Jan & Kjeld
Dutch postcard by Hercules, Haarlem, no. 370. Photo for the film Marina, distributed in The Netherlands by Hafbo film.
Jan and Kjeld Wennick were only 14 and 16 years old when they hit it big with the Schlager classic Banjo Boy in 1960. The song was written by Charly Niessen in 1959 for the film Kein Mann Zum Heiraten (1960, Hans Deppe). In Danmark (#1), Germany (#1), Holland (#5) and a lot of other countries they found the top 10. English words were written by the U.S. lyricist Buddy Kaye in 1960. In the U.S.A. the disc was #58, and #36 in Great Britain. Kjeld Wennick (1944) was born in Sweden and his brother Jan (1946) in Kopenhagen. At a young age Kjeld learned to play the banjo and from 1954 on he performed together with his father Svend. Jan often accompanied them and also learned to play the banjo.
In 1956 the duo Jan & Kjeld was formed. Jan stood always at the left side, because he was left-handed and so their banjos wouldn’t bump. ‘The Kids from Copenhagen’ performed for radio and tv and their first records were the covers Tom Dooley and Tiger Rag in 1959. Their breakthrough was Banjo Boy and in Germany they became so popular that they played their songs in schlager films like Wir wollen niemals auseinandergehen (1960, Harald Reinl), Gauner-Serenade (1960, Thomas Engel) and Marina (1960, Paul Martin). Till 1963 'Die Banjo Boys' had twelve more hits in Germany with German language covers, but in 1964 their singing careers were over and Jan retired from show business. Kjeld started his own music label in 1983 and contracted the hit group Ace of Base. In 2003 he was a jury member of the Danish version of the tv talent show Idols and since 2006 he owns a café near the harbour of Copenhagen.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
See Banjo Boy on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIo4-3Efdzg
Jan & Kjeld
Dutch postcard by Hercules, Haarlem, no. 370. Photo for the film Marina, distributed in The Netherlands by Hafbo film.
Jan and Kjeld Wennick were only 14 and 16 years old when they hit it big with the Schlager classic Banjo Boy in 1960. The song was written by Charly Niessen in 1959 for the film Kein Mann Zum Heiraten (1960, Hans Deppe). In Danmark (#1), Germany (#1), Holland (#5) and a lot of other countries they found the top 10. English words were written by the U.S. lyricist Buddy Kaye in 1960. In the U.S.A. the disc was #58, and #36 in Great Britain. Kjeld Wennick (1944) was born in Sweden and his brother Jan (1946) in Kopenhagen. At a young age Kjeld learned to play the banjo and from 1954 on he performed together with his father Svend. Jan often accompanied them and also learned to play the banjo.
In 1956 the duo Jan & Kjeld was formed. Jan stood always at the left side, because he was left-handed and so their banjos wouldn’t bump. ‘The Kids from Copenhagen’ performed for radio and tv and their first records were the covers Tom Dooley and Tiger Rag in 1959. Their breakthrough was Banjo Boy and in Germany they became so popular that they played their songs in schlager films like Wir wollen niemals auseinandergehen (1960, Harald Reinl), Gauner-Serenade (1960, Thomas Engel) and Marina (1960, Paul Martin). Till 1963 'Die Banjo Boys' had twelve more hits in Germany with German language covers, but in 1964 their singing careers were over and Jan retired from show business. Kjeld started his own music label in 1983 and contracted the hit group Ace of Base. In 2003 he was a jury member of the Danish version of the tv talent show Idols and since 2006 he owns a café near the harbour of Copenhagen.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
See Banjo Boy on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIo4-3Efdzg