The history of Boney M. would be incomplete without mentioning another key figure in the project: musician and arranger Stefan Klinkhammer. Together with Frank Farian, he created the very exclusive sound that captivated listeners around the world. This sound has united people of different races, languages, ages and gender. And although Boney M. are considered the legends of the disco era, their music was designed not only for visitors to dance clubs. The group used a wide arsenal of musical means and elements of such genres as reggae, soul, rock and pop. Stefan Klinkhammer had a talent for being sensitive to Farian's ideas and translating their potential into future hits by Boney M. An attentive listener can discover in each song of the group the refined work of the arranger, who created an expressive polyphonic scale, where there was nothing superfluous, and the melodies themselves are filled with beauty, warmth and harmony.
Stefan Klinkhammer was born on July 26, 1935 in the German city of Koblenz and from childhood dreamed of becoming a professional classical music performer.
He wanted to play works of such great composers as Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Gershwin ... That is why his parents sent him to study at a music academy. However, the realization of the cherished dream suddenly came to an end when, within 11 days, the young man lost both parents.
In his second year of study, he had to go to work in order to pay for his stay at the academy. But soon Stefan realized that it was almost impossible to combine work and study. In addition, the money earned was barely enough to stay afloat.
For the next 11 years he toured with jazz big bands across Europe with one thought: to save enough money to complete his studies. But this did not happen and fate decreed otherwise.
In 1972, Stefan came to Saarbrücken (a city in the south-west of Germany), where he met with Frank Farian, who was then a local star. Soon they joined forces and started producing various musical projects. Over the next several years, they enjoyed moderate success, until Farian became N1 on the hit TV show Hitparade, where he performed his own cover version of the American hit "Rocky". From that moment on, their ascent to the musical Olympus began. The rest is history...
Interview with arranger Stefan Klinkhammer (1999):
You are directly related to the success of all the big hits of Boney M.'s group: "Rivers of Babylon", "Belfast", "Mary's Boy Child", etc ...
Klinkhammer: Yes, I worked on them.
How can you characterize the work of an arranger?
Klinkhammer: Typically, a producer chooses a melody from a composer, having his own view of how it should sound. Then he turns to the arranger and discusses with him questions regarding the implementation of his plans. After that, the arranger determines the composition of the musicians and decides how the drums, wind section, strings and other instruments should sound.
Then he goes with the instrumental group to the studio and records each part on a separate soundtrack. If later it turns out that the producer or composer planned a slightly different sound, there is always the opportunity to redo something. Recording is performed many times and the best option is selected.
Is that how you worked at Frank Farian?
Klinkhammer: Yes, that's right.
Music critics was often called Boney M.'s sound "trivial and synthetic." How do you respond to such criticism?
Klinkhammer: "Synthetic sounding" is, of course, too much of an exaggeration. On all the recordings that I was involved with as an arranger, we never used synthesizers, except in those rare cases when they played in the background, creating a certain key in the song. We usually only used real musical instruments. Perhaps music critics mistakenly defined our sound as "synthesizer" due to the fact that in the era of disco the rhythm was monotonous and simple. But it's a genre law that is meant to get people to go out on the dance floor.
What would you say to the critics of Boney M. who accused them of promoting "trivial music"?
Klinkhammer: Well, modern pop music, for example, German smash hits, is hardly different for the better. Boney M. were great fun and definitely influenced the music business. And for people who are focused on "serious" music, there is a wide selection in this segment.
Did you have any black music idols who inspired you while working with Boney M.?
Klinkhammer: Before the collaboration with Frank Farian began, I toured for 11 years from Italy to Finland, played in various bands. We performed not only our own material, but also hits of that time: songs from the repertoire of Commodores, Temptations and other famous artists of the Motown music label. I would like to point out that I took over from the sound of Motown, using it while working with one of the first German disco formations SILVER CONVENTION.
I also had some funky music tracks... Sylvester Levay, composer and arranger of SILVER CONVENTION, wrote the theme using elements of jazz string music, which I loved very much because I am a big jazz fan.
