Who was/is Dieter Süverkrüp ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more

Dieter Süverkrüp

"A Virtuoso of the Word" (Hermes Handlexikon Die große Chansonniers und Liedermacher)

"Which literary forms are suitable for political work? The answer would be all of them. Even the non-literary ones. The choice between this and that means depends on the subject, the intended use and the necessary investments. A song doesn't cost very much. It can be done quickly and easily, and all you need to perform is a singer and a guitar to bring along." This is what Dieter Süverkrüp, who is regarded as one of the first songwriters, wrote about his lyrics in 1972 in 'Sing In'. Before Süverkrüp, born in Düsseldorf in 1934, performed his first own pieces, he had already worked as a commercial artist, played as a guitarist in the jazz band Feetwarmers, and at the end of the fifties, together with his friend Gerd Semmer, arranged chansons of the French Revolution. In 1960 Süverkrüp began to write political songs himself. In 1962 he was one of the co-founders of the pläne publishing house. After he had performed at the Waldeck in 1964, his first LP with exclusively his own chansons was released the following year: 'Fröhlich ißt du Wiener Schnitzel'. Süverkrüp then proved to be a master of puns with which he attacked new German petty bourgeoisie and bourgeoisie. In the bitterly angry tourist flamenco he described Germans on holiday in Spain, whose fascist attitude was by no means extinguished. The artist said in his book 'Süverkrüps Liederjahre': "The liberation from fascism, 1945, did not go down very well with the population, especially not as long as the 'economic miracle' was not yet done. Then the Germans learned quickly: democracy is, if you can buy everything, even holiday trips abroad. Spain was popular as a tourist, although it was not yet liberated from fascism, but where you could still buy everything." In addition to the tourist flamenco, which was created in 1962, the song Wie man in Düsseldorf eine Kunstausstellung eröffnet (How to Open an Art Exhibition) from 1963 is one of Süverkrüp's very early own songs, in which he eloquently addressed the forms of German capitalism.

As for Degenhardt, the National Socialist era and the way it was dealt with played an important role in Dieter Süverkrüp's songs. On his 1967 record 'Die widerborstigen Gesänge des Dieter Süverkrüp' he turned to the victims: In cherries with cream, an old lonely man sits in a coffee house - for Süverkrüp the epitome of the German affluent society - followed by memories of Auschwitz, while occasional guests are bored at the other tables. With the audience's wishes for the singer, Süverkrüp also expressed ironic criticism on this album of the Waldeck visitors' well-worn expectations. In his book he described - no less ironically - the title in retrospect as a "piece of nature lyric, dedicated to the dreamy valleys, the sun-green mountains and the virtuous villages around the castle Waldeck in the Hunsrück, where even since 1964, I believe, every year at Whitsun, a chanson and folklore festival was held, probably still is. The few lines should give an impression of the idyllic atmosphere, which could hardly be avoided there, at that time".

In 1969 his Waldeck companions Hein and Oss Kröher came to the conclusion in their book 'Rotgraue Raben - Vom Volkslied zum Folksong' that "Dieter Süverkrüp is West Germany's most haunting interpreter of the political song. The conditions for it met with him in occupation and hobby, he is Art Director in an advertising agency and plays masterfully guitar. The work in an advertising agency enables him to speak his language so clearly, to express his thoughts without the use of a hammer and to give his commitment a direction that is exemplary for all interpreters and lyricists of political songs".

In 2002 Süverkrüps Werkschau 'Liederjahre' was published as a book and on four CDs with 70 titles.

 

Extract from
Various - songwriter in Germany
Vol.1, For whom we sing (3-CD)
/various-songwriter-in-Germany-vol.1-for-who-who-we-sing-3-cd.html

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More information about Dieter Süverkrüp on Wikipedia.org

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