Heino:

When his schooling was over he began learning to become a baker/pastery cook. This didn't impede on his musical interests, however, as he & two friends would play music in the bakery after work. In fact, soon after the beginning of this, the 3 played at a carnival for 2,000 people. The song they played, a Freddy Quinn hit, "Heimweh" was a huge success & was the starting point of his musical career. Completeing his training as a baker, Heino earned a living through music as well as various jobs but his first success as a singer was with the group, Düsselperlen.

In 1965 he played at a fashion show with his "comedic musical trio" where he was discovered by singer/producer Ralf Bendix & promptly shuffled off to EMI Motorola in Köln to begin recording. The result was his first big hit, "Jenseits des Tales" which immediatly sold 100,000 copies even while the Beatles were storming the charts.

In 1967, 2 more singles were released followed by festival appearences, his first long-play album, "kein Schöner Land" & his first appearences on TV & radio. In 1968, he was even invited to Hollywood to meet Bonanza's Cartwright family as thanks for the hit, "Zu der Ponterosa reiten wir". He was also presented with the "Goldenen Electrola- Hund" in 1970 by his record company for having sold over a million singles in one year. In 1975 he also received his first platinum record for having sold 1.5 million copies of his album, "Heino- Seine Großen Erfolge".

In 1985, after 20 years working together, Heino seperated from Ralf Bendix & EMI Motorola, producing instead with Hans R. Beierlein. In 1988, against the advice of Beierlein, Heino released "Enzian-Rap", an updated, modern version of his 1972 hit "Blau blüht der Enzian". Surprisingly, it captured the hearts of the younger generation & was a big hit.

1995 marked Hieno's 40 year stage career anniversary as well as his 30 year album recording career & in 2000 he celebrated the new milennium with the album, "Heino singt die schönsten Jahrhundertmärsche & Hymnen". His newest project is a trilogy, the first of which appeared in Oct., 2001, entitled "Kult Vol. 1". The following 2 volumes will appear in the fall of 2002 & 2003. -Mikki 7/02

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