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The hit dominated the German charts, especially in the 1960s and 1970s.
Many stars and hits can still be sung along by countless people today.
Berlin – When the term Schlager is mentioned, most people almost automatically think of the “ZDF Hit Parade” and the big entertainment shows of the 1960s and 70s.
Pop singers such as Michael Holm, Christian Anders, Jürgen Marcus and Katja Ebstein were permanent guests on the nation's television screens.
After years of being musically sidelined, the hit celebrated its comeback after the turn of the millennium with a new generation of stars, including Helene Fischer and Florian Silbereisen.
Schlager in Germany: The history of the musical genre
The history of modern popular music began in the late 19th century.
At this point, easily accessible entertainment formats such as vaudeville, revue, music hall and operetta emerged.
Their best-known songs developed into what were later called hits: songs that everyone knew and could spontaneously sing along to.
With the invention of the first sound recordings and radio, they became more widespread.
It is still not clear where the term Schlager comes from for this style of music in German-speaking countries.
It probably derives from the “resounding” effect of popular songs and their “impact” on the collective consciousness.
The first hits in the early 20th century were the biggest hits of the then very popular operettas, which were recorded on shellac records by well-known stars.
The Comedian Harmonists, who enjoyed great success in the 1920s and 30s, are now sometimes referred to as Germany's first boy band.
Another early pop star was the later film legend Marlene Dietrich, who sang songs like “I'm prepared for love from head to toe” in Berlin.
Marlene Dietrich can be described as one of the first pop stars today.
© picture alliance/dpa/AP |
KEYSTONE
The highlight of the hit
After the Nazi era, during which hits were often misused for propaganda purposes and many artists and Jewish stars left Germany, the music genre experienced an upswing in the 1950s.
International influence played a significant role in this.
When Germans first flocked to Italy for their summer vacation across the Alps, so-called Italo hits like “Marina,” “Arrivederci Roma” and “Caprifischer” became hits.
Freddy Quinn sang about the sea and Angèle Durand raved about Paris.
American rock 'n' roll influences were noticeable in teen stars of the time such as Peter Kraus and Ted Herold, who openly imitated Elvis Presley.
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© picture alliance / dpa |
Horst Schaefer;
Marijan Murat (photomontage)
In addition, more and more foreign stars appeared in Germany, including the American-born Connie Francis, the Italian Salvatore Adamo, the Swede Siw Malmkvist, the French Mireille Mathieu and the two Greeks Vicky Leandros and Nana Mouskouri.
It wasn't until the 1970s that the hit gradually lost popularity.
Young people preferred English-language rock and pop music from the Beatles to David Bowie and the political protest songs of the '68 generation.
Back to the origins: The German hit is getting back on its feet
In the 80s, the hit was almost dead. Only very few German-speaking singers were able to stay in the charts.
Matthias Reim achieved a surprise success in 1990 with “Damn, I love you”.
It was only shortly before the turn of the millennium that the music genre flourished again as part of a rather ironic retro wave.
The new stars included Dieter Thomas Kuhn and Guildo Horn, who consciously imitated the look and sound of earlier times.
Icon Matthias Reim sang his way to the top of the music charts with his number one hit “Damn, I love you” © Future Image/IMAGO
But it wasn't until 2000 that a real revival began, led by popular singers like Andrea Berg and Helene Fischer.
They underpinned their songs with modern beats that appealed to younger people.
At the same time, former pop stars like Roland Kaiser celebrated a brilliant comeback and are now filling large arenas all over Germany again.
Before the turn of the century: The biggest pop stars and their hits
Some stars made themselves immortal with a single megahit, others are almost forgotten today despite many years of success.
The sales figures can hardly be compared due to today's strong fragmentation of the music market.
Some of the most popular pop stars and their biggest hits, which are still unforgettable today.
Until 2000: pop stars and their hits
Roland Kaiser: Santa Maria, 1980
Roy Black: All in White, 1966
Jürgen Drews: A bed in the cornfield, 1976
Marianne Rosenberg: He belongs to me, 1975
Bernd Clüver: The boy with the harmonica, 1973
Nicole: A little peace, 1982
Katja Ebstein: Miracles always happen, 1970
Heintje: Mama, 1967
Karel Gott: Around the World, 1970
Peggy March: At 17 you still have dreams, 1965
Nana Mouskouri: White Roses from Athens, 1961
Rex Gildo: Fiesta Mexicana , 1972
Wencke Myhre: He has a bright red rubber boat, 1971
Michael Holm: Tears don't lie, 1974
Christian Anders: There's a train going nowhere, 1972
Howard Carpendale: Hello again, 1984
Freddy Quinn: Homesickness, 1958
Drafi German: Marble, stone and iron breaks, 1965
Matthias Reim: Damn, I love you, 1990
Wolfgang Petry: Madness, 1983
Michelle: Who lives love, 1997
There are also numerous stars who have never limited themselves to one genre of pop music.