And then you had idols that may have influenced your future work?
Klinkhammer: Sammy Nestico, who has done many arrangements for Count Basie. Also the idol for all arrangers was Gil Evans (Miles Davis), who brought a new flavor to jazz music. There was no one from the pop scene, except maybe the aforementioned Sylvester Levay from SILVER CONVENTION.
You had to leave the music academy ...
Klinkhammer: Yes, it was due to my personal misfortunes. Sometimes you don't know which direction fate will turn, for better or for worse. The situation was very sad: my parents died almost simultaneously. This was in 1957. I tried to continue my studies, but I was unable to pay for it. At first I tried to work part-time and attend the academy, but nothing came of it. And when I got the opportunity to play the piano in a dance orchestra, I took advantage of the opportunity. Nevertheless, I planned to return to continuing my studies in two years ... although now I have been in the music business for over 50 years (smiles).
So you played in different bands for 11 years and then ended up in Saarbrücken, where you met Frank Farian and made a career...
Klinkhammer: It didn't happen right away. We found the right path two years later after a rather difficult search. The first success came to Frank Farian with Benny (Benny is Frank Farian's young protégé - ed.) with his hit "Amigo Charly Brown" and the German-language cover of Labelle's song "Voulez-Vous coucher avec Moi (Lady Marmalade)" by Gilla, and then the first came hit N1 for Frank Farian as performer of the super-tearful saga "Rocky". And on the crest of this success, he was finally able to start producing what he had been obsessed with for so long: black music. He independently recorded the single "Baby, Do You Wanna Bump?" under the anonymous name Boney M., where he performed all the vocals. The song was split into 1 and 2 parts and lasted for a total of 8 minutes using one harmony. At first, the record lay like a dead weight in stores, until finally it became a small hit in Holland. And then they wanted to see who is Boney M...
And then came real success with the first album, and then ERUPTION appeared ...
Klinkhammer: Yes, although Frank Farian did not devote much time to ERUPTION, but hired several people from Bellaphon to work with them, who began to work for his production company (FAR Music - ed.). There was a lot of work for me at that time. My employment on these projects almost did not allow me to pay attention to the stars of German smash hits, who were also interested in my arrangements. I came to success as an arranger for Boney M.
What songs are you most proud of?
Klinkhammer: "Sunny". It was a big hit, mainly due to the arrangement. Here I was able to prove my worth as a versatile arranger. We got an excellent result using a minimal number of performers and musicians.
What did you pay special attention to when you were working on cover versions of old songs like "Sunny"?
Klinkhammer: "Sunny" is a special case. Frank gave me complete creative freedom and did not interfere at all stages of the song creation. He just listened to all the recorded versions and, in the end, chose the one that he liked the most.
Do you have any other favorite Boney M. songs besides "Sunny"?
Klinkhammer: I like "Oceans of Fantasy", "Nightflight to Venus" and also, though not arranged by me, "Ride to Agadir".
Do you think anyone would have noticed Boney M. if they started their careers these days with the song "Baby, Do You Wanna Bump?"
Klinkhammer: "Baby, Do You Wanna Bump?" wasn't really a big hit. But as we can see, today all these new remixes, rap and electronic effects added to the original recording can work. If so, Boney M. may well be viable today.
The trend in the 90s was techno, live instruments are practically not used. Do you think there are prerequisites today to return to "live" sounding, or is it already in the past?
Klinkhammer: I really hope so, although I'm not quite sure. I missed the trend towards synthetic sound in the 80s. But listening today, for example, to Cher's hits, one would think that they were recorded in the mid-70s, although the tracks were produced using computer technology. This is the case when music is produced using software with an array of samples of recordings of real instruments. This is much cheaper than before, when you had to pay for the work of 20 musicians, an average of $600 a day each. Therefore, today even basement studios can achieve an acceptable result, at least in the production of demo tracks.
In the late 70s, someone asked you if computer sound could supplant live sound. And your answer was completely wrong...
