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Roy Black
Roy Black in 1989
Background information
Birth name	Gerhard Höllerich
Born	(1943-01-25)25 January 1943 Bobingen, Bavarian Swabia, Germany
Died	9 October 1991(1991-10-09) (aged 48) Heldenstein, Bavaria, Germany
Genres	Rock, schlager
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1963-1991

Gerhard Höllerich (25 January 1943 – 9 October 1991), known professionally as Roy Black, was a German schlager singer and actor. He began his career in 1963, gaining local fame in Augsburg with his rock'n'roll band Roy Black and His Cannons. He had his solo breakthrough in 1965 with the schlager song "Du bist nicht allein", which peaked at number 4 in West Germany. It was later followed by numerous other hits, most of which were produced by Hans Bertram. Such singles include "Ganz in Weiß" (1966), which reached number one in West Germany and in Austria and sold over 2,5 million copies, or "Dein schönstes Geschenk" (1969), which sold over one million copies. From 1967 on, he also took on several roles in German music films, such as Help, I Love Twins (1969) or The Heath Is Green (1972). Following the end of his collaboration with Bertram and less successful releases during the 1970s, he regained popularity in 1986 with the album Herzblut, which spawned singles such as "Wahnsinn" and "In Japan geht die Sonne auf". For the two years prior to his death by heart failure, Black starred in the German-Austrian series Ein Schloß am Wörthersee. His last album Rosenzeit, produced by Dieter Bohlen, was released in early 1991, mere months before his death, and charted in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Life and career

1943–1964: Early life and career beginnings

Gerhard Höllerich was the eldest son of retailer Georg Höllerich (1917–1990) and his wife Elisabeth (1922–2013). He has a younger brother, Walter. He attended the Volksschule in his hometown of Straßberg (now part of Bobingen). In 1958, the Höllerich family moved to Göggingen (now part of Augsburg), where he attended the Holbein-Gymnasium Augsburg and obtained his Abitur. He wanted to study biology, but, for financial reasons, began studies in business administration.

His first public performance took place in 1963 for carnival with the band The Honky Tonks, who were performing at the bar Charlys Affenstall (English: Charly's Madhouse) in Augsburg. On September 14, 1963, he founded the rock'n'roll band Roy Black and His Cannons with musicians Dieter Sirch, Dieter Schwedes, Peter Schwedes, Günter Ortmann, and Helmut Exenberger. The pseudonym Roy Black references his black hair, which had earned him the nickname "Blacky", and his idol, American singer Roy Orbison. Roy Black and His Cannons had their first official peformance on December 6, 1963 at the dancing club Femina in Augsburg. They also peformed as a cover band in the three big US military barracks of Augsburg, with songs of artists such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles. On June 16, 1964, Roy Black and His Cannons won a talent competition at a students' ball at the Moritzsaal in Augsburg, which Polydor producer Hans Bertram heard about through a Bayerischer Rundfunk news report while he was staying in Munich. From Cologne, he then wrote to the Holbein-Gymnasium in order to contact Gerhard Höllerich, who obtained a music contract as Roy Black on September 1st, 1964. Black abandoned his studies in business administration to focus on his music career. The two first singles by Roy Black and His Cannons were recorded during the summer of 1964. The first one, "Sweet Baby Mine", was a small success, but the second one, "Darling My Love", was no success at all.

1965–1977: Breakthrough and loss of popularity

Roy Black in 1972

Roy Black later released a third single, this time without the Cannons, titled "Du bist nicht allein" (English: You are not alone), which was commercially more successful. It reached the Top 10 of the German hit-parades during the winter of 1965, peaking at place 4. In early 1966, Roy Black released the single "Ganz in Weiß" (English: All in white), with lyrics by Kurt Hertha and music by Rolf Arland, which made him a schlager star in Germany with sales of about 2,5 million. The song reached number one in West Germany and in Austria. His self-titled début album was published later that year. In 1967, he got his first role in a music film, Paradies der flotten Sünder, produced by Karl Spiehs with Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, Willy Millowitsch, Ralf Wolter, and Lou van Burg. The film was shown in cinemas in early 1968. Black got his first main role in Always Trouble with the Teachers, which came to cinemas during the autumn of 1968. In this film, he starred alongside Uschi Glas, with whom he later worked on several other films, including Help, I Love Twins (1969) and The Reverend Turns a Blind Eye (1971).

