Peter Reber

Peter Reber, a Swiss singer and songwriter born on April 28, 1949, in Bern, began his long career as a member of the schlager trio Peter, Sue & Marc in the 1970s before launching a successful solo path in the 1980s that continued yielding consistent Top Five album entries well into the 2000s. He established the group in 1968 alongside Sue Schell on vocals and Marc Dietrich handling vocals and guitar, with Reber contributing vocals, guitar, and piano. The ensemble started out performing covers of contemporary folk songs associated with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul and Mary. Their breakthrough arrived in 1971 after “Les Illusions de Nos Vingt Ans” was selected to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest, an event the trio would revisit in 1976 with “Djambo Djambo,” in 1979 with “Trödler und Co,” and in 1981 with “Io Senza Te.” Beyond those appearances, they accumulated multiple Top Ten singles across half a decade, highlighted by “Cindy” in 1976, “Memory Melody” in 1977, and “Tom Dooley” in 1978, while issuing full-length releases such as Like a Seagull (1976), Mountain Man (1977), Tom Dooley (1978), By Airmail (1979), and Birds of Paradise (1980). Following the trio’s 1981 dissolution, Reber waited several years before issuing his debut solo album, the Top Five entry Grüeni Banane (1985). Subsequent efforts Jede Bruucht Sy Insel (1986) and Dr Sunne Entgäge (1988) climbed to number one. Popularity persisted through the 1990s, marked by a number-two peak for Ufem Wäg Nach Alaska (1990) and another number-one result for I Wünsche Dir (1993), even as new material appeared less frequently. After a five-year gap, two albums arrived in 1998—Timbuktu, which reached the Top Ten, and Winterzyt-Wiehnachtszyt, which landed in the Top Five. Entering the new century, Reber partnered with his daughter to form the duo Peter Reber & Nina, delivering the Top Five albums Winterland (2004) and Himel & Ärde (2006), then nearly topping the chart with the solo project Es Läbe Voll Lieder (2010).