Heino

Born in 1938 in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk, Germany, Heino—whose real name is Heinz Georg Kramm—first became known in the mid-1960s in the schlager and German popular-music scene. With his recognizable baritone voice and a distinctive image featuring tinted glasses and light blond hair, Heino developed a repertoire focused on Volkslieder (traditional German folk songs), drinking songs, marches and religious hymns, arranged in simple, melodic and easily singable versions. His first commercial success came in 1965 with the single “Jenseits des Tales,” followed by a series of albums, including “Kein schöner Land” (1967), which established him in television variety productions and on tours across Germany and the German-speaking world. Over the decades he recorded numerous themed programmes—from Christmas songs to church hymns—remaining associated with a very traditional popular-song aesthetic. Beginning in the 2010s the singer broadened his audience: on the 2013 album “Mit freundlichen Grüßen” Heino reinterpreted rock, punk and German pop songs in his own style, continuing a career largely based on reworking and shaping collective repertoires.