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Otto Brandenburg

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Otto Brandenburg
Born(1934-09-04)4 September 1934
Hejnsvig, Denmark
Died1 March 2007(2007-03-01) (aged 72)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Other namesOle Brandenburg
Years active1953–2000

Otto Herman Max Brandenburg (4 September 1934 – 1 March 2007) was a Danish musician, singer and actor. He is often credited as Denmark's first Rock and roll singer and was considered a teen idol in the 1950s and 60s.

Brandenburg released music and performed as an actor in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. Some of his records in Germany were released under the pseudonym Ole Brandenburg. Over the course of his career, he performed in around 60 films and series.

Career

Music

Brandenburg learned to play the violin at an early age and played in the Danish Youth Symphony Orchestra. He eventually left the orchestra to focus on singing and learning the guitar.

Brandenburg briefly performed with Ib Glindemann's swing orchestra before forming the vocal quartet Four Jacks between 1955 and 1956, alongside Poul Rudi, John Mogensen and Bent Werther. In 1958, Brandenburg left the group to pursue a solo career producing Danish rock. Initially, his style borrowed heavily from Elvis Presley's softer material and his debut as a solo artist, "I believe", has been compared to Elvis' gospel-inspired songs. Brandenburg's stile later evolved into a mixture of pop, folk, and jazz music.

Brandenburg's popularity greatly expanded in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly following his hit "What do you want to make those eyes at me for". At its peak, he reportedly received 500 letters from fans per week. In 1960, he unsuccessfully competed in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with the song "To Lys På Et Bord" (English: two lights on one board). Despite the song's lack of success at the Eurovision Song Contest, it became one of Brandenburg's biggest commercial hits, selling over 200,000 copies. He again competed in the 1961 Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with "Godnat lille du". Brandenburg also found success in Sweden, competing in the 1962 Melodifestivalen, performing with Hans Wahlgren's orchestra, and performing in Stockholm as a jazz musician.

He sang the theme song for the 1962 film Journey to the Seventh Planet. In 1969, Brandenburg composed and sang the Christmas song "Søren Banjomus". The song has become a Christmas classic in Denmark; between 1995 and 2004 it was the most played Christmas song by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. In the 1970s he often worked with actress Vivi Bak. In the 1980s he collaborated with songwriters Halfdan Rasmussen and Evert Taube.

Film

Brandenburg won a Bodil award in 1978 for his role in the film Hør, var der ikke en som lo? [da] and again in 1982 for Gummi Tarzan [da]. Brandenburg sang "You've Got a Friend in Me" in the Danish dub of Toy Story. His last job in film was voicing the character Hanbjørnen in the animated movie Drengen der ville gøre det umulige [da], which released in 2002.

Personal life

Brandenburg was born in Hejnsvig on 4 September 1934. As an infant, his and his mother moved to Copenhagen. He grew up with his mother and stepfather in Nørrebro, where he attended Stevsgades Skole. After leaving school, he apprenticed as a machinist at the Vølund machine factory. In 1953, he became the Copenhagen light welterweight boxing champion.

On 8 June 1960, Otto Brandenburg married Birthe Kildehus Jørdgensen in Lyngby Church, with whom he had a daughter, Stine, in December of that year. The couple separated in 1966. In 1971 he became engaged to interior designer Susanne Tuxen, though the pair never wed. In the 1980s he had brief relationships with Italian actress Franca Maria De Monti and Bente Pryds, an employee of Nordisk Film. From the late 1980s he lived with Hanne Mynster, a former TV producer with whom he lived the last years of his life in relative seclusion in Buddinge. He died on 1 March 2007 following a long period of illness.

Filmography

Discography

Close-up of Brandenburg from the album art of his 1962 EP: Anne-Li / Lolo-Lolita

Albums and LPs

  • Otto (LP, 1960)
  • This is Otto Brandenburg (Album, 1960)
  • Valmuevejen (Album with Anders Koppel, 1975)
  • Noget om... af Halfdan Rasmussen (Album, 1976)
  • Børnenes Sange 1 (LP, 1980)
  • Vores gade (LP with Vivi Bak, 1980)
  • Har havet nogensinde glitret sådan? (Album, 1982)
  • Hvordan kan du være så erotisk! – Otto Brandeburg synger Jens August Schade (Album, 1984)
  • Godnat til Store og Små (Album, 1986)
  • Det' her det sner (Album, 1987)
  • Otto Brandenburg (Album, 1989)

Further reading

  • Toft-Nielson, Frank (2023). Otto Brandenburg - spor af en baggårdspuma (in Danish). Lindhardt og Ringhof. ISBN 9788727065021.

References

  1. ^ "Otto Brandenburg". Danish Film Database (in Danish). Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Otto Brandenburg er død". DR (in Danish). 1 March 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  3. ^ "P4 mindes Otto Brandenburg". DR (in Danish). 2 March 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  4. ^ Barkman, Erik (1 March 2008). "Otto Brandenburg er død". Gaffa (in Danish). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  5. Mølle Lindelof, Anja (2007). "Look! It's Rock'n'roll!: How television participated in shaping the visual genre conventions of popular music". Music, sound and the moving image. 1 (2): 145. doi:10.3828/msmi.1.2.3. eISSN 1753-0776.
  6. ^ "Otto Brandenburg er død". Information (in Danish). 2 March 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  7. Nygaard, Bertel (2018). "The High Priest of Rock and Roll: The Reception of Elvis Presley in Denmark, 1956–1960". Popular Music and Society. 42 (3). doi:10.1080/03007766.2018.1447188.
  8. Stevenson, Jack (2003). Land of a Thousand Balconies: Discoveries and Confessions of a B-Move Archaeologist. Manchester: Headpress. p. 171. ISBN 1900486237.
  9. Smith-Sivertsen, Henrik (18 December 2012). "Banjomusen og Brandenburg". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  10. Hammer, T.B. (1991). International Film Prizes: An Encyclopedia. Garland reference library of the humanities. Garland. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-8240-7099-1. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  11. "1979". Bodilprisen (in Danish). 19 October 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  12. "Hør, var der ikke en som lo?". Det Danske Filminstitut (in Danish). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  13. "Bodil Awards (1982)". IMDb. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  14. Toft-Nielson, Frank (2023). Otto Brandenburg - spor af en baggårdspuma (in Danish). Lindhardt og Ringhof. ISBN 9788727065021.
  15. W., A. (5 August 1960). "Otto Brandenburg: det hemmelige bryllup". Billed-Bladet (in Danish). runekidde.dk. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  16. Mariager, Leif (1966). "Jeg forstår godt, min kone ville skilles". Billed-Bladet (in Danish). runekidde.dk. Retrieved 20 January 2017.

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