In 1927, when American popular music was the rage in Europe, an acting student in Berlin decided to create a German version of the Revelers, a male vocal quartet from the U.S. That student, Harry Frommermann, had a strange and enchanting ability to imitate musical instruments with his hands and mouth, and he’d already written songs for the nonexistent group.
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Frommermann advertised for voices under 25 years old. From the many applicants, he selected a pianist and four singers, including an opera student, a street musician, and a singing waiter in a Bulgarian restaurant. Through rigorous rehearsals (a fine was charged for being late) the six were transformed into a tightly woven harmonic group known for its smooth singing and onstage antics. As two members would later say, the Comedian Harmonists overcame power struggles and personality conflicts to “breathe in harmony” and “harmonize as human beings.” Frommermann was the heart and soul of the group, writing scores of songs.
Frommermann served in the U.S. Army, digging latrines and entertaining troops. He later acted as a translator at the Nuremberg trials and worked in radio. He tried to start new singing groups but always failed. Broke and broken, he took a job on an assembly line in New York. Sometimes he was so disheartened he would lock himself in the bathroom and sob. He eventually returned to Germany, where he recorded “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” imitating more than 20 instruments as a one-man orchestra. He died in 1975 while listening to the radio.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Comedian Harmonists uncredited photo.
