Hermann Lammers Meyer ..s Country Style
by Geoff Wilbur
You think all the best country vocal talent is in North America ?
Think again. I consider myself privileged to have heard one of
Europe..s best entries to the country music fray --- Germany..s
Hermann Lammers Meyer.
Say..s Hermann."Well, I have to say, life has been treating me
pretty good lately, .......and I am very happy with that. I was just
inducted to the Lone Star State CMA..International Hall of Fame,
the Independent CMA of Germany gave me the "Single Of The
Year 2ooo Award for my songs "Rose of the mountains" and "She
dances alone", I have a lot of gigs to play in Germany and in many
other European places this year, and I got my family, my wife Anke
and my son Mark Shane...
and everything works fine. Also my last album "I..d Like To Live It Again"
did real well, and I think the title of this CD project already sums
it up pretty good."
That covers the present pretty well, but what about the past?
Hermann recalls his start:"I formed my band in 1973, played guitar
and sang mostly cover songs by Buck Owens, Johnny Cash or Merle
Haggard, Commander Cody or the New Riders Of The Purple Sage,
which was much unusual for German audiences and
musicians too, but somehow I always seemed to find new people that
kinda liked this style of music and were with me on what I did."
"As we kinda played hillbilly music," Hermann continues, "I chose to
name the band "Emsland Hillbillies" - that..s the region we live here in
Northwest Germany, right next to the Holland boarder.
I think my first bite of country music I heard was a Jim Reeves song
on AFN Radio/American Forces Radio, back in the early ..6os, that
was when the tone of a steel guitar electrified me, and this never let go
of me. And the magic thing about this is, the guy that played the steel
back then was the one and only Jimmy Day, and how could I know
that years and years later Jimmy Day would kinda be responsible for
my first solo CD project at Willie Nelson..s Pedernales Studio in
Spicewood Texas, (also involved to that was my good friend Juergen Koop
from Bremerhaven-Germany, who lives in Dripping Springs,Texas by now.)
Jimmy Day played his magic steel for me on almost all of my recordings
..till the day he died, which was tragic. Jimmy also introduced my to
Buddy Emmons, and we cut a lot of my songs with the two world-best
steel players, back to back. By the way, Jimmy Day was brought into my
life by Clay Blaker from New Braunfels, Texas, who I exchanged European
and Texas Tours with so many times. Clay was a big influence to me and my
music, the way I do it nowadays."
Hermann has played with some big names , even in Luckenbach, the New Braunfels Wurstfest,
Dallas, Houston, Laredo ....over the years.
He remembers, "oooohhhhh, through all those years I shared the stage with, or played with,
-or played steel guitar for ... Johnny Bush, "Pretty Miss" Norma Jean,
Willie Nelson, The Bellamy Brothers, Dave Dudley, David Allan Coe,
.. yes,
(Bill Monroe, too - we even did a live concert session with him in Neusüdende
Germany (back around 1974, I guess)- with drums, accordion,steel guitar,
electric lead guitar , man, the bluegrass world was shocked-
and I still got a tape of that......) (-released on a Bear Family Box by now 2oo6)
...also played with Billy Walker, Commander Cody, George Highfill ,George Strait at the Cheatam Street Warehouse in New Braunfels , also with David Frizzell and many others.
I think my kind of music, from CD or live,
is appreciated by both, the listening audience and the dance or party-crowds
as we play a pretty wide music-spectrum with the band on road gigs .. yes,
I usualy have three more front singers and a front girl singer that I take".
Of cource, there have been many awards, too. Says Hermann," I received
all kinds of awards through the years, and I am realy proud of each of them,
but now major record company realy had serious thoughts about signing me,
and by now that..s fine with me. I guess my music is too country- Bill
Anderson just wrote a song about the question,"what is - too country -",
and he hit the nail..s head. I like the fiddle and steel music and good, honest
lyrics, that..s what a lot of fans do too, and hell, I almost sold 3ooo copies of
my LAST COUNTRY SONG Album on my own - you see, Desert Kid Records
is my own little company, and I am the president, the promoter, the distributer,
the artist and the coffeeboy , all in one person. But yes, if any of the record-companies
out there is willing to sign me for a special CD project, or lease some of my stuff,
contact me - that would be good."
