“Die kleine Stadt will schlafen geh’n“ ... Willy Schneider /Die Gesang-Melodios (1940/42)

“Die kleine Stadt will schlafen geh’n“ (Lit. The little city wants to go to sleep) was originally composed by Werner Bochmann (1900-1993) for the bass singer Wilhelm Strienz (1900-1987) - who recorded the song with the “Goldene Sieben“ in 1938. Today this melancholic song about a lost love is best known in the version recorded by Ilse Werner (1921-2005) in 1940. It was Werner Bochmann who discovered Ilse Werner’s singing talent. Today’s video features two lesser-known and very contrasting versions. The first was recorded by bass/bariton Willy Schneider (1905-1989) in 1940. Born in Cologne as the son of a butcher Schneider started recording in 1935. He achieved the height of his popularity during the 1950s when he recorded many popular songs and operetta music. During his career which spanned six decades he released about 800 records resulting in approximately 18 million sold copies. The second version was recorded by the vocal group “Gesang-Melodios“ for Tempo in October 1942. This vocal group started out in 1933 as the “Humoresk Melodios“ which in turn was created after the split of another vocal group called “Die Fidelios“. Their story can be found here (in German): . They are accompanied by Jo Alex and his orchestra. Unfortunately, this record is very worn... The video features images of nighttime Berlin - which was a popular theme for photographers and postcards. About the records : “Die kleine Stadt will schlafen geh’n“ Willy Schneider mit Orchesterbegleitung Polydor 11381 B / mx. 8921-1 GR9 Berlin, 1940 “Die kleine Stadt will schlafen geh’n“ Gesang-Melodios mit Orchesterbegleitung Leitung: Jo Alex Tempo 5118 / mx. 1845 Babelsberg,