Rock 'n' Roll Fieber

Rock ’n’ Roll Fieber was the title of my first song, which I wrote at
the age of 15. I didn’t even own a guitar yet. I tried to coax melodies
out of my buddy Wassilly’s classical guitar whenever I visited him.
Since I wasn’t fluent in English at that time, I wrote the lyrics in my
native language.

Am Samstag ist das Leben nicht mehr so grau
Warum das weiß jeder ganz genau
Der Saal ist schon gerammelt voll
Denn gleich geht es los mit Rock ’n’ Roll

That was the first verse. It describes perfectly how we pictured our
weekends. We had nothing but rock ’n’ roll and the 1950s on our
minds. We wanted to look, dance and sound like Elvis. In numerous
neglected waste piles, we searched for radios, lamps, furniture and
record players from the era. We bought a 1958 Wartburg 311 feeling
like “Kings Of The Road”.
Our parents and teachers thought we were just going through an
adolescent phase that would soon end.
Little did they know that we had caught the rock ’n’ roll fever which
was immediately driving us crazy. We were infected for good. No
matter what they tried, we never got rid of it again.
This “phase” has lasted more than 30 years now. We’re still crazy
about the beat of the 1950s, as are many of our friends who also
caught it. They will recognize themselves in some of the stories.
To all those who haven’t gotten the rock’n’roll fever yet, be warned.
Infection from reading this book cannot be ruled out entirely.