Klinkhammer: Yes, that was my delusion (laughs). Then I said that I could not imagine that the combination of computers and living instruments can be crowned with success. At the same time, in some places the invasion of computers was minimal. Today, live performance can be found in movies, although at times it can be enriched with artificial sound. Commercial music is mainly produced through computer technology. However, many samples are still associated with the orchestra, and perhaps this gives some hope that music with the use of live instruments will be produced more often.
If you could turn back time, what would you do differently?
Klinkhammer: I would not change anything much, I would still focus on the work of the arranger. I recorded and arranged 135 pieces of music in 1978 alone.
The clients believed that since I was arranger for Boney M. my work would automatically make their music a hit. But that was an absolute delusion, because it takes more than just a good arrangement to create a hit. I would also like to focus a little more on writing music and pay more attention to synthesizers when their time has come.
In 1978 you were awarded a platinum disc for your work on the album "Love for Sale", which is very unusual in the case of an arranger...
Klinkhammer: Yes, it really was quite unusual. I was very excited by the fact that Frank managed to get the arranger to be presented with a platinum award here in Germany (I do not know how things are with this in other countries). I don’t know of any other arranger who has his own platinum disc in his living room. I was indeed very grateful for such an assessment of my work. And then, of course, this news spread all over the country, which drew the attention of many clients from the recording industry to my person.
Why do you think a song like "Ma Baker", which has a direct reference to real events in the US, did not become a big hit there?
Klinkhammer: Yes, Boney M. wasn't a big hit in the US. I recently spoke with a few American friends and they only remembered "Daddy Cool" which was a little strange. I suppose that Boney M. did not actively rotate on American radio stations. Commercially, not a single Boney M.'s track has become a real hit in the United States.
Except "Rivers of Babylon" ...
Klinkhammer: "Babylon"... yes, you may be right. Frank was not too keen on promoting Boney M. in America. It seems that the phenomenal success in Europe, as well as in Asia and Africa, was more important to him. And I think that the Americans at that time had enough of their own disco music.
At one time, Boney M. was famous for producing beautiful melodies. They were ahead of their time by creating such a thing as high quality producing, right?
Klinkhammer: If you mean modern producers, then I can't say anything definite about them. But what I know for sure is how Frank worked. He constantly altered something, fiddled with each sound for a long time. Nervous managers stood in the doorway and said that it was time to calm down, the first LP-pressing immediately reached gold and platinum status, everything was going well and it was time to move on to the next job. But he paid no attention to them and continued to sit for days on end at the mixing console, making the recording better and better, until it started to sound perfect. And my colleagues were especially touched by the fact that thanks to his searches, the drum part of Boney M. sounded in a special way: very short and dynamic. All of this ultimately contributed to the fact that the songs became hits.
Do you think Boney M.'s music has an impact on the international music scene?
Klinkhammer: This is so and at the same time it is not so. They were pretty unique and I don't remember any band trying to copy them. It seems to me that Frank did the right thing when every next track sounded different from the first big hit "Daddy Cool". "Sunny" was already something completely different.
On the next album, the opening track "Ma Baker" was similar to "Daddy Cool", but followed by a completely different "Belfast". It had nothing to do with the disco style at all. And "Rivers of Babylon" was something very special. So something new was always proposed, very different from the previous one. N1 hits have never been alike.
There was a time when you even toured with Boney M. as concertmaster...
Klinkhammer: Concertmaster is not a very correct definition. This is not equivalent to what is used in classical music (laughs). Rather, my position could be called "director of the musical accompaniment group." Also, it was not a tour, but a week during which we played 10 concerts in Sun City (South Africa).
There were live performances, no phonogram. The instrumental group consisted of excellent British musicians.
There were rumors in the press that of the four members, only Liz and Marcia were singing, the rest was recorded by Farian ... is there some truth in this?
Klinkhammer: The female voices belong to Liz and Marcia, although Liz sang most of the solo parts, and Marcia sang less danceable things, such as "Belfast" or "Never Change Lovers ...", that is, less "pop". Bobby's work has been visual representation, especially his famous "snake dance". Maizie was also hired because of her great looks and unique dance style.
