When you hear the name Michael Holm, you automatically think of hits from the 1970s. On songs like “Barefoot in the Rain”, “El Lute” or “Tears don’t lie”. “Schlagersänger” is just one of the many talents of the busy artist.
This Saturday (July 29th) the musician, who lives in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria, is celebrating his 80th birthday – and duly, but down to earth, as he told the German Press Agency. “I’m celebrating with about 60 guests in a restaurant near Weilheim.”
The 80 candles on the birthday cake don’t scare Holm: “The 80th birthday doesn’t scare me.” why? After all, on his recently released album “Holm 80”, on which he reinterprets his greatest hits, the celebrant appears more modern than ever.
Especially in the eight duets with artists like Andreas Gabalier, Mickie Krause and Michelle. Even if the title “Wait for me” with the young singer Alexandra Rotan goes into exuberant dance-pop realms, the senior of the German hit cuts a fine figure. “What I love about this form of music is the tonal and rhythmic dynamics,” he says.
Typical Michael Holm. He was always a seeker. And a man of opposites. This was particularly evident in the innovative instrumental music project “Cusco”, which he created together with the musician Kristian Schulze in the late 1970s – and received three Grammy nominations for it.
Bach fan
Michael Holm was born under the real name Lothar Walter in Stettin. Two years later the family moved to Erlangen. There was a lot of music played at home, the four older siblings took their little brother, who played the flute, to classical concerts. “Since then I’ve had a crush on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach,” says Holm.
The high school student bought a guitar with the first money he earned himself. He founded a band and went through the pubs with rock ‘n’ roll. He started songwriting at the age of 15. In 1961 his first single “Das Lied von der Liebe” was released. A few years later he shared the stage with show greats like Nana Mouskouri and Heidi Brühl.
Although success as an interpreter was a long time coming, he did more than bravely as a lyricist, composer and producer. So good that he gave up his law studies in his early 20s to devote himself to music.
Breakthrough with “Mendocino”
Frustrated that he couldn’t land as a singer, he also wanted to give up this career path – that’s when he made his breakthrough in 1969: with the German version of the Sir Douglas Quintet hit “Mendocino”.
From then on, the lanky singer with the radiant smile hit after hit: “Do you have to go right now, Lucille”, “Wait for me (you, if I lose you)”, “Barefoot in the rain”. In addition, he found the time to provide his colleagues with chart fodder, for example Rex Guildo with “Fiesta Mexicana”.
Well over 800 titles come from his pen, as Holm says, and stars like Howard Carpendale, Peter Maffay, Mary Roos or Drafi Deutscher have interpreted them.
The extent of his musical radius was also shown in 1998 when he produced the Guildo Horn album “Thank You”. The collaboration with the Schlager rebel also made it clear that Michael Holm has a blessed portion of mother wit. A character trait that he also knows how to celebrate on his new album – in the spoof of his classic “Tränen liege nicht” (“Danes don’t lie”) sung together with Otto.
