Jørgen Ingmann

Jorgen Ingmann, a guitarist from Denmark, achieved fleeting worldwide recognition through his instrumental take on "Apache," which reached the Top 10 in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain during 1961. He entered the world in Copenhagen in 1925 and first gained notice as a jazz performer, appearing alongside violinist Svend Asmussen as a member of the Swe-Danes throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Drawing strong inspiration from Les Paul, Ingmann began experimenting with multi-track techniques in the middle of the decade and constructed a personal studio where he could layer multiple guitar parts, bass lines, and percussion to function as a complete ensemble by himself. Released under the name Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitars, these tracks echoed Paul’s accelerated and manipulated guitar textures while introducing their own lighthearted character. The arrangement of "Apache," originally penned by Jerry Lordan of the British guitar heroes the Shadows and first captured by that ensemble, unexpectedly gained traction on radio stations globally and held the top position on the U.S. singles chart for one week. Although it remained his sole success beyond Denmark, the recording resurfaced on retrospective collections many years afterward, and his pair of albums issued by Atco Records appeared together on one compact disc in 2004.