Tommy Kent (1942-2022) was a German rock and roll singer and film actor of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later became an architect and a painter.
German postcard by ISV, no. H 55.
German publicity card by Polydor.
German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 674. Retail price: 10 Pfg. Photo: Arthur Grimm / Alfa / Gloria. Publicity still for O sole mio - Ich komme wieder.../O sole mio (Paul Martin, 1950).
Tommy Kent was born Guntram Kühbeck in München (Munich), Germany in 1942. Guntram was the son of a doctor, who had an interest in music.
In the mid-1950s he discovered the American Rock ‘n Roll hits of Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent and Pat Boone, which he heard on AFN Radio (American Forces Network) and tried to sing himself. To pay for his architecture study he performed as a singer in clubs.
From 1958 on he had music lessons from opera singer Baron von Versibe. In 1958 he was discovered by the songwriters Walter Brandin and Hans R. Beier. They helped him to contact the successful record label Polydor in Hamburg, where he could make a test recording.
Later that year producer Bert Kaempfert recorded his first single, a cover version of Robin Luke’s hit 'Susie Darlin'. Together with Kaempfert, Kühbeck came up with his alias, Tommy Kent. His first single became in a short time a hit and in June 1959 it reached the #4 position of the German box office charts.
Soon followed a contract with Polydor, more singles like 'Baby Doll' and 'Ich brauche du dazu' (I Need You For That) and appearances on TV shows. 'Susie Darlin’ sold over one million copies. During his career, Tommy Kent would sell more than four million records.
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. 471. Photo: Polydor.
German postcard, no. 11.
After Peter Kraus and Ted Herold, Tommy Kent advanced into one of the most successful German-language Rock and Roll artists. His repertory consisted mainly of cover versions of American hits.
He appeared in Schlagerfilms like Der Schleier fiel/The Veil Fell (Paul May, 1960) with Vera Tschechowa and O sole mio (Paul Martin, 1960) with Senta Berger.
In the early 1960s, Kent’s record sales became less than those of his first singles. The cooperation with Kaempfert stopped when Kaempfert didn’t release Tommy’s version of 'Corinna, Corinna'. He instead released a version by singer Peter Beil, which then became a big hit.
From 1962 till 1964 Kent had a contract with Ariola, and later with Metronome. There he had his last hit with the self-composed Beat-Schlager 'Sag endlich ja' (Finally Say Yes). In 1966 Metronome ended their contract with Kent but his Schlager career was not yet finished.
For a small label, he sang under several pseudonyms (including Elliott Beach and Rainer Marc) imitations of international hits. He also performed in clubs at the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. In the early 1970s he tried a comeback as Tommy Kent, but his single 'Elisa' flopped.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. 4672. Photo: Erwin Schneider / Ufa.
German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 566. Photo: Erwin Schneider.
Tommy Kent changed back into Guntram Kühbeck and started a career as an architect around 1979. He was successful with his designs for the Spanish consulate in München and an elderly home in Los Angeles.
As Tommy Kent-Kühbeck he also became known as a painter with exhibitions in New York and other cities. He had his own gallery in Pfronten im Allgäu.
In 1981 in the middle of the Rock and Roll revival he returned as a singer and recorded his final single, 'Donner, Blitz und Rock 'n Roll' (Thunder, Lightning and Rock and Roll.
He also returned to the cinema in the children’s film Kleiner Mann was tun?/What to Do, Little Man? (Uschi Madeisky, Klaus Werner, 1982) with Heidi Brühl. Later, Tommy Kent-Kühbeck painted in his studios in München and on the Spanish island of Menorca. As an artist, he was awarded the Narrhaller Orden in 2008.
Tommy Kent died in September 2022. He was the brother of Gislinde Kühbeck, brother-in-law of Klaus Kinski, and uncle of Pola Kinski.
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 1249. Photo: Erwin Schneider / Kolibri.
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. F 158.
Sources: Tommykent.de, Wikipedia (German) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 17 December 2024.
German postcard by ISV, no. H 55.
German publicity card by Polydor.
