Uploaded May 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
LETS TALK ABOUT (BIG BAND) MUSIC - 7 - CHARLIE BARNET
"A band, to me, always resembled an artist's huge canvas on which musical colors were used in the greatest possible variety. It was not just a matter of throwing a can of red paint and saying, 'That's the picture.' Not all the colors had to be brilliant, because sometimes the picture called for subtle shading and understatement."
ROBERTO DELGADO (HORST WENDE)
Horst Wende was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He made easy-listening records under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy listening artists who were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, along with Bert Kaempfert and James Last.
He played in his grandfather’s band in a restaurant when he was six, and by his teens he was accomplished at playing piano, accordion, xylophone and marimba. He studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Signed to the Polydor label in the 1950s, as a Composer, Producer & Musician he made accordion and dance band music under his own name. He also started with Middle & South America music recordings under the alias of Roberto Delgado, and with Piano albums as Mister Pepper. The Delgado albums became popular in Europe, and then found an audience in the UK, Japan and North America as Polydor opened up several international subsidiaries. It’s interesting to note that Wende recorded his albums using the same group of studio musicians who recorded for Kaempfert and Last; in fact, guitarist Ladi Geisler also provided the distinct knack-bass guitar to the Kaempfert sound.
The Delgado recordings were initially Latin-oriented, but they eventually covered a number of different musical genres including African, Italian, Jewish, Oriental, Russian, Greek and Jamaican music as well as Broadway musicals and current pop hits. It could be argued that Wende/Delgado helped to pioneer world music. He managed to break into the German singles market with his version of “Mexico” in 1962. He also arranged music for other German artists such as German folk/pop singer Knut Kiesewetter. Horst made several albums with great international singers like, Conny Froboes, Wencke Myhre, Katja Ebstein, Daliah Lavi, Freddy Quinn.
Like most of his pop orchestral contemporaries, Wende’s popularity had faded by the 1980s, and he gradually retired from playing music professionally. In recent years, his music has become popular again, and some of his recordings have been reissued on CD.
ACAPULCO ZEPHYR
Written by J. Philipp and arranged by Horst Wende. Taken from the 1969 album "Latino Dancing" released by Polydor GmbH.
MHO
A rather 'unusual' sounding track recorded by Horst "Delgado" Wende for his album "Latino Dancing" but a good listen with quite a lot of 'auditive surprises'. What makes this track work is the outspoken contrast between the soft vibraphone parts, the groovy hammond organ and the strong brass outbursts. The zephyr (western winds) sound that can be heard in the background (synthesizer?) adds an extra dimension to this surprising but most original track. Enjoy.
LETS TALK ABOUT (BIG BAND) MUSIC - 7 - CHARLIE BARNET
"A band, to me, always resembled an artist's huge canvas on which musical colors were used in the greatest possible variety. It was not just a matter of throwing a can of red paint and saying, 'That's the picture.' Not all the colors had to be brilliant, because sometimes the picture called for subtle shading and understatement."
ROBERTO DELGADO (HORST WENDE)
Horst Wende was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He made easy-listening records under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy listening artists who were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, along with Bert Kaempfert and James Last.
He played in his grandfather’s band in a restaurant when he was six, and by his teens he was accomplished at playing piano, accordion, xylophone and marimba. He studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Signed to the Polydor label in the 1950s, as a Composer, Producer & Musician he made accordion and dance band music under his own name. He also started with Middle & South America music recordings under the alias of Roberto Delgado, and with Piano albums as Mister Pepper. The Delgado albums became popular in Europe, and then found an audience in the UK, Japan and North America as Polydor opened up several international subsidiaries. It’s interesting to note that Wende recorded his albums using the same group of studio musicians who recorded for Kaempfert and Last; in fact, guitarist Ladi Geisler also provided the distinct knack-bass guitar to the Kaempfert sound.
The Delgado recordings were initially Latin-oriented, but they eventually covered a number of different musical genres including African, Italian, Jewish, Oriental, Russian, Greek and Jamaican music as well as Broadway musicals and current pop hits. It could be argued that Wende/Delgado helped to pioneer world music. He managed to break into the German singles market with his version of “Mexico” in 1962. He also arranged music for other German artists such as German folk/pop singer Knut Kiesewetter. Horst made several albums with great international singers like, Conny Froboes, Wencke Myhre, Katja Ebstein, Daliah Lavi, Freddy Quinn.
Like most of his pop orchestral contemporaries, Wende’s popularity had faded by the 1980s, and he gradually retired from playing music professionally. In recent years, his music has become popular again, and some of his recordings have been reissued on CD.
ACAPULCO ZEPHYR
Written by J. Philipp and arranged by Horst Wende. Taken from the 1969 album "Latino Dancing" released by Polydor GmbH.
MHO
A rather 'unusual' sounding track recorded by Horst "Delgado" Wende for his album "Latino Dancing" but a good listen with quite a lot of 'auditive surprises'. What makes this track work is the outspoken contrast between the soft vibraphone parts, the groovy hammond organ and the strong brass outbursts. The zephyr (western winds) sound that can be heard in the background (synthesizer?) adds an extra dimension to this surprising but most original track. Enjoy.