But Frank Farian was also one of the lead vocalists, as we can see from "Oceans of Fantasy", "Bye Bye Bluebird" or "Ship Ahoy"?
Klinkhammer: Yes, this is true, starting from the very first entry ("Baby, Do You Wanna Bump?"). All this, in fact, was Farian. In "Daddy Cool" his voice was also the main one, after which they began to call him that (laughs).
Then critics presented Boney M. as Frank Farian's "puppets", and then MILLI VANILLI appeared... But today it seems to be considered a normal kind of music production. Do you think this is morally acceptable?
Klinkhammer: Yes, if the producer doesn't make a secret out of it. Boney M. was Frank Farian's own project, and he saw it as a tool for realizing his creative ideas. But no one hid the fact that Maizie and Bobby did not work in the studio, with rare exceptions. On the other hand, he (Frank Farian) hid the fact that MILLI VANILLI did not sing, and only told about it after they received the Grammy. And then the bomb went off. But in the case with Boney M. no one reproached him for anything.
What do you think about Frank Farian's attempt to bring back Boney M. as a new team of "visual artists"? (meaning the project Boney M. 2000 - ed.)
Klinkhammer: It remains to be seen what it is, but I am skeptical about such experiments.
Because Boney M. is already firmly associated with the four people everyone knows from LP/CD covers and TV appearances?
Klinkhammer: No, not only because of this. I'm just not sure if the new remixes with all these electronic effects will really add something good to the old hits. The only exception might be "Ma Baker", which at least hit the middle of the German charts.
Think back to your work with the five original contributors (including Reggie Tsiboe).
Klinkhammer: I can only say that my relationship with all five members was very sympathetic. They always made it clear that they were grateful to me, that I probably also contributed to their success with my work. Liz once visited me at a private radio station where I worked as a music editor. And we talked with her for a long time, remembering the golden times. I also had contacts with Marcia, and recently we have been communicating, which makes me happy. Reggie, unfortunately, was never able to fully replace Bobby, he did not have that aura and "chemistry" as Bobby did when he appeared on stage with three girls. I remember that during our concerts in Sun City, he spent most of his time with us musicians, not with the band. When Marcia was interviewed, she was asked the question: "What was the saddest moment in the history of Boney M.?" She replied that the saddest case was Bobby's dismissal. But I have only positive memories of Reggie. He is an incredible musician and a very sympathetic person.
But there is one question that can be formulated as follows: "which appeared first: a chicken or an egg?" Could Boney M. have become a star band without Stefan Klinkhammer's invaluable creative input? Was he the only one who was involved in the creation of the Boney M. sound? A question to which there is no single answer. And Stefan Klinkhammer is too humble to admit it, even if it were true. Be that as it may, the influence of his work is certainly important.
Indeed, for the first time in the history of the music industry, Frank Farian insisted that his arranger be awarded a platinum disc for the album "Love for Sale" in 1978. And that was an adequate assessment of Stefan's work. In addition to Boney M., he made arrangements for other Farian's artists (Benny, Gilla, ERUPTION, Precious Wilson), as well as a number of German performers. Working with SILVER CONVENTION's lead singer Penny McLean, he proved his ability to compose popular hits.
In recent years, Stefan Klinkhammer lived with his wife Haidrun near Mannheim, where he worked for several years as the music editor of a private radio station. Stefan's love of jazz music brought him and two other musicians together to form a band called the Stefan Klinkhammer Trio in the 1980s, where they played classic jazz hits as well as their own compositions. Stefan loved to play music with friends and remember his stormy youth when he traveled around the world. Until the last moment, he continued to work with various performers and enjoyed a life without the tension and stress that accompanied him during the triumph of Boney M.
Stefan Klinkhammer died on March 31, 2001 from lung cancer. He is buried in the Saarbrücken city cemetery.
Штэфан Клинкхаммер - генеральный конструктор саунда Boney M.