German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 674. Retail price: 10 Pfg. Photo: Arthur Grimm / Alfa / Gloria. Publicity still for O sole mio - Ich komme wieder.../O sole mio (Paul Martin, 1950).
Susie Darlin'
Tommy Kent was born Guntram Kühbeck in München (Munich), Germany in 1942. Guntram was the son of a doctor, who had an interest in music.
In the mid-1950s he discovered the American Rock ‘n Roll hits of Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent and Pat Boone, which he heard on AFN Radio (American Forces Network) and tried to sing himself. To pay for his architecture study he performed as a singer in clubs.
From 1958 on he had music lessons from opera singer Baron von Versibe. In 1958 he was discovered by the songwriters Walter Brandin and Hans R. Beier. They helped him to contact the successful record label Polydor in Hamburg, where he could make a test recording.
Later that year producer Bert Kaempfert recorded his first single, a cover version of Robin Luke’s hit 'Susie Darlin'. Together with Kaempfert, Kühbeck came up with his alias, Tommy Kent. His first single became in a short time a hit and in June 1959 it reached the #4 position of the German box office charts.
Soon followed a contract with Polydor, more singles like 'Baby Doll' and 'Ich brauche du dazu' (I Need You For That) and appearances on TV shows. 'Susie Darlin’ sold over one million copies. During his career, Tommy Kent would sell more than four million records.
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. 471. Photo: Polydor.
German postcard, no. 11.
German-language Rock and Roll
After Peter Kraus and Ted Herold, Tommy Kent advanced into one of the most successful German-language Rock and Roll artists. His repertory consisted mainly of cover versions of American hits.
He appeared in Schlagerfilms like Der Schleier fiel/The Veil Fell (Paul May, 1960) with Vera Tschechowa and O sole mio (Paul Martin, 1960) with Senta Berger.
In the early 1960s, Kent’s record sales became less than those of his first singles. The cooperation with Kaempfert stopped when Kaempfert didn’t release Tommy’s version of 'Corinna, Corinna'. He instead released a version by singer Peter Beil, which then became a big hit.
From 1962 till 1964 Kent had a contract with Ariola, and later with Metronome. There he had his last hit with the self-composed Beat-Schlager 'Sag endlich ja' (Finally Say Yes). In 1966 Metronome ended their contract with Kent but his Schlager career was not yet finished.
For a small label, he sang under several pseudonyms (including Elliott Beach and Rainer Marc) imitations of international hits. He also performed in clubs at the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. In the early 1970s he tried a comeback as Tommy Kent, but his single 'Elisa' flopped.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. 4672. Photo: Erwin Schneider / Ufa.
German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 566. Photo: Erwin Schneider.
Architect and painter
Tommy Kent changed back into Guntram Kühbeck and started a career as an architect around 1979. He was successful with his designs for the Spanish consulate in München and an elderly home in Los Angeles.
As Tommy Kent-Kühbeck he also became known as a painter with exhibitions in New York and other cities. He had his own gallery in Pfronten im Allgäu.
In 1981 in the middle of the Rock and Roll revival he returned as a singer and recorded his final single, 'Donner, Blitz und Rock 'n Roll' (Thunder, Lightning and Rock and Roll.
He also returned to the cinema in the children’s film Kleiner Mann was tun?/What to Do, Little Man? (Uschi Madeisky, Klaus Werner, 1982) with Heidi Brühl. Later, Tommy Kent-Kühbeck painted in his studios in München and on the Spanish island of Menorca. As an artist, he was awarded the Narrhaller Orden in 2008.
Tommy Kent died in September 2022. He was the brother of Gislinde Kühbeck, brother-in-law of Klaus Kinski, and uncle of Pola Kinski.
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 1249. Photo: Erwin Schneider / Kolibri.
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. F 158.
Sources: Tommykent.de, Wikipedia (German) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 17 December 2024.
1 comment:
He looks like such a fun person. I think I would have liked to have known him. Thank you for your sensitive portrayal of this wonderful person.
Happy PFF!
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