And Hermann..s music is heard all over the world. He notes,"Oh, I get calls, faxes
and e-mails with playlists and comments from all over the world. Someone
recently sent me a cassette of a radio program from Tokio,Japan which featured
an our of my songs. I am realy thankfull for that, and this makes the boy from
Aschendorf-Germany feel real good. I get lotsa airplay in Australia,New Zealand,
Africa,England,Scandinavia and also in the USA, and of cource the rest of Europe
including my homeland. In November, I climbled up to number 1o at the Worldwide
Most Played Artist Charts and peaked at number 7 on the EMS European Media
Service Harts in Europe ... and " das ist gut". I sure thank all those great radio
DJs and fans for that."
Hermann recalled earlier in his career," Right after I started my music career, in 1977,
a producer from Hamburg-Germany, Achim Reichel, singer of the world famous
Rattles (Beat) Band, wanted me to record my kind of music with German lyrics, and
I did that. So we cut 2 LPs like that, and they sold very good, but .. that was not
what I realy wanted; I wanted to stay authentic and stick with English lyrics, so we
had to part and I went my way, - but now, a few years back, when I celebrated
my 25 Year Stage Anniversary, with my band The Emsland Hillbillies - I cut a new
German lyric country album, "ZEITLOS", which a lot of people- most of my early
fans - liked very much. It contains a new recorded version of the Ray Wylie
Hubbard-inspired song "Liebe Mama", recorded in Nashville with Buddy Emmons,
Buddy Spicher, Pete Wade and all them good old boys. Oh, yes, I also did
a german version of Guy Clark..s "Desperados Waiting For The Train", which still
is one of the high points in our live shows"
.
Hermann handles most aspects of his own career. He notes."As I said, I am
a one man company, and I do everything I can to market and promote. I spend a
whole lot of time with all that, ask my family.. oh boy.
Also I try to help my friends
Michael Ballew, Norma Jean or
Johnny Bush with bookings and touring in Europe, I help to promote their new CD products here.
So, what..s keepin..him busy lately? Says Hermann," At this time, I realy am hot
with promoting the new CDs, "I..d Like To Live It Again", which contains a great varity of
country music styles. I think, from standard songs like "Foggy Mountain Top", with Norma
Jean, or "Y..all come" with Michael Ballew co-staring, to Linda Ronstadt-style songs like
"Faithful" or "In my reply", I have my sister Marion Möhring sing with me on those.
You also find Ernest Tubb-style songs, and many of my own- I am sure that music fans
will enjoy this very traditional album. Oh yes, David Frizzell, Lefty..s younger brother
joins me on one of my original tunes, also. I produced this album with music legend
Tommy Hill and Juergen Koop at the old Starday Studio in Nashville, having ..Pig.. Robbins,
Buddy Emmons and all the good pickers from the old school, I mentioned before...and I am promoting the brandnew album "The Good Old Days" that I just cut at Hilltop Studios in Nashville with help of my friend and co producers Pete Wade and Juergen Koop... which has some dynamity new duets with Nashville..s Pop and Country Veteran Sandy Posey (GAMES PEOPLE PLAY) and again ... Dance Hall King Johnny Bush (WHAT..S WRONG WITH THE WAY WE..RE DOIN IT NOW" ... and wonderful young Nashville Singer Annie B......
and I enjoyed every second doin..that, and if you ask me what my plans are for the
future, I simply have to say, I wanna do that again ... soon"
Hermann has had many special moments in his career. He picks out three:" One,
while promoting my album "The Waltz Of The Wind" a year ago (which contains Hermann ..s version of Ray Davies / Kinks DEATH OF A CLOWN, and a great
duet with Grand Ole Opry Star Billy Walker), I had the chance to perform the
title song on Germany..s most important music TV Show "Musikantenstadl.." hosted
by Karl Moik, which is not a country music programm, but it was aired all over Europe
and via Satelite -- it was possible for fans to see it worldwide, they were talkin about
6-8 million viewers. I had a lot of response and CD sales from that. The second big event
in my life was when Jimmy Day introduced me and my music to Willie Nelson, and he
agreed to sing duet with me on two of the songs I recorded for my LAST COUNTRY SONG
Album --- that realy ment something to me." Then came his third guest act at the
legendary WSW Midnight Jamboree Radio Show at the famous Ernest Tubb..s Record Shop Theatre, where he performed his tunes "They Stole My Steel Guitar" and " The Waltz Of The Wind" to a absolute prominent audience, like Hank Williams.. former steel player Don Helms and others... having Johnny Bush and Buddy Emmons play for him...............
To close, Hermann wanted to note."Let me say, I just wish that me and my loved ones,
and the guys in the band, of cource, stay healthy for a long, long time and that I will be
able to play my "brand new"..79 sunburst (rebuilt) Emmons Steel Guitar for .. ever and ever.
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