He is the only artist to score a #1 Hit in the U.S. with a German language song, and his albums and singles have sold about 60 million copies worldwide.
Early Years
Born in Vienna, studying at the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977 which he left after one semester to pursue a career in music, he lived for a short time in West Berlin while singing in a jazz-rock band. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco," reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog, and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company. En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass player in the Austrian hard rock-punk rock band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" which he would also include on his debut solo album Einzelhaft.
Individual success
Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar" from the 1982 album Einzelhaft. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the U.S. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British Rock band After the Fire recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number three in the United States (their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. The band - who had been together more than a decade - broke up almost immediately thereafter. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics, under the title "Deep in the Dark" on her album Branigan 2.
After a second album, Junge Roemer, failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria and Germany, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus" inspired in part by the Oscar-winning film Amadeus, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the U.S. and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. Unheard of at the time for a white performer, much less a European one, the Austrian rapper's single climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (only a few years earlier called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including the Soviet Union and Japan. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the U.S. Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the U.S. Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny" the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany and the Netherlands, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the U.S., although it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland). On the Album were "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, Ein Jahr danach)" and the song "Kamikaze Cappa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 U.S. Dance hit, though he failed to make the U.S. pop charts. He also went on "Emotional-Tour" which was a world tour where he ended up in Japan at 1987. In 1987, he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen "Body Next to Body" and the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic countries. The Album Wiener Blut was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
After "Jeanny," there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the U.S. and the UK. His 1992 U.S. comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug with the song "Titanic" won a number of awards, but failed to chart in America.
Death
Falco died of severe injuries received from a collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Pajero near the city of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. While it was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, this was disputed. At the time of his death, he was working on a comeback into the music world.
He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
Years active: 1974 -1998
Cadillac Hotel
Falco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Das Blau in ihren Blicken erinnert sehr,
An-ein Swimming-Pool I'm Winter
At Cadillac Hotel
Tour-retour acting on l'amour, spielen
Das alte Spiel
Der Schlange Kur-so nah
Ihr hohes Ziel.
Denn die Zeichen stehen verändert
Neuer Tendenzen-Konsequenz
Extravaganza Hi-Tech-Hexen
And the pressure
And the pressure
Is immens!
I've been waiting at Cadillac Hotel
I've been waiting
Waiting for your love
I lost you
At Cadillac Hotel
I can't find you
Girl where are you now?
Cadillac Hotel
Neue Herrinnen warten nicht, dienen nicht
Neue Herrinnen geben sich, nehmen sich
Whatever they want
At Cadillac Hotel.
Und die Uhren Sie stehen für uns bereit
Bereit für den Kampf um unsere Zeit,
Letzte Schattenspiele
At Cadillac Hotel.
Dann ruft die Domina-Connection
Zur-Promotion
Vom nymphomanian Planquadrat
Bis zum Single-Market
Hatten wir alles
Hatten wir alles
Schon.
I've been waiting at Cadillac Hotel
I've been waiting
Waiting for your love
I lost you
At Cadillac Hotel
I can't find you
Girl where are you now?
Cadillac Hotel
The song "Cadillac Hotel" by Falco is a commentary on the excess and decadence of the 80s, particularly in the hotel and entertainment industry. The lyrics talk about the allure of the Cadillac Hotel, a luxury hotel where people go to experience extravagance and indulgence. The first verse talks about the reason why people go to the hotel and how the blue in their eyes reflects the swimming pool in winter. The second verse talks about the pressure that people feel to live up to the new trends and how the extravagance of the hotel can be overwhelming. The final verse talks about the power dynamics that exist in the world of the Cadillac Hotel, with new mistresses taking whatever they want and the Domina-Connection promoting them.
Throughout the song, Falco uses metaphorical language to explain the decadence of the Cadillac Hotel. For example, the "Schlange Kur" and "neue Herrinnen" are metaphors for the competition and new mistresses that people have to navigate at the hotel. Similarly, the "nymphomanian Planquadrat" and "Single-Market" are metaphors for the sexual and economic markets that exist at the hotel. Overall, the song is a commentary on the excess that existed in the entertainment industry in the 80s, where people were expected to indulge in every desire.
Line by Line Meaning
What in Himmel makes us going there
What possible reason drives us to go there?
Das Blau in ihren Blicken erinnert sehr,
The blue in her eyes reminds me of an indoor swimming pool in winter
An-ein Swimming-Pool I'm Winter
It is like being at an indoor swimming pool in winter
At Cadillac Hotel
At this particular hotel, the Cadillac Hotel
Tour-retour acting on l'amour, spielen
Back and forth, we act on the game of love
Das alte Spiel
The old game of love
Der Schlange Kur-so nah
We are so close to the snake's curve
Ihr hohes Ziel.
Their high goal
Denn die Zeichen stehen verändert
The signs have changed
Neuer Tendenzen-Konsequenz
The consequence of new tendencies
Extravaganza Hi-Tech-Hexen
Extravagant high-tech witches
And the pressure
And the pressure is on
Is immens!
It is immense!
I've been waiting at Cadillac Hotel
I have been waiting at the Cadillac Hotel
I've been waiting
I have been patiently waiting
Waiting for your love
I have been waiting for the love of my partner
I lost you
I have lost my partner
Girl where are you now?
Where are you now, my partner?
Neue Herrinnen warten nicht, dienen nicht
New mistresses do not wait or serve
Neue Herrinnen geben sich, nehmen sich
New mistresses give and take
Whatever they want
Taking whatever they want
Und die Uhren Sie stehen für uns bereit
And the clocks are ready for us
Bereit für den Kampf um unsere Zeit,
Ready for the fight for our time
Letzte Schattenspiele
Final shadowplay
Dann ruft die Domina-Connection
Then the domina connection calls
Zur-Promotion
To promote
Vom nymphomanian Planquadrat
From a nymphomaniacal plan
Bis zum Single-Market
Until the single-market
Hatten wir alles
We had everything
Hatten wir alles
We had everything
Schon.
Already.
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: FERDINAND BOLLAND, JOHANN HOELZEL, ROBERT BOLLAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Libor Synthesizer
on Out of the Dark
super muzika ,nádhera