subliminal demand for this tune in connection with "Black Forest = Schwarzwald" which possibly was/is regarded as typical for Germany like Heidelberg, Loreley, Sauerkraut, Edelweiss (by Vince Hill ?) and other things.

Manfred

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Scrump
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 04:31 AM

As Hamish says, the UK pop charts in the early 1960s, prior to the takeover by guitar/drum combos in the wake of the Beatles, seemed to be filled with a great variety of music. Much of it would be called "easy listening" these days - ballads by male or female solo singers, instrumentals by Russ Conway, Acker Bilk, etc., and trad jazz by the likes of Acker (again, but in different vein!), Kenny Ball, etc. Then there were novelty or comic songs by the likes of Bernard Cribbins, Anthony Newley, and others. And of course the rock 'n' roll type pop from Cliff & The Shadows, Elvis and others, followed by all those beat groups.

Even today you get the occasional record in the charts that seems out of place/time, but tghey are rarer than they once were. I guess that the record buying public didn't care as much about whether the music they liked was 'cool' or not, as they seem to do today.

Subject: RE: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Hamish
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 04:23 AM

Every now and then in that era, and the years leading up to it, there'd be the weird oddity creep in: Van Der Valk theme and Stranger on the Shore are two that come to mind. There were quite a few by Russ Conway - Sidesaddle was his big one, wasn't it? - and others...

When it was charting in August 1965, according to a quick Google, we also saw What's New Pussycat (Tom Jones), Everyone's Gone To The Moon (Jonathan King), Zorba's Dance (Marcello Minerbi) and something called Darlin' Jill (Hugo Montenegro Orchestra) so maybe it wasn't quite such a novelty?

--
Hamish

Subject: A walk in the Black Forest
From: Leadbelly
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 03:19 AM

Hi,
thinking of great Horst Jankowski one question comes into my mind: why his 60' version of "A walk in the black forest" has been such a relatively great success in british charts?
As a german, I cannot fully understand this because it wasn't rock, folk, real pop or something else esteemed in this decade.
Was this success caused by a british tour, TV-appearance or big promotion by a record company?
For a better understandig: I like this track, but I still feel helpless in explaining why this happened.
Would/ could somebody please tell me?

Thanks in advance,

Manfred from German