These include, for example, the Austrian chansonnier Udo Jürgens and the songwriter Reinhard Mey, who repeatedly wrote profound songs.
Schlager: Current stars and their hits
The revival of Schlager music in the new millennium is primarily led by female stars like Helene Fischer, whose music is more commonly described as Schlager pop.
Other artists build a bridge between Schlager and folk music, including the Austrian Andreas Gabalier, who describes his style as folk rock 'n' roll.
The revival of Schlager music in the new millennium is being led primarily by stars like Helene Fischer.
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
Tourist party destinations increasingly became the starting point for great careers in Germany, especially the Ballermann in Mallorca and the après-ski scene in the Alps.
There, not only did veteran star Jürgen Drews reinvent himself as the “King of Mallorca,” but today’s stars like Mickie Krause and Antonia from Tyrol also experienced their breakthrough.
Some of the current stars in Schlager and their biggest hits:
DJ Ötzi: A star (...that bears your name), 2007
Helene Fischer: Breathless, 2013
Andrea Berg: You lied to me a thousand times, 2001
Andreas Gabalier: I sing a Liad for Di, 2011
Semino Rossi: Everything for love, 2004
Maite Kelly and Roland Kaiser: Why didn't you say no, 2014
Vanessa Mai: Cloud 9, 2015
Ben Zucker: Towards the sun, 2018
Kerstin Ott: She always laughs, 2016
Beatrice Egli: My heart, 2013
Florian Silbereisen (Klubbb3) : You can do it, 2016
Giovanni Zarrella: Senza te (Without You), 2019
Outlook for the coming years
The hit is unlikely to lose any of its popularity in the next few years.
After her tour in 2023, superstar Helene Fischer has already announced the next series of concerts for 2026.
The pop queen doesn't have any problems filling huge halls.
Events like Roland Kaiser's “Kaisermania” concerts on the banks of the Elbe in Dresden and the Schlagermove in Hamburg are cult and attract tens of thousands of fans every year.
In addition, former teen stars are reinventing themselves as pop singers.
Giovanni Zarrella, a former member of the pop group Bro'Sis, is celebrating great success with Italian-language cover versions of old German hits and was rewarded with his own TV show.
Maite Kelly, the youngest sister of the Irish Kelly Family, also started a successful second career as a pop singer.
Most recently, the Dutchman Eloy de Jong, who once became famous with the boy band Caught in the Act, had a big hit in Germany with “Always for you there”.
Beatrice Egli was the first pop singer to win the DSDS casting show and will continue to be an integral part of the big stages in the future.
Florian Silbereisen hosts numerous hit shows and welcomes the biggest stars in the industry.
© osnapix/Imago
Although major shows are repeatedly removed from the TV program for cost reasons, “The Celebrations with Florian Silbereisen” are set.
The big names in the hit industry regularly come together on ARD to ensure a good mood with the showmaster.
The “Helene Fischer Show” also returned in 2023 after a long break.
Pop stars are also an integral part of “ZDF- Fernsehengarten” and “Always on Sundays”.
Andrea Kiewel and Stefan Mross continue to lead the program there in the summer season.
Hits outside of Germany
The hit is considered a quintessentially German music style that is particularly successful in the three German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland for obvious reasons.
Only rarely have popular hits in this country been able to establish themselves in foreign-speaking countries - and then in directly neighboring countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands.
The only outliers were in the 80s with English-language songs such as “Maria Magdalena” by Sandra and Nicole’s Grand Prix winning title “A Bit of Peace,” which was published in several languages.
In 2018, the global business magazine Forbes shocked its readers when it listed Helene Fischer among the ten highest-earning musicians in the world alongside superstars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
Some international media then shared videos of the pop queen and wrote articles about the German hit.
However, the sudden attention was not reflected in increasing sales abroad.
The hit will probably continue to be a phenomenon in German-speaking countries and their branches abroad such as the Ballermann in Mallorca.