Herbert Grönemeyer

Perhaps best known to international audiences for his performance in Wolfgang Petersen's much-acclaimed film Das Boot, in his native Germany Herbert Grönemeyer is celebrated among the most successful rock singers of his generation. Born April 12, 1956, in Göttingen, Grönemeyer first earned attention as an actor, beginning his career in the 1977 German telefilm Die Geisel. His debut LP, Ocean Orchestra, appeared a year later to little notice, and the follow-up, Grönemeyer, attracted scant attention as well. In 1981, he landed the role of Lt. Werner in the World War II epic Das Boot, which emerged as an international commercial and critical hit, earning six Academy Award nominations. Grönemeyer nevertheless walked away from film to concentrate on his music career. In 1984, he signed to EMI and issued 4630 Bochum, which went on to become the biggest-selling German-language LP in music history to date. A gravel-voiced, blue-collar stadium rocker best likened to American acts such as Bob Seger and John Mellencamp, Grönemeyer also favored topical lyrics that mirrored his growing influence as an activist. In the mid-'80s, he led protests against ozone-depleting CFC gases, and in 1992 founded the anti-racism group Ich Bin ein Ausländer (I Am a Foreigner). Albums including 1986's Sprünge and 1988's Ö kept Grönemeyer atop the German charts, and in 1991 he recorded his first English-language effort, Luxus, which failed to accurately translate the intricacies and nuances of his original lyrics. He became the first German act to appear on MTV Unplugged in 1995, and a year later again tried to crack the English-language market, with Chaos. In the wake of 1998's Bleibt Alles Anders, Grönemeyer suffered extraordinary personal tragedy when his wife Anna and his brother Wilhelm both died...