Until 1969, every Roy Black single reached the Top 10. He was regularly represented in the ZDF-Hitparade, presented by Dieter Thomas Heck, where he reached the first place with Ich denk' an Dich (English: I think of you). In 1970, Black performed the song of the ARD-Fernsehlotterie, "Ich hab' geträumt, das Glück kam heut' zu mir" (English: I dreamt that luck came to me today). In 1971, he was offered the moderation of the television show Hätten Sie heute Zeit für mich? (English: Would you have time for me today?), which he refused, leading to the position being given to Michael Schanze. During the autumn of 1971, Roy Black had his last big success, "Schön ist es, auf der Welt zu sein" (English: It is beautiful to be alive), a duet with then ten-year-old Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland. The song stayed in the German Top 10 for eighteen weeks and was also used in the film Wenn mein Schätzchen auf die Pauke haut (1971), starring Black. In 1972, he starred in the film The Heath Is Green and recorded its soundtrack, bearing the original title Grün ist die Heide and released in March 1973, which consists of Hermann Löns poems set to music. After that, Black did not have big commercial success anymore.

In the autumn of 1974, Roy Black took the decision to end his collaboration with Hans Bertram. In early 1975, he ventured into drama, touring with the play Warum lügst du, Cherie? (English: Why are young lying, darling?), which was a flop. During the rest of the 1970s, he completed numerous live performances, often over 250 per year.

1978–1991: Successful comeback

During the summer of 1978, Wolfgang Kaminski became Roy Black's new tour manager. Prior to that, he was supervised by his brother Walter Höllerich. With Kaminski, things began looking up again for Black, who started a tour with an orchestra around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea that year. After a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London and tours throughout East Germany, Roy Black regained professional success. During the summer of 1983, his song "Wilde Kirschen blühen früh" (English: Wild cherries blossom early) reached high spots in the schlager hit-parades, but not in sales lists. In February 1986, Black released his first album in eight years, Herzblut. It spawned singles such as "Wahnsinn" and "Im Japan geht die Sonne auf", which brought him popularity again. On May 25, he collapsed due to heart failure and was admitted to the Community Hospital Herdecke. A few weeks later, he received two new heart valves in Munich. However, on December 3, he was already performing in Berlin for 3,000 fans.

In 1989, Roy Black was offered by RTL Plus a starring role in the television series Ein Schloß am Wörthersee. The series, which featured a number of guest stars, saw him portray hotel manager Lennie Berger. Around that time, he also performed on several television shows with the song "Wie ein Stern am Horizont" (English: Like a star on the horizon), written by Drafi Deutscher. Roy Black's last album, Rosenzeit, produced by Dieter Bohlen, was released in August 1991. Two singles were released from it: "Frag Maria" in May, which reached place 67 of the radio charts, and "Ich träume mich zu dir", which reached place 39. On September 18, 1991, he had his last television appearance in the ZDF-Hitparade with Uwe Hübner.

Death and aftermath

Stele in memory of Roy Black on the Roy-Black-Weg in Augsburg-Göggingen

On October 9, 1991, Roy Black died of heart failure in his fisherman's hut in Heldenstein (Upper Bavaria), where he was alone. According to a 2011 report by Bild, the autopsy showed a blood alcohol level of 3‰, which the coroner who supervised the autopsy, Wolfgang Eisenmenger, refused to confirm. Speculations by the media about a suicide by alcohol overdose, combined with the heart medicine that Black was regularly taking, could never be either denied or confirmed by the heart failure diagnosis, as the prosecutor had not commissioned a toxicological report. This theory, however, was ruled out by his partner Carmen Böhning as well as by his brother Walter Höllerich. Roy Black was buried under his birth name Gerhard Höllerich in his birthplace of Straßberg. His grave has become a place of pilgrimage for his fans, and they organise commemorations every year in Augsburg, Bobingen, or Straßberg.

On October 9, 1996, the film Du bist nicht allein: Die Roy Black Story was broadcast for the first time, with Austrian-German actor Christoph Waltz as Roy Black. The role earned Waltz a special prize at the Baden-Badener Tagen des Fernsehspiels in November 1996. Public opinion of the film was divided. While some saw it as authentic and could reenact the plot based on Black's biography, some, such as the Berliner Morgenpost, perceived it as exaggerated. In 1999, the single "Der Wanderpriester" was released, which had been rediscovered by accident on an old tape and produced by Polydor. In early 2000, the first German schlager musical Ganz in Weiß was dedicated to Roy Black. It was written by Black's biographer Arno Löb and produced by Berlin-based agency Valentino. The premiere of Ganz in Weiß took place in the Augsburger Konzerthalle, where Black had one of his last concerts. In the musical, he was portrayed by Claudio Maniscalo, who also sang the Roy Black tracks live.

