Ted Herold

Born Harald Walter Bernhard Schubring, Ted Herold rose to prominence as a leading German schlager singer, above all for his German-language versions of Elvis Presley recordings. At sixteen he cut his first sides after a school friend arranged an introduction to Polydor. A complete album of Elvis material followed shortly thereafter, prompting him to adopt the stage name Ted Herold. A substantial agreement with Polydor-Vienna ensued, and he issued numerous albums and singles across the late 1950s and early 1960s. Military conscription in 1963, together with declining German appetite for rockabilly, effectively ended his run at the top of the charts. His final Polydor single reached stores in 1966, and another label contract did not arrive until the 1970s, when Teledec signed him. He continued releasing albums on that imprint throughout the 1980s. Fresh interest emerged during the 1990s and led to several new albums in the early 2000s. Ted Herold died on November 20, 2021, at age seventy-nine, in a house fire.