Klaus Wunderlich - Tribute Site

About Me

This site is a tribute to the master of all things keyboard related and one of the greatest exponent and interpreters of the Hammond and Moog - ever. The following is a brief biography which should help introduce to the genius that is Klaus: Klaus Wunderlich was born to a policeman in the Saxony town of Chemnitz in 1930. As a teenager he worked for the local opera rehearsing singers but soon chose popular music over classical. By 1951 he was ready to tour West Germany, which led to a standing gig at the Tiny Cabaret Simple in Mannheim. Here he was playing winsomely in a beer hall, and the owner and patrons liked him enough to buy an expensive organ. Then Telefunken found and signed him.Wunderlich experimented with the Hammond, as all the great pop organists have done, to discover and add to its range of extraordinary sounds. It was not long before he was using organ and early synthesizer to reproduce strings, horns, and so forth. To overcome the early synthesizer's one-note-at-a-time limitation, he became an expert at multi-tracking, effects, and other production wizardry.The magic was not all technical, however. Wunderlich, like a benign Black Forest gnome, played music that pandered to popular taste but also pushed the boundaries for keyboardists. He wrote some great tunes and arranged many others in a zany way not seen since Lenny Dee, whose career was peaking as Wunderlich picked up the baton. Wunderlich shared Ethel Smith's affinity for Latin and Brasilian rhythms, Lenny Dee's zany pop sense, and Jean-Jacques Perrey's lighthearted invention and technical facility.A long series of albums for Telefunken included some Moog albums and demos for the Wersi super-organ, which was something like a Hammond stuffed with Moog capabilities. The Hammond Pops and other Wunderlich albums are notorious, mainly because the music and jackets are rife with cheese and cheesecake. There is a lot of "mush" to sift through, to be sure, but fine gems twinkle there too, as if out of a fairy tale by the brothers Grimm.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 24/06/2007
Band Members: Klaus Himself - No one else is needed
Record Label: telefunken
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Baris Manco Video Added

Hi all, I've just discovered Baris Manco - I suggest you do the same. Check the video on the site J
Posted by on Sat, 10 May 2008 12:05:00 GMT

Download Fortnight

Hi all, I know I shouldn't - but hey - feel free to download for the next two weeks - I'm sure Klaus wouldn't have minded! Enjoy J
Posted by on Sat, 10 May 2008 11:42:00 GMT

All change on the Klaus Wunderlich Tribute Site

Hi everyone, Come and visit the site, new songs added, I have decided to have a moog month - all songs added from the 'Sound 2000' album. Some 'hits' and some 'misses' - let me know what you think! So...
Posted by on Mon, 05 May 2008 02:14:00 GMT

New Year New Tunes

Hello all and a happy new year Come to the site and check out some fresh tunes from the album The Very Best of Klaus Wunderlich, a belated tribute to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Klaus's death ...
Posted by on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:33:00 GMT

Have a Happy Hammond Christmas

To all friends of the Klaus Wunderlich Tribute site - a very Happy Hammond Christmas to you all. Enjoy yourselves and I hope to hear from you all again in the new year when some new anti-winter happy ...
Posted by on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:14:00 GMT

Christmas tunes from Klaus

Hi everyone, Over the next few days I will be adding some tracks from 'Keys for Christmas'. The album features a series of medleys of classic christmas melodies. Unfortunately they are very long so I ...
Posted by on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:07:00 GMT

Best of Klaus Fortnight

New tunes added for the next fortnight from the 'Best of Klaus Wunderlich' album. Some classic interpretations of some wonderful oldies. Come back often as I will be updating regularly during the fort...
Posted by on Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:50:00 GMT

New Background - guess the obscure reference (or not so obscure)

The wallpaper needed changing - let me know if you like it - if not I can change it again Klaus
Posted by on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:26:00 GMT

Lucy and Emily - 18th Birthday

Klaus sends his best wishes and Hammond sounding melodies to Lucy and Emily on their big day. Drinks are on you now - mines a Stein of Schofferhoffer!
Posted by on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:30:00 GMT

In The Miller Mood?

Klaus just loved Glenn Miller and so to keep his spirit happy I am uploading four of his best Glenn Miller interpretations for a couple of weeks. New friends to the site welcome (my first from the Cz...
Posted by on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 09:48:00 GMT