In 2004, it was asserted in the RTL show Die ultimative Chartshow: Die erfolgreichsten Sänger (English: The ultimate chart show: The most successful singers) that Roy Black was the most successful singer of the last forty years in Germany. The Augsburg pop prize, which is named "Roy" after Roy Black, has been awarded since 2012.

Personal life

In 1973, Roy Black got engaged to model Silke Vagts, who also worked as layout artist for Bravo. They got married on April 30, 1974 in Munich. On August 1st, 1976, their son Torsten was born. Black and Vagts divorced on November 26, 1985. She described him as being, one one side, a very empathetic and caring person at times. However, on the other side, she described him as a paranoid, stingy, egocentric man who ridiculed her in front of other people, cheated on her, could not build a relationship to his son, and expected his family and friends to give him in his everyday life the same admiration as his audience. In 1989, he met Carmen Böhning, who became his last partner, at one of his concerts. From December 1990 until his death, he lived in Herdecke (Northrhine-Westphalia), where he shared a double house with German schlager singer Tommy Steiner and lived in one part with Böhning. On May 2, 1990, Black's father Georg Höllerich committed suicide. On September 14, 1991, Black's daughter with Böhning, Nathalie was born, a mere few weeks before his death.

Throughout his life, Roy Black is said to have had problems dealing with the tightrope between his role as the product Roy Black and the private person Gerhard Höllerich. He had notable issues with handling the loss of public recognition in the 1970s, which Vagts said made him depressive.

Discography

• 1966 - Roy Black
• 1967 - Roy Black 2
• 1968 - Ich denk' an Dich
• 1969 - Ich hab' Dich lieb
• 1969 - Concerto d'amour
• 1970 - Im Land der Lieder
• 1970 - Für Dich allein
• 1971 - Wo bist Du?
• 1971 - Eine Liebesgeschichte
• 1972 - Träume in Samt und Seele
• 1972 - Wunderbar ist die Welt
• 1973 - Grün ist die Heide
• 1973 - Hier und mit Dir
• 1974 - Roy Black und die Fischer-Chöre (with the Fischer-Chöre)
• 1976 - Liebe, wie sie Dir gefällt
• 1978 - Neue Lieder
• 1986 - Herzblut
• 1988 - Schwarz auf weiß
• 1989 - Ein Hauch von Sinnlichkeit
• 1990 - Zeit für Zärtlichkeit
• 1991 - Rosenzeit

Awards

Roy Black meeting with chancellor Willy Brandt in Bonn on June 23, 1971

• 1966: Bravo Otto for male singer in silver
• 1966: Radio Luxemburg - two lions in silver
• 1967: Bravo Otto for male singer in gold
• 1967: Radio Luxemburg - two lions in gold
• 1967: Billboard Trophy for Top Artist of West Germany
• 1968: Goldene Schallplatte for "Ganz in Weiß"
• 1968: Bravo Otto for male singer in gold
• 1968: Goldene Europa
• 1968: Radio Luxemburg - a lion in silver
• 1968: Das goldene Radio der Starparade
• 1969: Goldene Leinwand twice (for the film Help, I Love Twins)
• 1969: Bravo Otto for male singer in gold
• 1969: Goldene Europa
• 1970: Bravo Otto for male singer in gold
• 1970: Radio Luxemburg - a lion in gold
• 1970: Goldene Europa
• 1971: Bravo Otto for male singer in silver
• 1971: Radio Luxemburg - two lions, one in gold and one in silver
• 1971: Goldene Europa
• 1971: Radio Luxemburg - Goldener Sendeturm for singer of the year
• 1972: Bravo Otto for male singer in bronze
• 1972: Radio Luxemburg - a lion in gold
• 1972: Krawattenmann des Jahres
• 1972: Goldene Europa
• 1973: Radio Luxemburg - ein Löwe in Gold
• 1975: Goldener Wurm
• 1976: Silberne Drehorgel
• 1977: Radio Luxemburg - a lion in bronze
• 1977: Silberne Drehorgel
• 1978: Goldene Drehorgel
• 1979: Goldene Drehorgel
• 1980: Hermann-Löns-Medaille
• 1980: Goldene Drehorgel
• 1981: Goldene Stimmgabel
• 1981: Goldene Europa
• 1982: Das goldene Herz (for more than a million sales)
• 1984: Goldene Stimmgabel
• 1986: Radio Luxemburg - a lion in bronze
• 1987: Radio Luxemburg - a lion in bronze
• 1989: Goldene Stimmgabel
• 1989: Goldener Nürnberger Trichter
• 1990: Goldene Stimmgabel
• 1990: Goldene WAZ – Mikrophon
• 1990: Ehren-Antenne in gold
• 1991: Ehren-Antenne in gold (Tommy Steiner took it on Roy Black's behalf)