Bert Kaempfert

Sandy (and WNEW in general) used a lot of Bert Kaempfert's music as introductory and transitional material. I remember "That Happy Feeling" (one of Sandy's theme songs) being played when the station was having technical difficulties... Anyway, here are bits of several of Kaempfert's songs. You will need a MPEG-3 player to listen to the clips in the .zip file; I recommend Vamp for Mac users and MPEGA (plus DiamondGUI) for Amigans. Windows users are on your own, since I don't work with Windows and can't recommend any particular program. In any case, check out www.shareware.com for .mp3 players that will work on your computer. The four clips below can be played with

That Happy Feeling

Danke Schoen

Afrikaan Beat

Magic Trumpet

Here are all four clips in .mp3 format.

These bits of music are sampled from the CD "The Very Best of Bert Kaempfert", which is available from Taragon Records/PolyGram Special Markets. I had a tough time finding any of Kaempfert's original music-- which is very odd, considering that he wrote "Danke Schoen", "L-O-V-E", "Spanish Eyes", "A Swingin' Safari", and "Strangers In the Night". It's easy to find other people's versions of his songs, but his original recordings are hard to come by. Go figure. I couldn't even find them in second-hand stores-- maybe because their owners don't want to part with them? I like to think so.
"'Afrikaan Beat' reveled in airplay and kids in the New England area especially took note. The song was used as the theme for Sandy Becker's innovative program 'Sandy's Hour' and was heard after each commercial break. The song's wonderful arrangement combining the stand-up bass talents of Ladi Geisler with the trumpet virtuosity of Fred Moch is outstanding. The song is a definite fan favorite." --liner notes by Steve Kolanjian
You can contact Taragon Records at:

Taragon Records Company

P.O. Box 1571

Melville, NY 11747

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