Willy Hagara Casetta in Canada

Willy Hagara

geb.04.06.1927   gest.  Mai 2015

Willy Hagara

born 04.06.1927 died May 2015

Willy HagaraWilly Hagara brought Viennese charm to the German pop scene. With titles like Casetta in Canada, Freunde für's Leben or Caterina he celebrated great hit parade successes and was one of the most popular record stars for years.

Willy Hagara, born on June 4, 1927 in Vienna, always wanted to become a singer and dreamed of being on the opera stage. Already in his early childhood he emphatically proved his vocal skills. "I was told I was a very lovely baby, but I roared with perseverance and volume," he says.

Perhaps this was a good training for the upcoming singing career, which became apparent relatively early, as Willy Hagara sang in the children's choir and performed as a soloist at school parties.

But because the times were not exactly rosy and the parents were looking for a solid and secure profession Willy Hagaralegten, he started an apprenticeship at the post office, where he later worked as a counter clerk. He did not give up his dream of an artistic career, however, and when a large-scale singing competition took place in the Vienna Konzerthaus in 1946, he took part in it.

Willy Hagara appeared in a white tuxedo borrowed from a friend. "He came along, of course, and took care of his tuxedo so that nothing happened to the good piece." The loan survived the event undamaged, but otherwise a lot happened. With a powerful baritone voice and his singing talent, Willy Hagara - less than 20 years old at the time - left the competition behind and won first prize. This made him famous in one fell swoop and from then on he worked with almost all the Viennese conductors. During the day he sat behind the post office counter, in the evening he strolled through the cafés and dance halls, where he entertained the audience with Viennese songs and hits. He also took singing lessons and acting lessons.

Then the'Moulin Rouge', because of its exquisite variety program and first-class dance music one of the top addresses in Vienna, offered Willy Hagara a permanent engagement and thus the opportunity to earn twice his monthly postal salary. He had to make a decision: Postman or show career. "I went home - I was already married then - and told my wife. She said: Do it! Not every woman would have done that in her place, because it was a safe post that I gave up. But we never regretted it."

In'Moulin Rouge' Willy Hagara sang with the orchestra Johannes Fehring, which already at that time had a sonorous name. Soon not only the Wiener Rundfunk, but also the German Willy Hagara hit industry became aware of him. After a short guest appearance with the small record company Harmona 3D, the Hamburg-based Philips signed him and sent him on tour with their performers Maria Mucke, Ruth Bruck and Bert Robbé in 1953. Willy Berking and Kurt Drabek were alternately responsible for the musical accompaniment, Heinz Erhardt took over the conference, who made the audience laugh with his cheerful puns and puns. Of course there were regular releases from now on. At first these were the shellac records common at that time. With the film hits Sterne über Colombo and Eine Melodie geht um die Welt (Limelight), Willy Hagara had some minor successes a short time later.

A song composed by orchestra chief Willy Berking in the typical style of the fifties helped him to a first hit parade notation: A carriage full of girls and bags full of money climbed to 13th place in 1956 and made the singer famous throughout the country. Encouraged by numerous benevolent reviews and the growing acceptance among the German pop audience, Willy Hagara moved to Germany. "From Viennese postman to Frankfurt pop star" was the title of the newspapers soon afterwards.

...

A glaucoma disease led to Willy Hagara being almost completely blind in one eye today. The loneliness of the almost 80-year-old was also a problem. There are hardly any contacts to former singing colleagues any more. Many have already passed away.

What remains of Willy Hagara are memories. And that's why a little anecdote from his artistic life is to conclude here. "To a performance in the Renaissance Theatre in Vienna I had to take my shepherd with me because I couldn't find anyone to look after him. Before my performance, I locked him in the dressing room. But someone must have let him out, because he came on stage while I was singing and wagging his tail the whole time. After leaving, he ran back to the microphone and lifted his leg. People were raving with enthusiasm, and the director said,'You can bring the dog every night!'"

Walter Hilbrecht

Auszüge aus dem Begleitheft zur Bear Family Records CD
BCD 16507 - Casetta in Canada

Weitere Informationen - Willy Hagara auf Wikipedia