L-O-V-E

Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert was born in Hamburg in 1923. He was still very young when he was given the nickname, “Fips,” which he kept for the rest of his life. (Memo to me: ask Matthew if “Fips” means anything in German.) Bert was an adept musician, proficient on several instruments including piano, accordion, clarinet and saxophone. He played in orchestras and bands before and during World War II, and then formed his own big band. You may not recognize his name, but I guarantee you’ve heard his arrangements of songs like “Tenderly” and “Red Roses for a Blue Lady.” You’re probably even familiar with some of his original numbers, like “Spanish Eyes,” “Danke Schoen” and “L-O-V-E.” And if he hadn’t hired a certain group of unknown musicians from Liverpool to back Tony Sheridan for an album called My Bonnie, you might never have heard of the Beatles, either.