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Falco

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Falco's real name was Johann Hölzel and he was born in 1957 in a working-class district of Vienna. He wanted to be a pop star from an early age, but did not last long at the conservatoire. In the late 1970s he played bass in the Viennese underground scene, including in the punk group Drahdiwaberl. He borrowed his stage name from the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog. With short hair, suits and sunglasses he looked sleeker than the rest of that scene.

Music and breakthrough

In 1981 he went solo, with the songwriter Robert Ponger. Der Kommissar was actually intended as a B-side, but his manager thought it stronger than the planned single. The song is about drug use and combines rapped verses in German with a sung chorus. Rap was still rare in Western Europe at the time. Der Kommissar became a number 1 in, among other countries, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, and the album Einzelhaft also topped the chart in the Netherlands. After the less successful Junge Roemer (1984), Falco began working with the Dutch producers Rob and Ferdi Bolland. This produced Rock Me Amadeus, which reached number 1 in the United States in 1986: the only German-language song ever to do so. Vienna Calling and Jeanny also became hits.

Influence

Falco struggled with alcohol and cocaine, and a lasting career in America never materialised. In 1998, at the age of 40, he died in a road accident in the Dominican Republic. In the United States he is sometimes called the father of white rap.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Der Kommissar and notice the difference between the verses, which Falco half speaks and half raps in German, and the sung chorus. Hear too how the tight bass line and the electronic sounds carry the song.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsNeue Deutsche Welle